how to cook spinach

While the classic way of making this dish is to use the tender leaves of the Dasheen (taro) plant, the end result of using baby spinach as I’m about to share, is just as tasty. Whether it’s served with Dhal and Rice or alongside hot Sada Roti, bhagi remains one of my favorite vegetarian dishes. Yes, this version contains pieces of salted Cod (fish), but you can easily omit it and have a fully vegan dish.

You’ll Need…

1 1/2 tablespoon Olive oil
1 1/2 cup prepared salted Cod
1 medium onion (sliced)
6-8 cloves garlic (smashed)
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 Bird’s Eye Peppers (rough chopped)
2 lbs baby spinach (washed/drained)
salt (see below)
1 medium tomato (diced)

Notes. Add 1-2 tablespoons of coconut cream for a lovely flavor and if you’re someone who gets an itch at the back of your throat from eating spinach, add the juice of 1/2 a lemon juice when you turn off the stove. May I recommend that you follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is discussed there. If making this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your gluten free dietary requirements. I didn’t add any salt to the dish as the remnants of salt from the salted Cod was enough to season things for me.

May I recommend that you buy boned (boneless) salted cod or any of your fav salted fish and use the video above to learn how to prepare it for use. Essentially you’ll have to remove the salt it was cured in and in the process, rehydrate it a bit so it’s more meaty and tender.

Heat the olive oil in a wide pan on a medium flame, then add the prepared salted Cod bits, along with the onion, garlic, hot pepper (I used Bird’s Eye but you may use our fav and in the amount you can tolerate) and black pepper. Turn the heat to low and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Turn the heat back to medium and start adding the washed/drained spinach to the pot and stir. If you wanted you could give the spinach a rough chop. It will seem like a lot, but it will wilt as it cooks. Keep adding in batches and stir.

In a few minutes it will all wilt and fit, you’ll also notice that it will spring a lot of liquid. That’s normal.

Add the diced tomato and continue cooking on a medium/low flame with the pot uncovered.

At this point you can add the coconut cream if you decide to rock that tip for additional flavor.

About twenty minutes later the liquid should all be gone, turn the heat up a bit to burn off any that’s remaining. Taste for salt and adjust to your liking at this point as well.

Finish with the lemon juice mentioned in the notes above, if you wish. At the start of the post I mentioned how I enjoy this dish, what I failed to say was that you must also have a side of Lime or Lemon Peppersauce to really feel like you’re back in the Caribbean enjoying this dish.

Poi Bhagi aka Malabar Spinach Recipe.

May 27, 2025October 11, 20231 Comment

Here’s another delicious vegan / vegetarian recipe which I can’t believe I’ve not shared with you all yet. Maybe is due to the fact that I didn’t know much about this dish growing up in the Caribbean, as the choice for making bhagi (spinach dish) was always Chorai (aka Jamaican Callaloo), Dasheen Bush (tender leaves of the dasheen or taro plant) and Pak Choi. The odd time my aunt would put Malabar Spinach in her Dhal, so I that was my real introduction to this leafy green.

You’ll Need…

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (sliced)
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
1 Pimento pepper aka seasoning pepper (sliced)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (geera)
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 lb Malabar spinach
1/2 teaspoon salt

Notes! Please follow along with the aid of the video below as some tips may not be in this post. Especially how I explain how to trim and use the Malabar Spinach. Should you be doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements.

Wash, trim and drain the Malabar Spinach (we say Poi Bhagi in Trinidad and Tobago). As explained in the video the bigger leaves I ripped into smaller pieces and the tender stems/vine I cut smaller and used in the dish.

In a saucepan on a medium flame add the olive oil, then the sliced onion and garlic. Give it a stir then add the cumin (geera) seeds and sliced Pimento pepper. This is NOT a hot pepper, however you may add any spicy pepper you like and in the amounts you can tolerate. Turn the heat to low and cook for 3 minutes.

