Spinach Mixed Veg Rice

My toddler is becoming a very picky eater these days..and making her eat anything is a struggle..One of our good friends makes coriander rice during get togethers and my daughter gulped that without any fight..since then I've been trying different kinds of rice varieties for her and she likes those mixed rice varieties a lot, apparently. So I attempted making Spinach Mixed vegetable rice which was a success!!
I like trying new recipes and I sometimes google before I start cooking, for any ideas..And of course, I did find some recipes with Spinach mixed veg rice..but I like taking bits and pieces of several recipes and trying out my own!

Ingredients:

Mixed Vegetables, frozen - 1 lb
Onion - 1
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp
Chilli powder - 1tsp
Sambar powder - 3tsp
Jeera powder - 1tsp
Garam masala - 1tsp
Curry powder - 2 tsp
Sabji masala - 2tsp (optional)
Salt for taste
Spinach, frozen - 2 cups
Coconut, frozen shredded - 2/3 tbsp
Spices - 1 cardamom, 2 cinnamon sticks, 3 cloves, 1 anise
Basmati Rice - 2 1/2 cups

Method:

1. Cook rice in a rice cooker with a tbsp of oil and all the spices with 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 cups water depending on how well you want the rice to be cooked.
2. In a large pan, heat very little oil and add frozen spinach and blanch it until thawed and until the raw smell goes away.
3. Transfer spinach to a mixer or food processor and leave it to cool down. Add thawed frozen coconut to this and keep aside. Once cooled down, make a puree out of this.
4. In the same pan, heat 2tbsp of oil and add the cumin and onions. As soon as the onions are translucent, add ginger garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell goes away.
5. Add Mixed vegetables and let it cook with a covered lid for a few minutes in medium flame.
6. Add all the masalas - sambar powder, jeera powder, chill power, garam masala, curry powder, sabji masala, salt and cook until the vegetables are soft.
7. Add the spinach-coconut puree to the vegetables and sauté for a few more minutes.
8. Discard the spices from the rice and add the cooked rice to the vegetables and sauté for a few mins until well mixed.

Serve hot with raita or papad. I found this the best way to get my daughter to eat all the greens and vegetables. Anything processed or pureed, she won't have a choice to separate it out :)