Indian Style Creamed Spinach

4.91 from 10 votes

This Easy Indian Style Creamed Spinach curry is a deliciously easy side dish recipe made with fresh baby spinach, coconut milk, and a few spices ready in 20 minutes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword creamed spinach, indian style creamed spinach, vegan creamed spinach

Diet Dairy-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Method Stovetop

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 215kcal

Author Bhavana Patil

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon ginger minced
1-2 green chilies finely chopped
1 large tomato finely chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt adjust to taste
8 oz fresh baby spinach (about 7-8 cups)
1 cup full-fat coconut milk (or heavy cream)
juice of half lime

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and blanch for 1-2 minutes until wilted.
Drain the spinach and put it in a bowl of ice-cold water. This helps the spinach leaves retain their green color.
This step makes it easier to work with the spinach since there's so much volume/bulk before it cooks down.
Then finely chop the blanched spinach. You can also leave it as it is or even run it in a blender to get a smooth texture.
Heat oil in a pan/Kadai, add cumin seeds, let the cumin sizzle.
Then add onions, minced ginger, and garlic, green chili, and fry until onions turn light brown.
Next add diced tomato, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt, and cook for 1-2 minutes till the tomatoes are mushy.
Add the blanched spinach and stir in the full-fat coconut milk or heavy cream on a medium flame for 3-4 minutes. The sauce will thicken up as it cooks.
Squeeze some fresh lime juice and serve Indian creamed spinach curry hot with naan, rice, and onion slices.

Notes

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Variations

Protein: You can add boiled chickpeas, paneer (cottage cheese), or sauteed tofu to this dish.

With Heavy Cream: You can substitute coconut milk with heavy cream or half and half.

Frozen Spinach: If using frozen spinach, defrost it first, squeeze out the excess water, and use it. You don't need to blanch the frozen spinach.

Consistency: If the creamed spinach thickens, add a bit of water (or vegetable broth) or coconut milk to thin it as per your desired consistency.

Spices: If you don't have the dry spices mentioned in this recipe, you can replace them with curry powder instead.

Nutrition