It’s then time to add the sorfran (Turmeric) and stir well.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes on low. Then turn the heat up to medium and add the prepared Malabar Spinach. It will pile up, but as it cooks it will wilt.

As it cooks down (be sure to stir well) add the diced tomato to the pan.

Top with the salt. Should you want to add a tablespoon or 2 of coconut cream, now would be the time to do so. Once it comes to a boil (yes natural juices will sprout), reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.

At this point the stems should be tender, if not cook a little longer. To personalize the dish, taste and adjust the salt if necessary and you decide if you want a slight sauce or gravy. I didn’t so I turned the heat up and cooked out that liquid until dry.

My two fav ways to enjoy this lovey vegan dish is on top hot steaming rice or as a side with Sada Roti. You’d basically treat this as you would any Spinach or Bhagi dish.

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Simple Caribbean Coconut Spinach.

October 21, 2017October 21, 20172 Comments

While we didn’t have ‘spinach’ readily available on the islands when I was growing up, mom did her thing with dasheen bush (leaves), chorai (Jamaican callaloo) , pak choi and other ‘greens’. After moving to Canada and not being able to find that stuff I grew up eating on the islands, spinach quickly became my friend. I’ve confessed before that I have a definite weakness for any and all greens, so this is something I cook on the regular.

You’ll Need…

1 lb baby spinach
2 cloves garlic (diced fine)
2 scallions (chopped)
1 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon salt (adjust)
1 bird’s eye pepper (optional)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup coconut milk
pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Wash and drain the spinach. (feel free to use a salad spinner if you have one)

Heat the coconut oil (feel free to use any oil you like) on a low flame in a wide pan, then add the garlic, scallions and black pepper. With your heat on LOW, cook for 3 minutes (don’t burn the garlic please) then add the Bird’s Eye pepper – whole.

You can start adding the washed baby spinach at this point.. it will seem like a lot at first, but it will wilt down quickly. After all the spinach is added, top with the salt and freshly grated nutmeg and turn the heat to med/high. Do NOT cover the pan. Stir well, then add the coconut milk.

As it comes to a boil, stir well and don’t cover the pan or it will spring too much liquid. Now here’s where you’ll personalize this dish. Check for salt and adjust accordingly and cook to the texture you like. I like all the liquid GONE, so I cooked it for about 7-10 minutes. Don’t break the pepper, unless you want the raw heat.

As I turn the heat off I like to squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice.. this helps to prevent the sort of itch one can get at the back of your tongue when you eat spinach or other greens. A quick and tasty vegan sidedish, you and your family will crave after having it.

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Seafood

Caribbean Spinach With Shrimp Recipe.

May 18, 2013May 18, 20135 Comments

Today we’ll be using two of my favorite ingredients in a combination similar to how our mom would do bhaji (dasheen bush) and salted fish (salt cod) when we were kids. With a little heat from scotch bonnet peppers and with a wicked garlic/onion base, it will be outstanding. And very quick to put together.

You’ll need…

1 med onion
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch spinach
2 cloves garlic
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup pre-cooked shrimp.

Note: You can leave out the scotch bonnet pepper if you’re concerned about the heat (it’s minimal) and do try to get tiny pre-cooked shrimp as they tend to be “sweeter” as we say in the Caribbean.

This is a very quick recipe as spinach cooks really fast and the shrimp is already pre-cooked.

Heat the oil on a medium flame and add the diced onion and garlic. Turn the heat down to low and let it cook (soften) for about 3-4 minutes.

Wash and drain the spinach, turn up the heat to medium high and add the washed spinach. Top with the black pepper, scotch bonnet pepper and salt. Add the shrimp (I would recommend giving them a rinse in cool water and drain before adding to the pot) and give it a good stir. Do not cover the pan (you don’t want to create any additional moisture). It will quickly start to wilt and darken in colour.

