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Malabar Spinach

Malabar spinach is a leafy vegetable whose tender leaves and shoots are commonly cooked in soups, stews, and stir-fries.

Malabar Spinach — illustrative ingredient image

About Malabar Spinach

Malabar spinach is a tender-stemmed leafy vegetable with fleshy leaves and shoots, used as a cooked green rather than a true spinach substitute in botanical terms. It is commonly added to soups, stews, stir-fries, curries, and other vegetable dishes.

The leaves are broad, smooth, and green, while succulent stems may be green or reddish depending on the form. Cooked leaves have a mild, spinach-like flavour and a slightly mucilaginous texture, which can thicken broths or sauces; the shoots remain pleasantly substantial.

It is sold as fresh bunches containing leaves and tender shoots together. Cooking softens the leaves while retaining more structure in the shoots, and changes the balance of those parts in a prepared dish. Exact cultivated form is not established here.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where malabar spinach appears

1 linked foods

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Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for malabar spinach

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Basella

English

Malabar spinach

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Malabar Spinach nutrition & diet

Malabar Spinach nutritional value

Reference: Indian spinach, raw

Per 100 g of the edible portion of the stated reference food.

Calories
25kcal
Protein
2.4g
Carbs
2.1g
Fat
0.3g

Per 100 g edible portion. Shaheen et al., Food Composition Table for Bangladesh, University of Dhaka (2013), FAO repository. The energy cell reports (kcal) followed by kJ; these figures use kcal. Carbohydrate is available carbohydrate by difference. This reference describes the named food form, not every cultivar, brand or recipe.

Portions & preparation

Use the edible tender leaves and shoots of Malabar spinach, distinguishing raw, blanched, boiled, steamed, or stir-fried form. Remove tough stems according to the preparation. Cooking liquid, oil, salt, coconut milk, meat stock, and other recipe components should be recorded rather than attributed to the vegetable alone.

Compare the right form: Match references to identified Malabar spinach leaves or tender shoots in raw, cooked, drained, frozen, or prepared form, including edible stems.

Diet considerations

Malabar spinach is a plant-derived leafy vegetable. Plain leaves and shoots may suit plant-based patterns, while stir-fries, soups, or stews may contain fish sauce, shrimp, meat, dairy, or stock. Batter, coatings, and cereal ingredients change compatibility. The edible portion and accompanying recipe matter more than the leaf name alone.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: Food Composition Table for Bangladesh (2013) — 04_0020 ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .