Amaranth Spinach

I’d eaten spinach a million times and tried amaranth a few ways but never amaranth spinach leaves. Purchased in the frozen section of the venerable Indian American grocery chain, Patel Brothers, it was only $1.29 for the 12 ounce packet. The contents were frozen into multiple mini bricks giving them a futuristic look but I digress.

Frozen Amaranth Spinach Leaves

To really get a sense for the flavor I kept the seasoning simple so the amaranth spinach could sing on its own. The flavor is earthier and a little coarser than run of the mill spinach but tasty and not a bad change from mustard greens or spinach. Side note: Amaranth spinach is also used commonly to the make the Caribbean side dish known as callaloo, but that will be written about in a future post soon.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 3
Ingredients
1 package amaranth spinach leaves
¼ onion chopped
½ tomato, chopped small
1 T ginger
1 T cumin seeds
1 T ginger
chili powder to taste
salt to taste

Method:
Cook onions on medium low for 5 minutes. Add ginger and cumin seeds and roast for a 2 minutes. Now toss in the remaining ingredients and about a half cup of water. Cook covered for 15 minutes or so. Once the tomato begin to wilt and the amaranth bricks are easy to break up it’s time for blending. Blend pan contents and pour back into pan. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Taste the flavor and adjust seasoning. If more tartness is necessary lemon or lime juice are helpful. Serve with rice or roti.