Here is where you’ll personalize it a bit. When it’s cooked to your liking (about 3-4 minutes for me) turn off the stove. Remember to taste for salt and adjust accordingly.

Note: The spinach will naturally release liquid, so you may have to turn up the heat on your stove to burn that off quickly and not over-cook the spinach.

There’s enough here for 3-4 people as a side dish, so feel free to add more spinach if you’re cooking for a bigger party. Simply adjust the salt! If you can’t source spinach, Jamaican callaloo (or chorai bhaji) would be a good substitute.. just cook longer to soften.

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Vegetarian

Dasheen Bush Bhaji With Okra And Coconut Milk.

March 5, 2012February 8, 201221 Comments

After the video shoot last week, we had some dasheen bush (leaves of the dasheen plant) left over so I decided to bring it home with me to share this dasheen bush bhaji recipe with you all. I was one of those strange kids who loved any sort of bhaji (Spinach) dish our mom would make for us as kids. Chorai (Jamaican callaloo), pak choi and lovely dasheen bush, especially if she added salted meats and coconut milk. Today I’ve added swiss chard, collard greens and north American style spinach to my diet.. I even plant the stuff in the little kitchen garden we have in the back yard every spring.

Traditionally this dasheen bush bhaji recipe is made without the coconut milk and okra, but I love that level of flavor you get by cooking with coconut milk so I just had to include it and the okra was left over from a soup I made a few days back, so I decided to include them. Moms would be proud that I didn’t waste them.

You’ll Need…

1 bundle of dasheen bush leaves (see note below)
12 small okras
1/2 hot pepper (Scotch bonnet or habanero)
4 cloves garlic
3/4 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tomato (optional)
1/2 large onion
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (substitute with water)

Note: When shopping for dasheen bush leaves, ask your vendor for baby leaves (more tender) if you can and if you’re wondering… a bundle is about 15 leaves (with stems). I used coconut milk in my recipe, but you can water if you don’t have coconut milk.

Before we can getting cooking this tasty bhaji dish, we need to prep everything. Slice the garlic very thin, chop the onion, tomato and hot pepper (remember to discard the seeds of the pepper if you don’t want that killer heat) and set aside.

Give the okra a rinse under cool water and trim off the stem and end tip and discard. Then cut each okra into 1 cm pieces (rough chop) and set aside.

You may have to refer to the video at the bottom of this recipe to see how I prepared the dasheen bush leaves as it’s a bit hard to explain and I may end up confusing you. All you’re doing is removing the stems by pulling on it while having a good grip on the leaf itself. A sort of string should pull away when you do… that is normal. Remember to wash each leaf and don’t discard the stems as they can be used as well. After you’ve trimmed each leaf, take about 5 and form into a bundle, with the part where the stems were attached at the top (again, see video please). Trim off that area and discard. Then with a tight roll, start cutting thin slices to sort of shred the dasheen bush leaves. Place the shredded leaves into a colander or bowl and rinse again.

Let’s now get cracking with cooking this bhaji… On high heat, in a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the slices of garlic, but turn down the heat a bit so we don’t burn the slices of garlic. The idea is to cook it for a couple minutes so we can infuse the oil with that rich garlic flavor.

When the edges of the garlic starts to go golden, turn the heat back up to med/high and start adding the shredded dasheen bush. It will pile up and you wonder if you pot is big enough. Fear not… it will wilt down. Give it a good stir then add the salt, pepper, onion, okra and tomato. Give that a good stir, then add the coconut milk to the pot. Bring that up to a boil, then reduce to a very gentle simmer. Allow this to cook for about 35-40 minutes with the pot covered. Be sure to stir every 5-7 minutes.

For some reason or the other I find that the dasheen bush we get here in Ontario (imported of course) takes a bit longer to cook, so I had to cook it for the full 40 minutes. The idea is to get the dasheen bush to melt away and form a thick (especially with the addition of the okra) consistency. After 40 minutes I still had a bit of liquid in the pot, so I removed the lid, turned up the heat and cooked it for a further 5 minutes. Move the spoon around the bottom of the pot and you should see it dry… it may sick, so keep stirring.

