Now that my kids are getting older, they are more vocal about the foods they do not want to see on the weekly dinner menu. One of the veggies they wanted booted off the menu was spinach. With little success - I tried spinach salads mixed with their favorite protein and veggies; I tried serving it in sandwiches and burgers; even tried sautéing the spinach. No matter how I served the kids spinach they could not get past the earthy flavors often found in the veggie.
So, I went to my roots and tried spinach with Indian flavors and spices. Spinach curry is a saag like dish that is found in many Indian restaurants. Saag is usually made with spinach, though most other leafy green would work, and is mixed with spices. This spinach curry dish is cooked in a base of tomato, onion, garlic and a ton of spices. This curry is a dish that is packed with a ton of flavor. It is also packed with protein, iron, vitamins and minerals - making it a healthy choice for the kiddos and the adults!
This spinach curry is also easy to make. I buy spinach from the salad aisles. The salad spinach packs generally require minimal prep because the veggies are usually already pre-cleaned and there is nearly no chopping required. The only chopping involved in this dish is with the tomatoes, shallots, and garlic; however, the quantities are so small that the chopping is minimal at best. And the spices are ones used in most Indian dishes, which means that if you cook Indian flavors on a regular basis, you are probably going to have these spices readily available.
This dish can be eaten with rice, roti, or even on toast. My younger child likes it with rice, while my older one will only eat it on toast. And when there is leftover spinach, it is great for toasties the next day. This spinach curry is now the only way my kids will eat spinach. While spinach is still not their favorite vegetable, they do not dislike it like they did before – and for me that is a win!
If you are anti-spinach, give this recipe a try and see if it helps make you a spinach believer.
Spinach curry on toast
Recipe
Yield: 4 servings
Time: Prep: 20 min; Cook: 20 min
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 11 oz of baby spinach
- ¼ cup of water
- One small to medium shallot
- 1 campari tomato
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon of Kashmiri red chili powder (or measure to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (or measure to taste)
Directions
Prep
- Clean the spinach
- Finely chop the garlic
- Finely chop the shallots
- Cut tomatoes
- Measure out all the spices
Cook
- Add the spinach and the ¼ cup of water to a pot and wilt down, about ten minutes
- Pull the pot off the stove and let the spinach cool for about 10 minutes
- Use a hand-blender to blend down the spinach in the pot, just enough to remove the large chunks and stringiness
- Place the blended spinach in a bowl and set aside
- Take the same pot, add the olive oil and heat on medium to low
- Once the oil is heated add the garlic and cook until it starts to turn brown
- Then add the shallots and cook until translucent
- Next add the cut tomato, spices, and salt
- Mix until incorporated and cook low for about 10 minutes
- Mash all the ingredients in the pot into a paste like consistency
- Add the spinach and mix until incorporated
- Turn the stove off and let it sit covered for about 10 minutes
Serve
- Serve with rice, roti or on toast
KEYWORDS: spinach, spinach curry, spinach with Indian spices, easy weeknight spinach dish, spinach on toast, spinach with rice