• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Simple Sumptuous Cooking
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • My Cookbooks
  • Privacy Policy
  • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Recipes
    • My Cookbooks
    • Privacy Policy
    • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Karnataka Cuisine

    Spicy Spinach Quinoa

    Published: June 2, 2016 · Modified: March 23, 2019 by Uma Raghupathi · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 37 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Card

    I have always been looking for the best spice combination that brings the best from Quinoa and also has the traditional taste from Indian cuisine. Spinach Quinoa does just that!

    A bowl of food on a plate, with Indian cuisine and Spice this recipe

    If you have never tried Quinoa in Indian cuisine, here's a wonderful recipe that you will love Spicy Spinach Quinoa. It is one of my best fusion recipes that I have tried so far. Quinoa is not common in Asian or Indian cuisine, but the nutritional benefits are so much better compared to white rice or brown rice.

    A bowl of food on a table, with Quinoa and Spinach

    The dry texture from cooked Quinoa is typically good for salads. So I started looking for ways to make it creamier. So I tried a blend of spinach, tomato, and cashews to make it creamy. More than the choice of vegetables it is the spice combination of cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, and ginger that gives it an irresistible aroma.

    A bowl of food on a table

    I used a teaspoon of chili powder and green chilies to suit my taste (7, on a scale of 1 to 10). You can try changing it a little to suit your preference. The dish hardly needs any prep time.

    So you can be done in 30 minutes or less 😉

    Step by step directions

    A bunch of different types of food, with Quinoa and Spinach
    • Cook the quinoa with 2 cups of water.
    • Meanwhile, blanch the spinach and blend with tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon, chilies, cashews, and about half a cup of water. Blend well and keep aside.
    • Place a pan over medium heat. Saute the cumin seeds in a teaspoon of coconut oil. After a few seconds, add cloves and continue to saute for a few seconds.
    • Add onions and continue to saute until they are transparent.
    • Add cauliflower florets, turmeric powder, chili powder, and crushed black pepper. Place a cover and let cook for 5-10 minutes.
    • When the vegetables appear cooked, add in the spinach blend and stir well. Add salt to taste.
    • When it starts to boil, add the cooked quinoa and stir well. Cover the lid for 5 minutes and let the quinoa blend with the gravy.

    Check out my other recipes

    • Palak Rice - Instant Pot Spinach Rice
    • Vegan Spinach Soup
    • Aloo Palak (Instant Pot Potato Spinach Curry)
    • Chow Chow Kootu - Chayote Kootu
    • Lemon Quinoa Indian Style - Instant Pot

    📖 Recipe

    A bowl of spinach quinoa and with glass of butter milk

    Spicy Spinach Quinoa

    Uma Raghupathi
    I have always been looking for the best spice combination that brings the best from Quinoa and also has the traditional taste from Indian cuisine. Spinach Quinoa does just that!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Share by Email
    Prep Time:5 minutes mins
    Cook Time:30 minutes mins
    Total Time:35 minutes mins
    Course :Main Course, Side Dish
    Cuisine :Indian
    Diet :Vegan
    Difficulty :Easy
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 197 kcal

    Process Shot

    Check above for step-by-step pictures (most of my recipes include pictures)

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup quinoa
    • ½ cup spinach
    • 1 cup cauliflower florets
    • ½ cup chopped onions
    • Half tomatoes chopped
    • 2 green chilies chopped
    • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
    • 3-4 small piece cinnamon
    • 3 cloves
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
    • 5-6 cashews - optional
    • 2 teaspoon coconut oil
    • Salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Cook the quinoa with 2 cups of water.
    • Meanwhile, blanch the spinach and blend with tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon, chilies, cashews and about half cup water. Blend well and keep aside.
    • Place a pan over medium heat. Saute the cumin seeds in a teaspoon of coconut oil. After few seconds, add cloves and continue to saute for few seconds.
    • Add onions and continue to saute until they are transparent.
    • Add cauliflower florets, turmeric powder, chili powder, and crushed black pepper. Place a cover and let cook for 5-10 minutes.
    • When the vegetables appear cooked, add in the spinach blend and stir well. Add salt to taste.
    • When it starts to boil, add the cooked quinoa and stir well. Cover the lid for 5 minutes and let the quinoa blend with the gravy.

    YOUR OWN NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2g | Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 23mg | Potassium: 379mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 500IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 3mg

    Nutritional information is an estimation only.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @simplesumptuouscooking or tag #simplesumptuouscooking!

    Now spinach quinoa is ready to serve. Serve hot with a cold glass of plain or mango lassi! 🙂

    A bowl of noodles with sauce, with Quinoa and Spinach

    More Related Recipes

    • Spicy Channa Quinoa
    • Nimbu Mirch Ka Achar - Lemon Chili Pickle
    • A plate of masala curry is on the table.
      Brinjal Masala Curry | Eggplant Curry
    • A bowl of sambar on a plate along with rice and stirfry.
      Green Beans Sambar - Udupi Koddel
    7 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Lucie @WIN-WIN FOOD

      June 10, 2016 at 9:06 pm

      I would never have thought of using quinoa when cooking Indian. What a brilliant idea!