One of my favorite ways to have dasheen bush bhaji was with cassava dumplings but it also goes well with roti, rice and bread if that’s all you have. A wonderful creamy vegetarian dish, dasheen bush bhaji will surely excite your taste buds.

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Vegetarian

Making bhaji with tender baby spinach and coconut cream.

December 7, 2016January 30, 201036 Comments

One of my favorite side dishes to eat with sada roti as a kid growing up on the islands was dasheen bush bhaji. But living in North America in the early years meant that we had to improvise in the ingredients we used in many of our normal dishes. Dasheen bush (leaves form the dasheen plant) was not readily available, we started using any other type of “greens” we could find. Like spinach and swiss chard to fill the need for some traditional food. Over the years things have changed a bit and we can now get dahseen bush and many of the other ingredients we couldn’t before. However they’re usually quite expensive and the quality lacks a bit. The long voyage from the Caribbean and the Far East takes it’s toll on the fruits and vegetables (even though there’s overnight shipping).

Here’s my version of bhaji made with baby spinach and cooked gently in coconut cream.

You’ll Need…

11 oz baby spinach (pre washed)
1 medium onion sliced thin
3 cloves garlic sliced
1/4 hot pepper (optional) I used habanero
dash of black pepper
salt to taste (I used a little less than 1/4 teaspoon)
3 tablespoon olive oil (I like using extra virgin – love the additional flavour)
1 can coconut milk (5.6 fl oz)

Even though I purchased the pre-washed spinach (please get baby spinach for best results) I still wash it before cooking. Blame our mom for that.. she believes in washing just about everything. Then in a wide sauce pan heat the olive oil on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the sliced garlic and allow to cook for a few minutes to infuse the oil with the flavours of the garlic.

bhaji recipe

spincah cooked in coconut

how to cook spinach

If you look closely at the edges of the garlic you’ll notice that it’s starting to go golden in color, this is a good indication that it’s time to add the spinach. Since we washed the spinach, make sure to drain it well before adding to the pan with the hot oil and garlic. At first you’ll doubt that the entire batch of spinach will fit in the pan, but as it wilts… everything will fit. Just keep adding as needed.

trini bhaji recipe

how to cok bhaji

The next step is to add the black pepper, sliced onion, hot pepper and salt. As mentioned I used a little less than 1/4 teaspoon of salt, so I suggest you add a similar amount and at the end add additional if needed. TIP BTW, if you have a heavy hand and add more salt than necessary, feel free to add a sliced tomato to the pot to try and diffuse some of that salty taste. I then pour in the coconut milk into the pan, cover, turn down the heat to low and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. You’ll notice that the spinach released a lot of it’s own liquid. No worries.. we’ll burn all that off later.

caribbean spinach

how to cook trinidad bhaji

bhaji from trinidad

After 20 minutes cooking with the cover on the pan, you’ll notice that there’s still a bit of liquid left in the pot. After-all we added coconut milk as well to the natural juices of the spinach itself. Remove the cover and turn the heat up to medium/high to cook off all that liquid. Keep a close eye.. if you notice the spinach starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, turn down the heat. It must cook off the liquid evenly.

trinidad bhaji recipe

bhaji with coconut

Note: I like my spinach cooked as we do with dasheen bush bhaji.. melted to a sort of smooth paste. But if you prefer, you can cook this much faster with the lid off the pan for about 7-10 minutes (instead of 20) or until the liquid (coconut) milk dries off. On a higher heat setting. This way you’ll have a finished dish with more texture.

As the liquid dries off, you’re done. It will look a bit mushy, but trust me.. this is packed with flavour and healthy goodness.

I was cooking stew chicken with rice for our daughters, so I added the spinach bhaji to my plate. Still trying to get them to eat bhaji.

spinach recipe