This flavorful and aromatic recipe for Quick and Easy Saag Bhaji {Spinach Curry} makes the perfect vegetarian meal or Indian side dish.
Serve this delicious dish alongside Tarka Dal for an Indian Meal everyone will enjoy!
I love Indian food. When we go out to a restaurant, I tend to order vegetarian dishes. I’m not sure why, but I’d rather have two vegetable side dishes with rice than any one dish. It’s my go-to order.
More often than not, I order Saag Bhaji, a comforting and flavorful spinach curry that is delicious and healthy at the same time. I would probably also have a serving of Tarka Dal.
If you aren’t familiar with Tarka Dal or want to try making your own, check out my Tarka Dal recipe.
Why This Recipe Works
- Cooking the spinach with some aromatics like onion, garlic, coriander, and garam masala builds layers of flavor.
- Cilantro adds freshness to this boldly flavored dish.
I’ve been told this spinach curry isn’t a dish you would actually find in India – much like many other foreign foods we order in restaurants, I guess.
Nevertheless, I think it makes a gorgeous vegetarian meal, served as a main dish with pilau rice, or as a side dish to an Indian curry feast.
So even though this Spinach Curry might not be found in India, you still get all the aromatic Indian flavors you’d expect from a restaurant-style curry and I guarantee you will not miss the meat at all.
How to Make Quick and Easy Saag Bhaji {Spinach Curry}:
Heat the oil & butter on medium-high heat.
Add the chopped onion and fry until it starts to soften.
Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Add the ginger and cook another minute.
Add cumin, turmeric, garam masala, and tomato paste
Stir to combine and cook another minute to release the flavors.
Slowly stir in the chicken stock.
Add by the cilantro followed by the spinach.
Cook until it wilts season to taste.
Serve and enjoy!
Erren’s Top Tips
- When buying spinach, look for fresh looking leaves of dark green color. Avoid those with yellow stains or slimy leaves.
- Watch the garlic once added to the pan. Garlic burns easily, especially when minced. If you’re worried it may brown too quickly, keep a little water handy and add a tablespoon or two before adding the spinach to the pan.
- Serve this Spinach Curry with my Vegetarian Rice Pilaf or my Saffron Rice (with or without chicken).
Recipe Variations:
- For a 100% vegetarian Spinach Curry, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Frozen spinach would work here too. Make sure it is completely thawed and squeeze out any excess water.
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Let’s Make Quick and Easy Saag Bhaji {Spinach Curry}
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¼ cup vegitable stock or chicken stock
- a good handful of fresh cilantro chopped
- 14 oz fresh spinach washed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil & butter on medium-high heat in a large, nonstick frying pan. Add the chopped onion and fry until it starts to brown.
- Add the minced garlic and cook another minute. Add the ginger and cook another minute.
- Add the cumin, turmeric, garam masala, and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Slowly stir in the stock, followed by the cilantro.
- Add the spinach cook until it wilts season to taste.
Tips + Notes
- Watch the garlic once added to the pan. Garlic burns easily, especially when minced. If you’re worried it may brown too quickly, keep a little water handy and add a tablespoon or two before adding the spinach to the pan.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published on Feb 17, 2016, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions, cooking tips, and a video in September of 2018.
Melanie says
Delicious. Tasty. Great with Coconut shrimp Curry.
Your recipes are truly divine
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you so much Melanie, I love to hear this 🙂
Kathy jackson says
An easy recipe with easy to get ingredients. Added cooked chicken to it and it was very tasty
Erren Hart says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Kathy!
Ada says
This was delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Erren Hart says
Yay! Love to hear this! 🙂
kc says
How is it vegetarian if it has chicken stock
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi, further down the post it tells you can use vegetable stock to make the dish vegetarian. I hope this helps 🙂
Wendy says
This recipe went straight into my favourites on my recipe app! So quick to make and simple, but the flavours work so well together. I only had frozen spinach, but it worked great, can’t wait to try it with fresh though. I had it with cauliflower rice that still had a bite to it and it went together really well. Thank you for the recipe I’ll be checking out more!
Erren's Kitchen says
Wow, that’s great, thank you 🙂
Pompeii says
Just made this as a side dish only used 1 teaspoon of oil and it was very good oh I also used frozen spinach really quick to make very tasty.
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m so pleased to hear this, it’s a really tasty dish and I’m glad it worked out with frozen spinach 🙂
Florence Bell says
This recipe seemed so bitter, even though I added some coconut milk, extra chicken broth and some tomato….what could I have done wrong?
Erren Hart says
Hi Florence, Some spinach is really bitter. If you want to neutralize bitterness, next time add a half teaspoon of baking powder at a time (tasting in between).
Ginger Clark says
Quick and easy and so flavorful – I will make this dish again and again – the flavors are so bright! Thank you Ereen
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Ginger 🙂
Clare says
I added a few boiled potatoes as well
Erren's Kitchen says
Delicious! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
David says
I’ve made this meal lots of times , I love it …!.
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you David 🙂