“[first lines]
Popeye: [singing] I’m Popeye the sailor man. / I’m Popeye the sailor man. / I’m off on a trip / On me sturdy old ship. / I’m Popeye the sailor man.”
With the advent of cartoon network ‘Popeye’ was the first cartoon to light up the mornings of so many of us.Popeye is what he is — a good-guy underdog with bulging forearms, a mean uppercut and a penchant for canned spinach. The only thing he loves more than spinach and the sea is his flighty, flirty girlfriend, Olive Oyl.
I might sound like a bad-a** now but a very smart trick which was adapted by parents then.My parents never objected to watching this cartoon in those days…well the shrewd planning being…..Popeye was nutritionally inspirational to kids. Popeye’s spinach addiction rubbed off on children.My sister and I regularly watched Popeye scoffing spinach before his animated bouts with his arch-rival Bluto, which in turn doubled our vegetable intake.Smart Parenting must say…. 🙂
My father once got a t-shirt for my sister which had the picture of ‘Popeye’ printed on it.And was my sister addicted to it…as she grew taller the t-shirt grew smaller…but she was so much into it that she kept squeezing herself into this tiny piece of cloth.As all old clothes either landed up in barter system for new utensils or instantly became new homemade cloth wipes.but Nah not this one…till date that t-shirt lies in our old family closet as a keepsake 😉
It’s Best to Be Yourself : The refrain “I yam what I yam, and that’s all what I yam,”a favorite of Popeye’s, proudly celebrates the concept of being happy
and confident with yourself and who you are.My sister as she personifies this quote so well in today’s context.My recipe today is to celebrate our love for spinach and Popeye’s spirit.I just add spinach to just about anything.Hope you like it!!
Ingredients for Chicken in Spinach Cilantro Gravy:
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tomato finely chopped
- 2 bunches of fresh baby spinach
- Few sprigs of Cilantro
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp refined oil
- Dollop of butter (optional)
- Salt to taste
Preparation method
- In a shallow pan add your washed baby spinach and let the spinach go soft for 2 minutes on low heat.Do not add any external water or over cook the spinach.I do not blanch the spinach in hot water as this according to takes away the nutritive value of spinach.My method helps me keep my spinach more flavored.
- Allow the spinach to cool and then add your spinach and cilantro to the blender and make a smooth puree.I do not cook my cilantro before blending cause that lends a slightly bitter taste to the gravy.
- In another non stick pan heat your refined oil and add the cumin seeds to splutter.Then saute your onions to translucence.Then saute you tomatoes to melt in mouth texture.Adding salt,chilli,turmeric,ground coriander powder at this step makes the tomatoes go softer sooner.
- Then add your chicken and fry the chicken with the onion tomato mix for 2 minutes.Cover and cook the chicken for 10 minutes on low heat.Then add your garam masala and fry for 1 minute.
- Once the chicken is cooked then add your spinach and cilantro puree to the chicken and allow it to cook with the chicken for 3-4 minutes on high heat.
- For the final step add your dollop of butter and let the butter melt into the chicken and serve hot with naan or steam rice.Trust me it awakens your sixth sense.
