Healthy Spinach Raita is the perfect accompaniment to Indian meals.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 5 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 250 grams baby spinach
  • 2 big garlic cloves (chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon water (to blend)

for the raita

  • 1 cup yogurt
  • ⅓ cup water or adjust to how thick or thin you want the consistency
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (or adjust to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
  • ⅓ teaspoon black salt (kala namak)
  • salt (to taste)

Method

  1. Wash the spinach leaves and set aside.
  2. In a pan heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
  3. Add chopped garlic and saute for a minute or till garlic starts to turn light golden in color. Be careful not to burn it.
  4. Add spinach leaves and cook till the leaves are wilted and there's no moisture left. Cook this for around 3-4 minutes or until the raw smell is gone.
  5. Remove from heat, let the spinach cool down a bit and then blend to a fine paste by adding 1 tablespoon of water.
  6. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, water, salt, red chili powder. cumin powder and black salt.
  7. Add the spinach puree and mix.
  8. Adjust the seasoning to taste and chill the raita in the refrigerator before serving.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.