Indian Spiced Bok Choy
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.
I’m a firm believer that Indian spices make just about any vegetable taste delicious.
The flavors are just so pungent and aromatic, it brings life to veggies that can otherwise be considered kind of boring on their own. Somehow adding the Indian flavors of cumin, mustard seeds, green chiles, turmeric transform just about anything into an exotic creation.
My mom used to love adding Indian spices to every dish you can imagine: vegetables, rice, yogurt, corn on the cob (no joke, try it with some masala and lemon – it is amazing), you get the idea.
One of my favorite memories of her is finding her in our kitchen, reading the newspaper with glasses that were the wrong prescription, eating Indian spiced vegetables straight out of the tupperware from the night before.
I used to think she was so weird, and I made fun of her when I was a kid.
Fast forward 15 years later, and I’m doing the same thing!
It just tastes so good, I can literally just eat it straight as a snack and feel happy and satisfied. Now the husband makes fun of me and thinks I’m weird. I wonder what he’ll be doing in a few years! 🙂
This Bok Choy recipe is one of my favorites. Normally, I’m not a fan of Bok Choy in stir frys because the pieces are too big, it’s really chewy and too tough to get through. But in this recipe, the Bok Choy is diced into tiny pieces, and ends up feeling more like swiss chard – tender and melts in your mouth. It’s a healthy vegetarian Indian recipe!
It is super easy to make, high in fiber, and really low in calories – the perfect side or snack!
The Ingredients:
- 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 heads bok choy, diced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 green chile
- 1/8 tsp hing or Asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
The Directions:
.
Step 1: Heat your oil in a medium sized pan over medium-high heat. Add the spices and the green chile and stir until the mustard and cumin seeds pop.
.
Step 2: Once the spices are popping, throw in your onions. Cook down the onions until they are caramelized.
.
Step 3: Add the bok choy, and cook until the bok choy has cooked down. When you throw it in the pan it will look like this:
.
And when it’s done cooking, it’ll look like this:
.
Once it caramelizes and cooks down, you are done! Serve yourself a healthy portion…
.
And enjoy it with some naan / roti / rice and low fat yogurt for a snack or a light lunch/dinner.
.
This entire recipe has about 450 calories, 32g fiber and 48g protein (1 head of bok choy has about 100 calories, 8g fiber and 12g protein). And trust me – this entire recipe is a HUGE portion – it can serve 4 people easily. It’s also vegan and gluten-free so just about anyone can enjoy it.
.
The best part is, it tastes so good you’ll have eaten a ton of it without really noticing – and all of it will be so good for you. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do, and if anyone develops my “snacking on Indian spiced veggies” habit, you have to let me know!
Indian Spiced Bok Choy
I love adding Indian spices to things. It reminds me of my childhood. I also believe that adding fun flavors really helps you get in your daily veggies.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 109kcal
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 heads bok choy diced
- 1/2 red onion chopped
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 green chile
- 1/8 tsp hing or Asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat your oil in a medium sized pan over medium-high heat. Add the spices and the green chile and stir until the mustard and cumin seeds pop.
- Once the spices are popping, throw in your onions. Cook down the onions until they are caramelized.
- Add the bok choy, and cook until the bok choy has cooked down. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.3g | Protein: 12.6g | Fat: 3g | Sodium: 546mg | Fiber: 8.4g | Sugar: 9.9g
Hi there . I made this as you wrote it but added one last step that really made it taste wonderful. I threw in about 1/3 cup water and a heaping tablespoon of chickpea flour and stirred it in. Yummy!
Hooray! I’m so happy to hear that and I love how you modified the recipe too! 🙂
That was delicious, just made it tonight. I was looking for a way to make Indian style bok choy, it was perfect! Now I look forward to checking out more of your recipes
So happy to hear that Annette! 🙂
Hi Anjali,
Thanks for sharing this recipe. We can definitely add zucchini too right?
Absolutely! You can make this recipe with any combination of veggies you like. That would taste good!
I love baby bokchoy! After years of eating traditional Chinese style, i was looking for inspiration!! Your recipe really transformed the experience!
I added one spoon of panchranga achar masala after turning the wok off and gave it a good stir
Thanks
I’m so happy you loved this recipe, and the masala you added sounds delicious too!
How large were the bok choi you used? I have several large ones that I picked from my garden and want to make sure I have the right ratio.
They were pretty large! I’d say get large to medium sized bok choy and you should have the right ratio.
Yum! I love bok choy and this sounds delicious!
Yay! Can’t wait to hear how this recipe turns out for you Linda!
Thank you! I modified it – dumped some cooked moong dhal in it, gave it a boil (about 5 mins) and then added a tsp of lime juice. Pretty good actually. And I used baby bok-choi (not the full ones)..
That sounds great! So glad you liked this recipe!
Great recipe! Looks delicious and so healthy! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Gita! Enjoy!
Thank you so much for the recipe. I made it last night and it came out awesome.
Yay!! So happy to hear that Sravya!
Do you know what the Indian name for Bok Choy is?
Sorry, I don’t! Bok Choy is also called Chinese Cabbage – but I don’t know what it’s called in Hindi or any other Indian language.
I loved it! My family loved it including my 4 year old ( a picky eater!) I have since adapted it slightly with whats in my pantry and eaten with pappadums….I am not kidding they have asked for this every night, THANK YOU,,, I will be cooking more of your recipes 🙂
Hoooray!! Love that you ate it with pappadums too – delish! So glad everyone liked this recipe! 🙂
THank You, I have recently become allergic to nuts and dairy – and was already allergy to wheat (Gluten), Indian spices and dishes seem to be the way to go.
Hi Ingrid! Yes absolutely – Indian food is probably the most nut/dairy/wheat free. Especially if you make your curries without cream – then it’s all about spices, vegetables and lentils/beans. Hope you like this recipe when you try it!
Interesting recipe. I am also a firm believer that all vegetables can be cooked Indian style and taste delicious. As far as snacking on them goes, any sabzi with some fat free Greek yogurt or Kadhi can make any meal of the day 🙂
Thanks so much! Looks like you and I have very similar cooking/eating styles 🙂 I love making sabjis out of any/every vegetable! And you’re right – eating it with Greek Yogurt is a wonderful way to enjoy it in a quick & healthy way.
Thanks for sharing such a tasty recipe!
No problem! Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing Anjali 🙂 Going to try it in the next few days. The photos look great by the way!
No problem, hope you enjoy the recipe Arun! 🙂
I’ve only had bok choy once, but I’ve never cooked it. Can’t wait to try this- it looks so yummy!
Thanks Elizabeth! I had never cooked it either before I made this recipe – turns out – it’s really easy to work with! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Thanks for sharing such a yummy recipe!
Absolutely! Enjoy!
I think Indian spices can make any vegetable taste great too! I love the idea of this.
Hehe yay! I’m sure you will love this! 🙂