Recipe | Purslane Stew

Purslane is one of those weeds that is considered to be very healthy, but unfortunately, it is not very popular amongst Americans and not found easily here. I have been eating purslane from a very young age. Although I didn’t like it at first because I was one of those kids that disliked anything green but as I grew older my love for this dish increased and right now it is one of my favourite things to eat in the summer. My mother makes this delicious purslane stew that is served with the sticky rice. It is warm hearty and so delicious. You can serve it with anything you want and eat it in any way you prefer. It is very easy to cook and only requires a bit of patience.

One day while I was browsing the farmers market, to my delight I spotted purslane in one of the stalls and almost jumped with joy. I emptied the whole basket the purslane was presented in, to the shock of the farmers, and made a big batch of delicious purslane stew. I found out that a lot of people here use it in their mixed salads which is delicious, however, I think it tastes even better when cooked. 

The cooking is done in two parts. The first part is when the purslane is boiled with mung beans for a couple of hours. This step can be done days ahead. The second part is making the stew/sauce which is very quick and easy. Here is the recipe for purslane stew. However as I mentioned before you can serve it with anything, it is delicious with meat, as a sauce, or simply with spaghetti.

Recipe: Purslane Sauce/stew
serves 2–4

Ingredients

1–1 ½ pound of fresh purslane
½ cup of mung beans
1 medium size onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 egg
Ghee or olive oil with butter
1 teaspoon curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional three Thai chillies

Method

Separate the purslane leaves from the main stems. Sometimes I notice that the farmers do this step especially when it’s meant to be used for salads. Wash the purslane thoroughly and put it in a stew pot topped with rinsed mung beans. Add enough water which should be an inch below the purslane leave and mung beans. Let this boil with the lid ajar for at least 2–3 hours on medium-low to low heat. Once cooked drain it and store one cup of the stock. The stock is extremely healthy and whatever is remaining can be used in soups or shakes.

Once the cooked mixture is dry, place it on the cutting board and chop it. You can chop it however small you want the leaves to be. I like them to be fairly small.  At this point, the cooked purslane can be stored in the fridge for whenever you want to make the sauce because it only takes about 15 -20 mins. So this is also a great cook ahead recipe.

For the sauce, on medium heat add one tablespoon of oil to the pot. You can use any oil you prefer. I like to use ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil. Add the onions and let it fry until translucent or brown, whichever you prefer. Add garlic and let that fry for a minute. Just before you’re about to crack an egg in the pot, add a pinch of curry powder or turmeric and then the egg. Stir the egg until scrambled and cooked and then add the chopped purslane. Stir it for a minute. Add salt and pepper. Now you can add the stock you stored earlier. How much of the stock you want to add is up to how you prefer the stew to be. If you want it kind of thick, you can add two tablespoons. If you want is to be sort of watery you can add more until the desired thickness is achieved. Once you add the stock lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve!