This healthy, nutritious and super delicious spinach raita is the perfect accompaniment for any Indian meal. This palak raita recipe cannot get any easier than this.
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❤️About This Recipe
Super easy to make: The method is so easy, just cook the spinach and mix with yogurt along with a few spices. Simple, right?
Nutritious: As you know that spinach is high in many nutrients. Plus, yogurt is a good source of several vitamins, minerals and of course protein for vegetarians. So this spinach raita is perfectly healthy and full of nutrients.
Taste & Flavor: subtle flavor of spinach (no flavor is overpowering) with the taste of basic raita spices. In short, it is mild in taste and pairs well with any pulao or biryanis.
Good to have during the summer season: Yogurt is cooling and refreshing on your body during the summer heat. So this palak raita is best to consume during the summer season.
🧾Ingredient Notes
To make this spinach raita, you’ll need 10 ingredients. All of them are easily available in your Indian pantry.
- Spinach: As spinach is a leafy green, I prefer to buy organic spinach. Try not to use baby spinach, as it has a very mild taste after cooking.
- Yogurt: Homemade or store-bought plain yogurt works. Start with chilled, refrigerated yogurt, as spinach raita tastes best when served chilled.
- Roasted cumin powder: This is the must-add spice when it comes to any raita recipe. To make it at home just dry roast the cumin seeds until aromatic and golden in color. Let it cool down and grind into the fine or coarse powder.
- Black salt: It adds a unique zing to the raita. There is no substitute for the black salt aka kala namak.
- Ginger & Green chili: I have added finely chopped both. Instead, you can add crushed in mortar and pestle or simply use ginger paste and chopped chili.
- Sesame seeds: It pairs really well with spinach. It adds a nice surprise texture and nutty flavor to every bite.
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
Cooking Spinach:
1) Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add sesame seeds and saute for a few seconds or until seeds start to pop.
2) Add ginger and green chili. Saute for 40-60 seconds or until the raw smell of ginger goes away.
3) Now add chopped spinach.
4) Cook until it is wilted.
Making Spinach Raita:
1) While spinach is cooking, take yogurt in a bowl. Add salt, black salt, red chili powder and roasted cumin powder.
2) Whisk the yogurt really well until smooth and spices are mixed.
3) Add cooked spinach.
4) And mix until spinach is evenly distributed into the yogurt.
💭Expert Tips
- Chill the raita for 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.
- Spinach raita tastes best when served chilled.
Variations:
- You can cook some chopped onion before cooking spinach.
- You can add raw grated carrot into the raita for some fresh and crunchy elements. Or you can cook the carrot along with spinach.
- You can add some fresh herbs such as cilantro or mint leaves for some fresh herby flavor.
Storage: You can make this spinach raita ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It stays good for 2-3 days.
🍽 Serving Ideas
- Even though this spinach raita is mild in flavor, it pairs well with any spicy rice dish like pulao, veg Hyderabadi biryani, capsicum rice, etc.
- It can be served with stuffed paratha like aloo paratha, gobi paratha or regular paratha like cabbage paratha, vegetable paratha.
- Serve as a side dish with any Indian meal that consists of dal, rice, roti, sabzi, pickle, papad etc.
Check Out Other Healthy Raita Recipes
Did you try this spinach raita recipe (palak raita)? I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review.
📋 Recipe Card
Spinach Raita (Palak Raita)
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Oil
- 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon Ginger chopped finely
- 1 small Green chili chopped finely
- 1 cup Spinach (Palak) chopped and tightly packed
- 1 cup Plain yogurt (dahi or curd)
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Roasted cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon Black salt (Kala namak)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add sesame seeds and saute for a few seconds or until seeds start to pop.
- Add ginger and green chili. Saute for 40-60 seconds or until the raw smell of ginger goes away.
- Now add chopped spinach. Cook until it is wilted.
- While spinach is cooking, take yogurt in a bowl. Add salt, black salt, red chili powder and roasted cumin powder.
- Whisk the yogurt really well until smooth and spices are mixed.
- Add cooked spinach. And mix until spinach is evenly distributed into the yogurt.
Notes
- You can cook some chopped onion before cooking spinach.
- You can add raw grated carrot into the raita for some fresh and crunchy elements. Or you can cook the carrot along with spinach.
- You can add some fresh herbs as cilantro or mint leaves for some fresh herby flavor.
Michelle
Delicious and healthy!
Kanan
yes, it is. Thank you.