SHEEM PALONG PATURI

(STEAMED BROAD BEANS AND SPINACH)

This is a combination of broad beans cooked with garlic and nigella seeds (kalonji) combined with spinach, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4 persons

400 gm spinach

100 gm sheem or broad beans

5 gm ginger paste

5 gm garlic paste

3 gm green chilli paste

2 gm nigella seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

20 ml oil

1 banana leaf

Salt to taste

1.	Clean, wash, and blanch the spinach. Chop the spinach.
2.	String the sheem and wash.
3.	Boil the sheem with a dash of turmeric powder and half a tsp of salt. Then drain and chop.
4.	Heat oil in a pan, add Nigella seeds and when it starts spluttering, add ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilli paste, and turmeric powder. Sauté for 5 minutes.
5.	At this point, add the spinach and sheem and cook stirring all the while.
6.	Allow the moisture from the spinach and sheem to dry and when the mixture begins to dry, adjust seasoning.
7.	Remove and allow to cool.
8.	Take a banana leaf, heat it over the flame for few seconds, and cut it into 4 equal parts.
9.	Divide the mixture into the 4 equal parts. Wrap each banana leaf like a parcel.
10.	Steam for 25 minutes.
11.	Remove and serve hot with tamarind chutney and kashundi.