Easy Indian Spinach Raita (Yogurt Sauce) Recipe
Its inevitable that an Indian meal is accompanied by this famous Yogurt sauce more popularly known as "Raita". This comes in various flavors and varieties. Its a great base to try your creativity. It was amazing to me that here in the US, yogurt is not a part of a regular diet. Well, what else can you expect from an Indian like me - esp. a South Indian. While North Indians enjoy it more in the form of Raita,Lassi or desserts, it forms a part of the main course meal  for South Indian where they finish off a meal with Yogurt rice.
Easy Indian Spinach Raita (Yogurt Sauce) Recipe
Raita is also a regular affair in our house where I whip this up whenever  am short on time or prepare a heavy main dish. It goes well with spicy rice or flatbreads like pulao, paratha, naan etc. Among the various versions that I make, this version which uses Spinach is one of my favorites. Its healthy and a great way of using few spinach leaves leftover in the fridge. And needless to say, its a great way to sneak in some healthy greens to the daily meal too. The base for the raita is almost the same as other raita recipes I have in this site.
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Serves: 2 people
Ingredients
  • 2 cups thick plain Yogurt (make sure its not sour. I use fat free Greek yogurt)
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp roasted cumin powder (I sometimes use ground cumin-coriander powder with good results)
  • salt to taste ( try the black salt available in Indian stores. More authentic)
  • 1-2 cups of Spinach leaves
  • chilli powder/ground pepper for garnish (optional)
Method
1. Wash and clean the spinach leaves well. I used baby spinach for this recipe - but you can use regular.
2. Steam the leaves for 1-2 minutes just till it wilts slightly. You can alternatively boil the spinach.
3. Meanwhile add the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl.
4. Beat well until smooth.
5. You can chop the leaves or as they are into the curd mixture. I chop few and leave few leaves as they are for garnish so that one knows what they are eating :)
6. Mix well until its blended. I do not make the spinach into a paste like I do for mint raita since I like the texture of the leaves with this raita better. But go ahead and make it like a sauce before blending it into the raita.
I garnish with the few spinach leaves and more cumin powder before serving. Easy Indian Spinach Raita (Yogurt Sauce) Recipe

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9 Comments

By li on May 23, 2013

A warm hello from a sunny South Africa where South Africans love Indian food! I have just discovered your site and love it - the tone, the vibe, the energy that goes with the lovely recipes - easy to prepare, authentic, yet unique! I have a question regarding 1. your spinach raita recipe - could it also be served warm - almost as a substitute to the creamed spinach served in restaurants? 2. How does one replace potato in soups to make it creamier - would it help to use cauliflower - I try a no/low carb lifestyle? 3. Do you have a newsletter sending out news or posts on new recipes - I would love to keep informed about what YOU do - there are so many sites out there? I hope you will find time to respond. Keep up your great creative work. li

Sawubona li. Welcome to my part of the world and am glad to hear that you like it :). 1. This particular recipe is best served cold/room temperature. But you can def. use as an alternative to Creamed Spinach. Simply cook the spinach (add in some onion n garlic too!) and then right towards the end, lower the flame to low and add the yogurt. High heat cooking will curdle the yogurt. 2) I would recommend Rutabaga first (low carb, same texture, starchy feel). I have heard few ppl more attuned to its distinctive taste but give it a try to find how you feel about it. Cauliflower like you mentioned is next best in creaminess, looks and taste (though misses the starch). I would place "celeriac" and "turnips" equally in third position. 3) I, unfortunately, do not have the newsletter yet. But you def. can subscribe via feedburner and/or be a part of my Facebook Chefinyou Family where I am the most active. --DK

By MeeNs on Feb 5, 2012

I will try this, but i make a different version of spinach raitha with chopped spinach and frozen corn. First just roast the cumin seeds and a green chilly sliced in vaghaar. The spinach is given a quick stir fry after the vagaar and when cool add the yoghurt. It tastes great with the corn.

By Rashmi on Dec 1, 2010

Another version of Spinach Raitha : 2 bundles of spinach pureed; 2 cups yogurt; 1 or 2 garlic tooth, 1/2 " pce ginger crushed, 1 green chilli de-seeded and crushed ...mix together all the above add finely sliced onions into the green yogurt with salt to taste. Its nice to have this with a pulao/pilaf :)

By bergamot on Nov 30, 2010

Definitely a wonderful raita, one of my favorite

By sunita sil on Nov 28, 2010

hi dk winter time for india and good use of fresh raita will definetely try this

By Apu on Nov 28, 2010

I love this raita!! Spinach and curd - great combination!!

By Ameya on Nov 28, 2010

I really like your use of fresh spinach. I generally use frozen spinach in raita, but I will definitely give your version a try :)

By Smitha on Nov 27, 2010

I make Spinach raita too but way different!:))...I like the addition of spinach...nice way to get green leafys into our diet!

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