When most people think of curry, they often think of the three main types of curry that originated in Thailand, with those being red, green, and yellow curries.

However, you can “curry” just about anything you want. It’s just a matter of finding a dish that works well with the process of being curried. If you are looking for vegetarian curry dishes that work well and are quick to make, look no further than spinach curry. This healthy and unique dish relies on the healthy nature of spinach and the flavorful benefits of curry to produce a healthy and tasty dish that you won’t forget for a long time.

Spinach curry is not a name that most people know, but the dish can be found in different countries around the world. It is known under a different name in India. Other people create their own versions of spinach curry using other ingredients such as lentils or creamed spinach to create a unique flavor profile that you can’t find anywhere else.

If you are in the process of searching for the perfect vegetarian curry dish, spinach curry is the best place for you to start. However, before you can learn anything more about spinach curry, you will want to learn about what exactly it is, where it originated, and how to make it. Once you know these things, you will be able to start impressing your friends and family with this dish.

What Is Spinach Curry?

Spinach curry is a dish that you may not have heard of before, however, it is known around the world by different names. For instance, in India, this dish is known as Palak Paneer, as it traditionally includes paneer, which is an Indian cheese. In many other places, spinach curry is not served as a main dish, but rather as a side dish. Because spinach tends to cook down so much during the cooking process, serving it as a side dish helps you to save a little bit of money based on how much spinach you are using.

There are also many different variations on the recipe, based on people’s personal preferences. For example, some people prefer to add lentils to their spinach curry to help add flavor and texture.

Doing this can also help you cut down on the amount of spinach you need to use to make a filling amount of spinach curry. Lentils add a significant amount of texture to the dish, which may be important to you if you are not a fan of the way that spinach alone feels as a meal, or even as a side dish.

Another variation of spinach curry comes from combining creamed spinach into curry. This adds another layer of texture and flavoring into the curry that can make this interesting dish a bit more palatable than just a plate of spinach. This is important to note if you are trying to turn spinach curry into a main part of your meal, rather than just serving it as a side dish.

Where Does It Come From?

Considering that there are so many different variations of spinach curry that you can make, it is hard to pinpoint which version of spinach curry came first. With that being said, it might be easiest to look at a version of spinach curry that has a known history, and that is the Indian dish Palak paneer. This dish is a type of curry that utilizes the Indian cheese known as “paneer,” as well as spinach and onions, to create a curry-like dish.

It can be seasoned with anything from ginger and garlic to garam masala, chilies, and cumin. In other areas of the world, Palak paneer is not known as spinach curry, but rather as “green paneer,” due to its vibrant green color which comes from the spinach. Some people serve this dish as a soup, and it is popular during the winter. However, it can be served with bread or rice if you would rather have something to dip into the curry.

This is just one of the origins of spinach curry, as all of the various dishes that you can try will have their origins rooted somewhere. Palak paneer is one of the few spinach curry dishes that has its roots detailed and noted in a country’s culture. As you learn more about spinach curry, you will come to realize that this dish is one that has a history about as varied as the dish itself can be.

What Ingredients Does It Use?

Because of the number of variations of spinach curry that there are, there are any number of ingredients that you can put into this dish. First things first: you should start by knowing what ingredients are common in most spinach curry dishes. Obviously, there is spinach. Many dishes rely on strong seasonings, including garlic, cumin, garam masala, and onions. The ingredients you use will be dependent on the type of recipe you are working with. For example, Palak paneer uses paneer cheese, which is unique to that recipe.

Other spinach curry recipes rely on even more seasonings to ensure that the strong flavor is not lost on you. This may include coriander powder, turmeric, and even some thymol seeds. The variety of flavors used can give you a perfectly tangy side dish to complement any plate of food, and what makes it even better is that it is naturally a vegetarian dish.

Dishes that include lentils may also include some other ingredients that go alongside the flavor that lentils bring. These can include lime juice, jalapenos, coconut sugar, and red onion. These combine with the lentils to create a dish that stands apart from most other spinach curry dishes, and they help incorporate the lentils as a part of the flavor rather than just being an ingredient that adds texture.

Finally, dishes that include creamed spinach obviously include the ingredients used to cream the spinach in the first place. Often, this will simply be Greek yogurt. However, you may find that you want to use some curry powder to help the dish become “curried” as well as creamed. This take on curry can provide a creamy flavor that most curries do not offer, also helping the dish to stand out amongst the competition for spinach curry.

How Do You Make It?

How you make the spinach curry will depend greatly on the recipe that you choose to use. The way you make Palak paneer is vastly different than the way you make lentil spinach curry. The most important thing to keep in mind while using these recipes is that you should always consider purchasing more spinach than you think you will need.

When spinach cooks, it tends to cook away very quickly, leaving you with a lot less food than you started with. If you are planning to make a large portion of spinach curry, this can leave you disappointed very quickly.

Cooking the spinach curry often involves cooking the other vegetables first to ensure that they are cooked and ready to add flavor to the spinach. Doing this first will also ensure that you are able to utilize as much of your spinach as possible. From here, you can begin to add in the spinach, cooking it until you have reached the desired amount for your dish of spinach curry.