Red Malabar Spinach/Indian Spinach (Basella alba 'rubra')

When summer days get hotter and regular garden spinach has long since bolted, this exotic climbing artist really starts to shine! Red Malabar spinach is not only an absolute enrichment for your diet but also a spectacular eye-catcher for your garden, balcony, or terrace. With its vibrant crimson tendrils and juicy, glossy leaves, it brings color, flavor, and an extra portion of tropical flair directly to your home.

Scope of delivery: One plant per 7cm pot.

Origin, Tradition & Special Features: The Heat-Loving Climbing Wonder

Originally, red Malabar spinach (Basella alba 'Rubra'), often called Ceylon spinach or Indian spinach due to its Asian roots, comes from the warm, humid tropics of India and Southeast Asia. There, it's not just a vegetable, but a historically deeply rooted staple food! In traditional Indian cuisine, it goes into aromatic lentil dals daily, is fried into crispy pakoras, or stewed with potatoes and mustard seeds into hearty curries. In the Philippines, where the plant is called "Alugbati," it's the indispensable base for traditional, warming vegetable stews. Additionally, this climbing wonder has a firm place in Ayurvedic health teachings, where it is highly valued for its slightly cooling and digestion-promoting effects.

Unlike our native spinach, it loves full sun and high summer temperatures. Botanically, it's not a true spinach, but it's used in the kitchen in a very similar way – with the great advantage that it provides you with an abundant harvest precisely when conventional leafy greens falter in the summer heat.

Red Tendrils and Impressive Growth Height

Be sure to give this vigorous plant a trellis, an espalier on a house wall, or a few sturdy strings. The deep red, strong shoots elegantly twine upwards and easily reach a growth height of 2 to 3 meters within a summer – and under good, warm conditions, it even climbs significantly higher (4 meters and more are not uncommon!). The combination of wine-red stems and glossy dark green, fleshy leaves makes this vigorous perennial an edible feast for the eyes and a perfect, fast-growing privacy screen. In late summer, it also adorns itself with small, delicate white-pink flowers, from which deep violet berries later develop.

Care & Overwintering

• Care: As a tropical plant, Ceylon spinach loves a full sun, warm, and sheltered location. Plant it in loose, nutrient-rich soil. Since it grows extremely fast and produces a lot of foliage, it is very thirsty and hungry. Water it regularly on hot days (without causing waterlogging) and feed it every few weeks with a good organic fertilizer.

• Overwintering: Since it absolutely cannot tolerate frost, Malabar spinach is often mistakenly grown as an annual plant here. However, it is naturally a perennial! You can easily overwinter it: as soon as temperatures drop below 10 °C in autumn, prune the long tendrils generously and bring the pot indoors. In a bright location at about 15 °C (for example, in the stairwell, by a bright bedroom window, or in a conservatory), it will easily survive the cold season and sprout vigorously again next spring.

Into the Kitchen – What to Do with Your Harvest:

The heart-shaped leaves are wonderfully crisp, almost succulent-like juicy, and have a mild, slightly earthy aroma with a delicate, fresh citrus note. Harvesting is ongoing: simply snap off the leaves or the soft, upper shoot tips directly.

• The Juicy Summer Salad: The young, tender leaves taste fantastic raw. Their fleshy texture gives mixed salads a great bite and they don't wilt as quickly.

• From the Wok: Like real spinach, it can be wonderfully steamed or stir-fried in a hot wok. A huge advantage: it shrinks far less when cooked than regular spinach!

• The Natural Thickener: Similar to okra or aibika, the leaves contain valuable plant compounds that, when cooked longer, naturally slightly thicken soups, dals, and curries.

Recipe Tip: Quick Sesame Garlic Spinach from the Wok

Since the leaves are so wonderfully fleshy, they are best prepared Asian-style in a wok. The super-short searing preserves the Ceylon spinach's great color and crisp bite.

Ingredients:

• 1 large bowl of Red Malabar Spinach / Ceylon Spinach (fresh leaves and soft shoot tips, washed)

• 3 cloves of garlic (sliced thinly)

• 1 tbsp light sesame oil (or peanut oil for frying)

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

• Optional: a squeeze of lime juice or a little chili

Preparation:

1. Prepare: Drain the washed spinach well. If leaves are large, cut them in half; leave shoot tips whole.

2. Flavor: Heat the wok or a large pan until very hot. Add the oil and fry the garlic slices (and chili, if using) for a few seconds until golden – be careful not to let it turn bitter!

3. Toss: Add the moist Ceylon spinach to the wok. Toss everything vigorously. It needs a maximum of 2 to 3 minutes. It should only wilt slightly but still have structure in the middle.

4. Deglaze: Deglaze with soy sauce, remove immediately from the heat, and arrange on a platter.

5. Garnish: Finish with toasted sesame seeds and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Bring this visual and culinary highlight to your garden bed or balcony! Red Malabar spinach will reward you with rapid growth, vibrant colors, and a delicious, crisp harvest that you'll enjoy well into autumn.