This Indian spinach salad is loaded with black lentils, roasted cauliflower, and bold flavor from a crunchy tempered seed dressing-fresh, hearty, and incredibly satisfying.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.~ Dalai Lama
This Indian Spinach Salad is fresh, vibrant, and deeply satisfying, with layers of bold flavor, texture, and nourishing ingredients- hands down, one of my favorite spinach salad recipes! Roasted cauliflower and earthy black lentils make it hearty enough for a meal, while the Tempered Seed Dressing brings everything to life with caramelized shallots, toasted cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds. Rich, crunchy, and full of warming flavor, it's delicious on its own or served alongside your favorite Indian dishes with toasty naan.
Spinach Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Cauliflower - Adds hearty texture and nutty flavor, becoming lightly caramelized and tender when roasted.
- Baby spinach - Forms the fresh, tender base of the salad and wilts slightly from the warm vegetables and spices.
- Lentils - Add hearty protein, texture, and earthy flavor, making the salad more satisfying. Chickpeas can also be used.
- Radishes - Bring peppery crunch and vibrant color that balance the earthy spices and lentils.
- Olive oil or Avocado oil - Used for roasting and sautéing, adding richness while helping the vegetables caramelize beautifully.
- Salt and pepper - Enhance the flavors and balance the warm spices throughout the salad.
- Shallots - Add delicate sweetness and savory depth as they soften and lightly caramelize.
- Fresh ginger - Brings warmth and brightness that pairs beautifully with the spices and lime.
- Cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, black pepper, and cayenne - A fragrant blend of warming spices that gives the salad bold, layered flavor with a gentle touch of heat.
- Tamarind paste - Adds tangy depth and subtle sweetness, balancing the earthy lentils and roasted vegetables. Lime can be substituted for a brighter flavor.
- Cilantro - Adds freshness and herbal brightness to lighten the warm, earthy flavors.
- Lime juice - Wakes up the entire salad with fresh acidity and balance.
How to make Indian Spinach Salad
Cook the lentils and roast the veggies. Cut the cauliflower and radishes into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated oven at 450F for 15-20 minutes. Simmer lentils in salted water until tender.
Make the tempered seed dressing. Slice the shallot, mince the ginger and get your seeds ready.
Sauté the shallots. Add in fresh ginger and salt and scoot to the side of the pan. Temper the seeds in oil until they are toasted- they will start popping. Combine shallot and seeds together, adding tamarind paste and seasonings.
Assemble the spinach salad. In your serving bowl, toss together spinach and cilantro with oil, a few shakes of salt and pepper, and a squeeze of about half of a lime.
Dress and assemble. Spoon the Tempered Seed Dressing over the greens. It is ok if it is still slightly warm, wilting the spinach a bit. I find it best to keep it just a touch warmer than room temperature. Layer lentils, roasted cauliflower, and radishes, top with toasted pistachio nuts. Serve immediately.
Serving suggestions
This would be delicious paired with homemade Naan bread or this Grilled Naan Bread with Indian Garlic Scape Chutney.
Or serve with an Indian main dish like Indian Butter Chicken, Lamb Meatballs, Indian Shepherds Pie or these Vegan Lentil Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce!
Storage
Leftovers keep best with the dressing kept separate, up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Gently rewarm the dressing before drizzling.
More Favorite Spinach Salad Recipes
- Strawberry and Spinach Salad
- Grilled Chicken Salad with Spinach and Mushrooms
- Blueberry Spinach Salad
- Indian Carrot Salad
Enjoy the spinach salad recipe, and please let us know what you think in the comments below! xoxo ~Tonia
Print
Indian Spinach Salad
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: dinner idea, easy side dish, healthy dinner, Main, salad, vegan
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Gluten Free, Gluten-Free, high fiber, Low-Carb, Vegan, Vegetarian
Description
A fresh and flavorful Indian Spinach Salad with black lentils, roasted cauliflower and roasted radishes. Caramelized shallots and a Tempered Seed Dressing give the salad amazing flavor, depth and crunchy texture. (Serves 2 as an entree salad or 4 as a side salad.)
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower, broken or cut into bite-sized florets
- 1/2-1 cup cooked lentils, room temp (or sub chickpeas or brown lentils) see notes
- 5-6 radishes, cut into quarters
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 medium shallots, cut into thin slices
- 1/2- 1 teaspoon grated ginger (depending on your love of ginger)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste (or sub more lime juice to taste)
- 5 oz baby spinach, about 4-5 cups
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- fresh lime juice ( from 1/2 a lime)
- optional: garnish with 1/4 cup toasted nuts like pistachio, cashew, or almonds
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 F degrees.
