This palak raita recipe comes as a delicious variation of the standard Pakistani/Indian raita. It’s an awesome sidekick to your spicy mains. And, works great as a no-guilt-dip for your nachos, papad, and everything crunchy! Takes 10 mins to make, and requires legit no expertise whatsoever!
Growing up, Spinach was one of my nemesis, we just didn’t get along much. Until one fine day, my mom made this beautiful Spinach Raita that I now loooooove and crave. I love pairing this raita with Pulao rice, and now that I am trying to eat healthier, I like to use it as a dip for almost every snack I have.
It’s the easiest, most South Asian thing to add to your menu. Plus not really spicy (unlike our other foods).
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How is Palak raita different from regular raita?
So the regular raita that you’ve probably seen served with Biryani or pulao is simply beaten yogurt with a couple of spices and vegetables sometimes. This spinach raita is a little more bougie since it has a layer of “Tarka” or tempered spices that sit on top of it. A tarka consists of several whole spices fried in oil and simply poured onto a dish ready to serve. Several Pakistani yogurt-based recipes use Tarka or “baghaar” to elevate the taste.
Ingredients and Substitutions
The ingredients for my palak raita are super basic, and you probably have them in your pantry right now.
- Yogurt – Full-fat yogurt is ideal for any raita recipe for its rich taste. But feel free to substitute with low-fat options or even non-dairy options if that’s your thing.
- Spinach – Most leafy spinach varieties can be used here. Just remove the stems if they are too thick. You can also use pre-frozen or blanched spinach for this recipe.
- Oil – I love the flavor of olive oil with this recipe, although any neutral oil or ghee can be used.
- Whole spices – Cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and whole dried red chilies. There aren’t any alternatives here, but you can use fresh green chilies instead if you are out of dried ones
- Red chili powder – Use any red chili powder that you have, paprika will work too.
- Garlic – Freshly chopped garlic works here. I’ve found the taste of garlic paste a little bitter for this recipe.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Variations
- Make it Spicy – You can add more red chili powder or Thai green chilies to the Tarka to make your yogurt spicier!
- Add vegetables – Try adding shredded zucchini or eggplant to the spinach to increase the nutritional value of the raita. Or really any other vegetable you like
- Crunch – You can add brown fried onions on top of the raita to add a layer of crunch to it.
- Finishing Spices – Add chat masala or a dash of hot sauce on top of the raita.
How to make Palak raita
The recipe is overall super simple. I’ve put together a pictorial to lay out the easy steps. It requires 3 simple things, beaten yogurt, cooked spinach, and finishing tarka.
STEP 1 – Beat yogurt and water to make a smooth base.
STEP 2 – In a skillet, add spinach and spices with a little oil and saute at medium heat.
STEP 3 – Saute for 2 to 3 mins or until all the water from the spinach has evaporated.
STEP 4 – Add the cooked spinach to your yogurt.
STEP 5- You can mix the spinach in, or leave it in little dollops.
STEP 6 – Prepare Tarka in the skillet by adding garlic, button red chili, cumin, and mustard seeds in oil.
STEP 7 – Fry the spices until the garlic turns golden. Turn off the heat and add red chili powder.
STEP 8 – Immediately pour the Tarka on the yogurt and swirl around a little.
Serve the raita as in along with your mains or nachos. The sizzling sound that you get when the oil hits the yogurt, is what I live for people!! And you are done! It is THAT easy!
Expert Tips
- Make sure to wash your spinach properly with water. The best way is to dunk it in a bowl of cold water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then pick up the leaves and you will see all the dirt settle on the bottom of the bowl. Now you can simply rinse the spinach and start chopping
- Remove the stems of the spinach if they are too thick. And remove any wilted parts of the leaves.
Yes! You can use frozen, or blanched spinach for this recipe. Just saute it in the pan for 2 mins to warm it up and get rid of any excess moisture. Then add to your yogurt according to the recipe. If you are spinach is PRE-SEASONED, then hold on to the salt and only add at the end if you need to.
Every 2 cups of fresh spinach = 3 Tablespoon of blanched spinach
So the name “raita” means beaten yogurt by definition. But, if you are skipping dairy for health reasons, there are some things you can do. You can use silken tofu instead, which is just blended tofu and water. You can also attempt to make your yogurt using coconut milk and probiotics, although I haven’t attempted to make that.
Any raita with tarka will last for about a week in the fridge easily, kept in an airtight container.
What can palak raita be paired with?
- Keema bhara paratha
- Aloo ka paratha
- Use as a dip for pita bread, nachos, or papad.
- Serve alongside roasted chicken like Lahori Chargha or Chicken Sajji
More Recipes like this
Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!
Spinach Yogurt Dip (Palak Raita)
Ingredients
FOR YOGURT SAUCE
- 1 cup yogurt
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
FOR TARKA (TEMPERING)
- 6 to 7 tbsp oil or ghee (any that you like)
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds saabit zeera
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds rye dana
- 3 to 4 whole red chilies
- 1/4 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder (or paprika)
Instructions
- In your serving bowl, whisk yogurt with water until smooth.
- In a small skillet, add a tablespoon oil along with spinach, salt, black pepper powder and red chili flakes. Cook spinach in its own water at low to medium heat.
- When the water from the spinach dries, turn off the heat and add the spinach to the yogurt and small dollops. You can mix it in the yogurt or leave it as is.
- In the same skillet, add oil, garlic, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, whole red chilies and. Fry the spices in the oil at medium heat, till the garlic turns golden.
- Turn off the heat, and add red chilli powder. Let the powder sizzle in the hot oil.
- Pour the hot oil onto the spinach yogurt directly. Stir slightly and serve with rice or paratha.
Notes
- You can add more water to the yogurt if you’d like a thinner consistency.
- You can use pre-blanched spinach for this recipe too. Just season it with the spices mentioned.
- The yogurt sauce can be eaten directly and tastes best at room temperature.
- This palak raita can be stored in the fridge for about a week. Store in an airtight container.
Samir says
nice
Maurice says
This one’s my personal favorite.
It’s Easy ,Yummy and Quick.
Also not forgetting that this one’s has health benefits as well.
Wajiha says
oh totally! plus its a lil unconventional. Most people go for “baingan ka raita” Eggplant raita when it comes to adding veggies to their yogurt