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Home » Side Dishes

Published: Dec 5, 2014 · Modified: Jul 20, 2020 by Sandhya Ramakrishnan · This post may contain affiliate links

Thayir Keerai Kongunadu Style | Spinach In Yogurt Base

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Thayir Keerai

For the second day of venturing into the Tamil cuisine, I chose to make a recipe from the Kongu region also called the Kongunadu. Kongu means nectar and this place is thus the land of nectar. The kongunad region comprises of Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Namakkal, Dharapuram, Nilgiris, Kangeyam, and parts of Trichy and Dindugal.

The cuisine of Kongunadu is basically a compilation of recipes from these above mentioned regions. This blog post has beautifully described the beauty of Kongunadu.  If you like this type of cusine, I strongly recommend that you try Kongu Thakkali Kuzhambu

I was very reluctant to make this keerai (greens) recipe. This has become one of our favorite since last night dinner and apart from making Keerai Milaguttal, this will be on my top list when cooking with greens. The tanginess of the yogurt along with the spices in very inviting and it tasted great with hot rice, paruppu (lentils) and ghee.

Preparation time – 10 minutes
Cooking time – 30 minutes
Difficulty level – easy

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Thayir Keerai
Ingredients to make Thayir Keerai – serves 4

  • Spinach (I used frozen cut leaf spinach) – 1 package (12 oz)
  • Onion – 1 (chopped finely)
  • Tomato – 2 (chopped finely)
  • Yogurt (Slightly sour would work great) – 1 cup (gently whisked)
  • Oil – 2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
  • Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
  • Red chilies – 3
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Ginger – ½ inch piece (finely grated)
  • Garlic – 2 cloves (minced)
  • Salt – to taste

Procedure –

  • Chop and cook the spinach in just enough water. If the spinach is chopped fine, there is no need to blend them. I ran my hand blender a couple of times just to get it all together. Do not make the spinach too mushy and creamy.
Thayir Keerai
  • In a pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chilies and the curry leaves and let them splutter.
  • Now add the chopped onions and fry it until light brown. Add the ginger and the garlic and fry for a minute more.
  • Now add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are soft.
  • Add the cooked spinach and salt needed. Mix well and let it come to a boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes to let the flavors come together.
Thayir Keerai
  • Meanwhile whisk the yogurt.
  • Remove the cooked spinach from the heat and then add the yogurt in it. Mix well and return it to heat. Let it come to gentle boil and then simmer for 5 minutes in low flame.
Thayir Keerai
  • Serve hot with rice and ghee!
Thayir Keerai
Thayir Keerai Kongunadu Style served in a bowl

Kongunadu Style Thayir Keerai | Spinach in Yogurt base

A tangy and delicious spinach along with yogurt works great as a side dish for rice or roti! The kongunad region comprises of Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Namakkal, Dharapuram, Nilgiris, Kangeyam, and parts of Trichy and Dindugal.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: dinner, Easy recipe, Kongunadu recipes, Lunch Recipes, Side Dish
Cuisine: Tamil Nadu
Diet: Low Fat, Vegan
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 102kcal
Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

  • Cooking spoon
  • Blender
  • pan

Ingredients

  • 1 package Spinach I used frozen cut leaf spinach(12 oz)
  • 1 Onion chopped finely
  • 2 Tomato chopped finely
  • 1 cup Yogurt Slightly sour would work great – 1 cup (gently whisked)
  • 2 teaspoon Oil
  • ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
  • 3 Red chilies
  • few Curry leaves
  • ½ inch piece Ginger finely grated
  • 2 cloves Garlic minced
  • to taste Salt

Instructions

  • Chop and cook the spinach in just enough water. If the spinach is chopped fine, there is no need to blend them. I ran my hand blender a couple of times just to get it all together. Do not make the spinach too mushy and creamy.
  • In a pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chilies and the curry leaves and let them splutter.
  • Now add the chopped onions and fry it until light brown. Add the ginger and the garlic and fry for a minute more.
  • Now add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are soft.
  • Add the cooked spinach and salt needed. Mix well and let it come to a boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes to let the flavors come together.
  • Meanwhile whisk the yogurt.
  • Remove the cooked spinach from the heat and then add the yogurt in it. Mix well and return it to heat. Let it come to gentle boil and then simmer for 5 minutes in low flame.
  • Serve hot with rice and ghee!

Nutrition

Calories: 102kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 702mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 7331IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mayuri Patel says

    March 03, 2022 at 7:30 pm

    5 stars
    This is an interesting recipe where you've used spinach with yogurt. Sounds so delicious. I just bought a whole big bunch of spinach today and am going to prepare spinach in yogurt for tomorrow's dinner.

    Reply

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Sandhya

I am Sandhya Ramakrishnan, author, recipe developer and photographer in this journey! 'My Cooking Journey' is all about family friendly Vegetarian and Vegan recipes from around the World with focus on Indian cuisine.

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