Spinach and coconut stir fry or mallung as we call it in Sri Lanka.

A healthy spinach recipe that fits into any diet.

Spinach is also known as nivithi in Sinhalese and this Sri Lankan nivithi mallum is just the leafy stir fry to grace any rice and curry menu.

From gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan to even meat lovers will want to have this dish to cool down their system.

You will be making this spinach and coconut salad without any extra oil except for the tiny bit released by the coconut. 

You’ve tried spinach in all the ways you can make it, in your salad, in your smoothies, as a topping over your soup but have you ever tried it as a Sri Lankan leafy stir fry?

Spinach stir-fry with grated coconut.

One of the healthiest addition you’ll find in a Sri Lankan meal is a raw leafy salad.

It’s the dish that rounds up all the flavours.

The leafy bowl is guaranteed to be packed with nutrients because you’ll be eating it raw(well almost raw in the case of this spinach mallung).

Writing about leafy Sri Lankan dishes, I can’t believe I’m using the same words my mama used when I refused to eat the Gotu kola mallung on my plate.

“eat the greens they’ll make your hair grow longer and skin glow” which sounded like blah blah to me at that time but is actually true when you think about it.

I mean eating greens, especially the ones served with meals when we were young was the purest form of vitamins and nutrients.

So if you can, try to get your young ones to eat a few spoonfuls a day.

What does “mallung” mean?

“mallung” referred to here is a preparation of leafy vegetables into a kind of salad that can be raw or sometimes cooked for a few minutes.

I haven’t the foggiest idea if there is an English word that can give the same meaning as “mallung” but if you do, please let me know so I can use it instead of calling it a stir-fry.

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Why you should avoid reheating spinach.

Did you know, you are not supposed to reheat spinach?

Apparently, they release a kind of toxin.

Now I’m not sure if this is a true fact or not but I thought I should mention it here.

In case there are any leftovers and you decide to slightly reheat it like some people I know(ahem).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: SPINACH(NIVITHI) MALLUNG.

• Can I use frozen spinach to make the stir-fry?
  • I’m using fresh ones that can be found in markets and sold in a messy bunch but you can definitely use frozen spinach instead.
  • Since the leaves were large, I had to cut them into large strips keeping in mind that they tend to reduce in quantity when they wilt for the heat.
  • If you are using baby spinach or smaller leaves, you don’t have to cut them to size, just add them as they are.

• Can I substitute desiccated coconut for scraped coconut?
  • I get asked questions from readers outside of Sri Lanka about certain ingredients so I’m always trying to adapt the recipe so that it can be adapted and made outside of the country.
  • Some of the readers of the blog mention they have a hard time finding certain ingredients like scraped coconut.
  • Unless you go to a speciality store that sells Srilankan ingredients, you might have a difficult time finding freshly, scraped coconut.
  • keeping this in mind, I made the following nivithi mallung using desiccated coconut(not the powdered variety but with dehydrated flecks, in case you are wondering) and the mallung came out just fine.
  • So, it’s a big YES!, you can use desiccated coconut BUT fresh, scraped coconut is always better.

Optional ingredients to spice up nivithi mallung.

Since I’m feeding a 7-year-old, I have to usually tone down the heat.

For the spinach and coconut mallung I hardly used any spice but go ahead and add a teaspoon of chilli fleck, dried or green chillies.

More spinach recipes.

• Spinach and garlic coconut milk curry(vegan and non-spicy).
• Sri Lankan Dhal(red lentil)spinach curry

More mallung recipes.

• Gotu kola(pennywort salad)sambol.
• Jackfruit-coconut sambol(kos mallum).
• coconut and beetroot salad(mallum)
• Sri Lankan carrot-grated coconut stir-fry(mallum).
• Parsley salad(sambol)with coconut.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY-EASY

Sri Lankan spinach and coconut mallung.

The ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

Ingredients to make the spinach stir fry

A bundle of spinach leaves( I used two to feed a family of five)

3-5 garlic cloves cut into thin slivers

1/2 cup of freshly grated coconut or desiccated coconut

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric

Chilli flecks, green chillies(optional, refer to notes above)

1 tablespoon lime juice

Salt to season

Method

If you are buying the leaves from the market or the regular supermarket, thoroughly wash them under running water to remove any sand residues.

Set them aside to drain excess water.

Once the spinach is drained, place them on a chopping board, stack the same-sized ones together, roll them and chop them into strips.

Place a flat-bottomed skillet over low fire and add the slivers of garlic into the pan and toast them for 2 minutes.

Add the desiccated coconut/freshly scraped coconut, and turmeric powder.

Stir fry for 2-3 minutes over low-medium fire. season with salt.

Add the spinach strips and combine them with the coconut.

Increase the heat to medium and wilt the spinach for exactly a minute or two while combining it with the coconut.

To spice it up you can add a teaspoon of red chilli flakes.

Once the spinach slightly wilts, immediately remove the pan from the fire.

Keep mixing all the spinach with the coconut, add lime juice, season with salt if needed and serve with your favourite Sri Lankan dish or side dish suggestions above.

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Each recipe on this blog has been written with great care and love to the best of my ability with you in mind.
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