      Reply
    2. Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health

      June 09, 2016 at 11:22 am

      never thought of combining these two but sounds great for a quick side 🙂

      Reply
      • Uma Raghupathi

        June 09, 2016 at 3:01 pm

        My new experiment and turned out very good:) a Thank you Dixya!

        Reply
    3. Kelly Page (@TastingPage)

      June 09, 2016 at 12:11 am

      Love all of the bold flavors in this dish. I feel like I could convince my on the fence quinoa eaters to eat this!

      Reply
      • Uma Raghupathi

        June 09, 2016 at 3:45 am

        Thank you Kelly!

        Reply
    4. Anjali @ Vegetarian Gastronomy

      June 08, 2016 at 5:21 pm

      Yum Uma! Love spinach and the use of quinoa in this! I make something similar, but need to try your version! Perfect easy and quick dinner!

      Reply
      • Uma Raghupathi

        June 08, 2016 at 7:36 pm

        Thanks Anjali! Definitely easy and quick meal 🙂

        Reply
    5. Molly Kumar

      June 08, 2016 at 4:45 am

      Spicy Spinach Quinoa sounds amazing. I love having quinoa for dinner and will try your recipe soon.

      Reply
      • Uma Raghupathi

        June 08, 2016 at 1:12 pm

        Thank you Molly ?

        Reply
    6. Mel @ avirtualvegan.com

      June 08, 2016 at 4:10 am

      What a great way to pack the flavour into quinoa. It sounds delicious, especially with a mango lassi!

      Reply
      • Uma Raghupathi

        June 08, 2016 at 1:12 pm

        Thank you Mel!

        Reply
    7. Donna

      June 08, 2016 at 3:24 am

      Ooh yum, I have never tried quinoa in an Indian dish before, but now I have to - this sounds amazing!!

      Reply
      • Uma Raghupathi

        June 08, 2016 at 4:08 am

        Thank you Donna! Hope you will like it!

        Reply
    8. Linda @ Veganosity

      June 07, 2016 at 1:26 pm

      Spinach, Spice, and quinoa. Say no more, I love it!

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Primary Sidebar

    A lady Author of the blog standing near the plants.

    About Uma

    Namasthe, I'm Uma. I'm the cook, writer, and photographer behind Simple Sumptuous Cooking. I'm a mother of two girls.

    I aim to show you that you can create delicious, healthy meals with simple, affordable ingredients. More about me

    New e-book

    Ebook of vegan sir fryer recipes.
    E-book - Vegan Air Fryer Recipes

    Popular Recipes

    • A bowl is with tofu spinach curry.
      Easy Tofu Curry Without Coconut Milk
    • A bowl of Bengali masoor dal is on the table and topped with cilantro.
      Bengali Masoor Dal Recipe
    • chapati side dishes are filled with different bowls on the table
      43 Chapathi Side Dish Recipes
    • A white cup is filled with lemongrass tea and is on the table
      Lemongrass Tea Recipe
    • A bowl of food on a plate, with Millet and Upma
      Proso Millet Upma - Instant Pot & Stove Top
    • A plate is with cubed tofu.
      How To Tell If Tofu Is Bad
    • A bowl of instant pot khichdi is on the table with spoon inserted.
      Instant Pot Khichdi
    • A plate of vegetable poha is on the wooden board and a spoon is inserted.
      Vegetable Poha Recipe

    Popular Fall Dishes

    • A bowl is full of avarekalu curry.
      Avarekalu Sagu Recipe (Hyacinth Beans Curry)
    • A bowl of vegan malai kofta curry is on the plate with chapati.
      Best Vegan Malai Kofta Curry (Air Fryer)
    • A bowl of barley mushroom risotto is on the table.
      Instant Pot Vegan Barley Risotto With Mushrooms
    • Zucchini soup is in a bowl topped with parsley.
      Vegan Zucchini Soup In Instant Pot
    • A bowl of vegan pumpkin flavored pasta is on the table.
      How To Make Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
    • A blender is filled with soaked nuts.
      Best Blender for Indian Cooking (The Ultimate Guide)
    • A bowl of carrot halwa is with a spoon inserted.
      Easy Gajar Halwa In Instant Pot (Vegan Carrot Pudding)
    • A bowl of kale curry is on the table with a cloth by the side.
      Kale Curry Recipe Indian

    Must Try Recipes

    • Air fryer roasted turnips is inside the air fryer basket.
      Air Fryer Turnips
    • A bowl of spinach corn curry is on the table with a spoon.
      Palak Corn (Spinach Corn Curry)
    • A strainer is filled with cooked sorghum on the table
      How To Cook Sorghum
    • A bowl of cauliflower sabzi is on the white table
      Cauliflower Sabzi
    • A copper bowl is with potato kurma and placed it on the table.
      Potato Kurma For Chapathi, Biryani, Poori
    • A bowl of barley soup is on the table with golden spoon.
      Instant Pot Vegetable Barley Soup

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy
    • Contact
    • Tip Jar

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    More recipes

    • Air Fryer Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Soup Recipes

    AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES.

    COPYRIGHT © 2022 - 2023 SIMPLE SUMPTUOUS COOKING

    7 shares