Spinach Raita | Palak Raita | Keerai Thayir Pachadi

Quick, vibrant, and packed with flavor — this palak raita is a creamy spinach-yogurt relish you can serve as a dip, spread, or alongside rice and flatbreads. Learn how to make it with detailed step-by-step pictures!

Why You’ll Love This Palak Raita

Are you looking for a delicious, easy-to-make way to sneak more greens onto the table? Then this recipe is just for you — palak raita, or keerai thayir pachadi as we call it in Tamil, is one of those dishes that looks impressive, comes together in minutes, and works beautifully in so many ways.

I learned this recipe from my mom, who made it one day when she didn’t have enough spinach left for kootu. The moment she described it, I rushed to try it — and then kept experimenting, adding curry leaves and cilantro to make it even more flavorful.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Palak Raita
• A Versatile Base You Can Freeze
• What You’ll Need
• Tips for Perfect Palak Raita Every Time
• Dietary Notes & Serving Ideas
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Recipe notes
• More Raita Recipes You’ll Love
• 📖 Recipe
• Spinach Raita | Palak Raita | Keerai Thayir Pachadi

There’s a similar dish in Karnataka cuisine called spinach tambli or tambuli, though that version uses coconut and additional spices with a slightly different method. This is a simplified, Tamil Nadu-style take on the same idea. As many of you know, I grew up in Tamil Nadu with Karnataka roots, so my cooking is a natural blend of both.

Keerai kootu (Tamil Nadu style spinach and lentils gravy with coconut), keerai kadaiyal (spinach mash), and palak paneer are my go-to spinach recipes. Now and then, I do make a salad or pulao with spinach.

How It Comes Together

1) Blanch the greens — spinach, green chili, cilantro, and curry leaves — in hot water.

2) Blend everything into a smooth, vibrant green purée.

3) Fold in yogurt, season with salt, and finish with a hot tempering. 

That’s it — very little cooking, big flavor.

A Versatile Base You Can Freeze

One of the best things about this recipe is the purée you make along the way. It’s deeply flavorful, freezer-friendly, and endlessly useful. Make a larger batch and store it — you’ll thank yourself later.

Here are some ways to put it to work beyond this raita:

• Turn it into soup: Stir in a splash of coconut milk, heavy cream, or almond milk for a silky green soup. Even without additions, the raita itself drinks almost like a light soup.
• Build a quick curry: Toss in some corn, boiled potatoes, roasted paneer, or tofu for a simple weeknight green curry.
• Bake it into flatbreads:  Knead the purée into roti or poori dough for vibrant spinach flatbreads.
• Use it as a pasta sauce for a fun fusion twist.
• Make a refreshing drink: Thin it out with buttermilk for a savory spiced chaas.

The possibilities really are endless. Drop a comment below and let me know what you end up making with it!

Now let’s get back to the recipe. 

What You’ll Need

Baby spinach: Use fresh, tender leaves for the best color and flavor. I used a full 6oz pack. I haven’t tested this with frozen spinach, so stick to fresh for now.

Cilantro and curry leaves: Both are optional but they add wonderful depth. Just don’t overdo it — the greens should still be the star.

Green chilies: These bring the heat. Adjust based on your spice preference and the variety you’re using.

Yogurt: Store-bought or homemade both work well. Just make sure it isn’t overly sour. For a vegan version, swap in plant-based yogurt.

For the tempering: I love coconut oil here — it adds a subtle richness that pairs beautifully with the greens. Mustard seeds, split urad dal, and a pinch of asafoetida are all you need. A mustard-cumin combination or just cumin works too.

You’ll also need salt and water for blanching.

PS – The dried red chilies and chana dal in the pictures are just for color pop and are not part of the recipe.

Tips for Perfect Palak Raita Every Time

The recipe is very simple, but keep these points in mind, and you will get perfect, vibrant, and delicious palak raita every time.

1) Blanch properly – Pour hot water over the greens, cover, and let them sit for 4–5 minutes. Right after draining, rinse with ice-cold water to stop the cooking and lock in that gorgeous green color.

2) Let everything cool before blending – After the cold rinse, let the greens rest for 5–10 minutes before blending. Once blended, let the purée sit for another 5 minutes before adding yogurt. This prevents any risk of curdling. 

3) Whisk the yogurt in thoroughly – Either whisk the yogurt separately before adding, or add it directly to the purée and use a hand whisk to blend until completely smooth with no lumps.

Dietary Notes & Serving Ideas

This palak raita is vegetarian and nut-free. For a vegan version, use plant-based yogurt. For a gluten-free version, skip or use certified gluten-free asafoetida.

It keeps well in the fridge for up to 36 hours. You can freeze the purée separately, but I wouldn’t recommend freezing the finished raita.

Serving ideas: I love it as part of a South Indian thali, but it’s equally good alongside roti, tucked into a pita as a spread, paired with falafels, or spooned over a salad as a creamy green dressing.

Step-by-Step Instructions

• In a wide bowl, add spinach, curry leaves, cilantro, and green chili.

• Add approx 1 liter of hot water, cover the bowl with a lid, and let the spinach mix sit for 4-5 minutes. 

• Drain the water after 5 minutes and run it through cold water to retain the color of the spinach. Let this blanched mix sit for 10 minutes.

• Add this spinach mix to the mixer jar and add salt too.

• Puree it—no need to add any water. You can use a hand blender to puree it as well. 

• Transfer it into a serving bowl and add the yogurt. 

• Using a hand whisk, mix the yogurt and spinach puree thoroughly without any lumps.

• In a separate tempering pan, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, and asafoetida. When the mustard seeds splutter, add them to the raita, and that’s it. The spinach raita is ready. 

Recipe notes

• Adjust the salt and green chilies to taste.
• A similar raita works beautifully with amaranth greens — I’ve tested it with both red and green varieties.
• Refer to the tips section above for guidance on color retention, yogurt timing, and using the purée in other recipes.

More Raita Recipes You’ll Love

A thali feels incomplete without a raita in our house! Here are some reader favorites worth exploring:

Loved this recipe?

If you try this palak raita, please leave a comment and rate the recipe below — I’d love to hear how it turned out! For any questions, drop them in the comments and I’ll get back to you soon. Find me on Pinterest, Instagram and in my Facebook Group  for more recipe ideas, and sign up for my newsletter for weekly updates!

📖 Recipe