For the ‘green’horns…

Ruchi Goyal

With the winter come a wide array of winter vegetables and a variety of greens or saag as we normally call them. The vegetable shops and carts laden with spinach, fenugreek, fennel greens, bathua, mustard greens lure everyone. 

Spoilt for a choice we love to indulge in consuming all kinds of greens because of the various health benefits associated with them.

Why consume winter greens?

• They are rich in micronutrients.
• Are loaded with vitamins like A and K.
• Play a role in blocking early stages of cancer.
• Nutrient dense but not energy dense.

But to extract maximum nutrition as well as taste and retain their green colour, we must also know the right way to cook the greens.

The common mistake we make is blanch the leaves and then cook them further. This strips nutrition and destroys the phytochemicals present in the greens. 

Here are a few simple steps to cook the greens: 

1. Take a pot of boiling water.
2. Add the cleaned leaves to the above for only 2-3 minutes.
3. Strain the leaves and pour cold water to preserve their bright green colour.
4. Use them as you like to make a curry or knead them in flour or add to chillas and soups.

Eat  greens raw or slightly steamed rather than trying to immerse them in boiling water.