- Lentils. Set lentils to cook- see notes.
- Roast. On a parchment-lined sheet pan, drizzle a couple of teaspoons of oil over the cauliflower and radishes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss. Roast in the oven until tender, 15-ish minutes.
- Dressing. Slice shallot in thin strips, put in a sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of oil, saute 5-8 minutes on medium heat until soft and lightly caramelized. Mix in fresh ginger and salt sautéing for another 30 seconds. Scoop the mixture over to one side of the pan, add more olive oil, when it just begins to shimmer, add the whole seeds: coriander, cumin, and mustard seeds. Stir constantly for about 2-3 minutes until they start to pop or brown slightly. Remove from heat. Combine seeds and shallots with black pepper, cayenne, and tamarind paste. Set aside.
- Salad. In a large serving bowl, toss together spinach and cilantro with a teaspoon of oil, a few shakes of salt and pepper, and a squeeze of about half of a lime.
- Assemble. Spoon some of the shallot-seed dressing over the greens. It is ok if it is still slightly warm, wilting the spinach a bit. I find it best just a touch warmer than room temperature. Layer on lentils, roasted cauliflower, and radishes, top with toasted nuts. Add more dressing if you like!
- Serve immediately.
Notes
To cook lentils, cover with an inch of water or broth in a saucepan and add salt to taste. (A ½ cup of dry lentils will yield a healthy 1 cup cooked.) Simmer 20-25 minutes until tender but not mushy- time will depend on lentil size. Drain.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups -with Pistachios
- Calories: 214
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 202.5 mg
- Fat: 14.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.8 g
- Fiber: 6.1 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
We subbed chick peas for lentils and did not have coriander seeds. It was still delicious.. We paired with leftover tandoori chicken, baygan bharta and naan from our favorite Indian restaurant. Somehow after a few bites of the very spicy chicken the salad was even more delicious!! It provided the coolness we needed. Very complimentary. Don’t skip the squeeze if lime!
So glad you gave it a try Amy!
This is yum! Took it to a potluck and many requested the recipe.
It goes very well with salmon.
Made it w black lentils and with garbanzo, both yummy 😋
So glad to hear this Cammie!
Nice salad.
Added handful of pine nuts & handful of pumpkin seeds to cauliflower & radish in the bake .
Also added small onion to shallots .
Added baby tomatoes for colour to mix
Turned out quite yummy !
Nice Jules, glad you enjoyed!
I’m always looking for new, inspiring, vegan salads ~ This is it! Delish, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed this! Thanks Daniella!
Absolutely divine! This was so delicious and unique. Will definitely make again.
Great to hear Rachel; glad you gave this one a go!
This is really super tasty, even though I omitted the tamarind since I didn’t have it. I added a splash of red wine vinegar to help make up for it. I also used onions instead of shallots.
Glad you made it work for you!
Delicious!! Ever so slowly I’m converting my husband into enjoying lentils. Thanks to all your fab recipes!!
So glad you all enjoyed this one, it’s one of my favorites!
This was tasty, but I felt that the tamarind needed a little bit of sweetness to offset it. I added about half teaspoon to a teaspoon of maple syrup. I think it made it more tasty!
That sounds good Patty, glad you made it work for you!
Hi can I use olive oil instead of avocado oil?
yes!
We loved this salad!! I followed the recipe except I only had watermelon radishes that were a bit old. It didn’t matter they blended in really well . Visually this salad is so pretty. The dark green of the spinach, lightness of the cauliflower and little pockets of lentils makes you want to dive right in.. The taste of all the flavors together was sublime. Really savory. I was worried the spices would be overwhelming but they all fused together to make each bite just yum. Thanks for another great recipe.
I am so glad you enjoyed Trudy!
The flavor in this salad is off the charts! I had to do a little improv as I only had cumin seeds and ground spices but the combination of crisp char veggies with savory sweet jammy onions and spices was amazing.
So glad you liked it! I love it too.
Another great recipe, even for carnivores. Very tasty, will make it again. I especially loved the seed dressing. Will try to tweak roasting the radishes next time to make them more crunchy.
Thanks so much Helga! So happy you liked this!