I'm not positive but it looks quite a lot like amaranth.

Jim

Looks like Malabar Spinach, Basella alba, or Vining Spinach. Not related to our Spinach, but a similar taste and texture, and much more heat tolerant that Spinach.

Steve

Punjabi mustard greens?

I don't think it looks like Malabar. The one (and only) time I grew it, I seem to recall that it was somewhat shiny and had thick leaves. And it was DISGUSTING and SLIMY! I vote amaranth.

I just looked online for a photo of amaranth, and I see that it really doesn't look like your photo. Now I'm wondering if someone sold me the wrong seeds for malabar. Truly, it was nasty, not the least bit like spinach.

Water cress? Just a wild guess.

Sally

The photos I've found of amaranth seem to be either totally green, or with a much more marked purple stain and the Malabar spinach photos show a fleshier, more spinach-looking vegetable to me.

I can't find pictures of anything called, "Punjabi mustard greens" in a raw state...is it an actual green, or just mustard greens prepared in a Punjabi recipe?

The stems do look like those of watercress and the growing pattern and light toughness are similar...but the leaves are different, and it didn't taste like any watercress I've ever eaten. I know there are other cresses though.

I'm having second thoughts about my suggestion of amaranth. The plant in the pic seems to have smooth leaves. Amaranth is slightly fuzzy.

Jim

Yes, this green had not even a suggestion of fuzz, on either side of the leaf or on the stem.

It's a mystery.

Here is a Photo of Greek Amaranth.
Lou

I don't know at all, but as a teacher of plant ID I can tell you those two photos are of two different plants. What either of them is, I couldn't tell you. The "margins" (outer edge) of the leaves are different, the one at the top has smooth margins, and the photo at the bottom has margins that are serrated, like a saw. Also the veins are different. In the photo at the bottom the veins are very straight and parallel. In the top photo, not so much, and much less distinct.
The problem with the word "amaranth" is it is kind of like "cress" as it describes a whole family of plants. For example, celosia, which is a garden flower, and the weed "pigweed" and the food plant amaranth are in the same family but they are different species. Beets and spinach are also in that "family" although the name has changed so it's not actually called the amaranth family anymore. So from a botany point of view, spinich is also an "amaranth." And to further confuse things, amaranth is also the name of a genus, which is a smaller subgroup of plants than a family.
Botanists are really crazy people with too much time on their hands, IMHO.

Below is a link to Wikepedia's entry on edible "amaranth" which has a lot of good info on the edible varieties. Apparently there are different edible varieties eaten in different parts of the world. Sounds like something very healthful!

Here is a link that might be useful: Amaranth

This blog has a photo of greens that looks a lot like what you have.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll down.

Thanks for the link, barnmom. That is one fascinating blog!

"Last week I found even the push-cart fellow carrying haak and I could hardly believe my eyes. He had the early kind  kanyi haak  the tender shoots with just the top 3-5 leaves! This is the type that looks almost exactly like kai lan, which is what you should use if you can lay your hands on some. Try your Asia specialty stores for this Chinese green; in Delhi, it is now available at all outdoor vegetable markets."

I grow kai lan (aka gai lan) in my garden. So far, I have not grown it well. I will try again this year as a fall crop. The kai lan I've had in Chinese restaurants was very good. It resembles broccoli raab.

Jim

Gosh, now I've got another "mystery green."

The Laotian family who run the strawberry patch/stand a few blocks from my house have planted a bunch of other seasonal crops this year. You never really know what is going to be on offer, because they're experimenting, just trying to generate a little extra income.

I bought some Thai basil there today. For those of us who aren't familiar with it, imagine a basil leaf dipped in anise or licorice water.

I also bought some greens that looked something like broccoli, but with small, individual "heads" as opposed to the big bunches we're accustomed to buy in the grocery store. The stalk and leaves themselves were as much meant to be cooked as the flower buds.

I thought at first that it was Gai Lan, or Chinese Broccoli...as it was tied in a plastic bag, which was sweating inside and so, hazy, I could not notice that it didn't look the same, really.

It almost looked like a cross between our plain, recognizable broccoli and gai lan.

Can't post a pic today......blush&shrug.......we ate it up. :D

Eileen, I've bookmarked that blog you linked. It looks like it has lots of vegetarian recipes, which I'm always excited to see. Thanks for the link.

Rachelellen, could that broccoli type green be broccoli rabe?

Sally

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1526698}}

I dunno, the only time I ever knowingly ate broccoli rabe, it was bitter, and this wasn't at all. In fact, it didn't even taste much like broccoli, more like gai lan, but the flowers were different. I'm going to run by the stand today and ask them if they know what the heck it is.

If you like vegetarian blogs, I found one I like too...she specializes in Indian foods, but posts a lot of other things too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lisa's Kitchen