Chickpea and Spinach Curry

Indian Chickpea and Spinach Curry is healthy, flavorful, tastes authentic but made with shortcuts for a quick weeknight meal.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Keyword chickpea and spinach curry, spinach and chickpea curry, vegan chickpea curry

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 26

Total Time 36

Servings Serving

Calories 396kcal

Author Maria Doss

Ingredients

Group-1

3 tablespoons coconut oil or vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 and ½ cups chopped onion
2 large garlic crushed or minced
1 teaspoon ginger crushed or minced
1 and ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste, divided

Group-2

2 teaspoons coriander powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon garam masala powder

Group-3

8- ounce can tomato sauce
¾ cup coconut milk
½ cup water
15- ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed

Group-4

3 handfuls baby spinach
½ to 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Heat a deep pot with coconut oil, over medium heat.
When hot, add cumin seeds and toast for few seconds. Add onion, garlic, ginger and about ½ teaspoon salt. Cook stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent (3 to 5 minutes).
Reduce heat to medium-low, add all group-2 ingredients along with 1 to 2 tablespoons water (this will help the spices not stick/burn in the bottom and the water will evaporate in a minute), cook stirring constantly (2 to 3 minutes), until spices are toasted and mixture looks shiny.
Add all group-3 ingredients and remaining salt, stir well, cover pot, increase heat to medium and cook for 12-15 minutes (stir once in between, to make sure that the curry doesn't stick at the bottom).
Using a potato masher, mash chickpeas (just 2 to 3 times - this helps the curry to thicken and makes it more creamier).
Add spinach and sugar, let cook for 2 to 3 minutes (uncovered), until spinach is wilted.
Remove from heat and let curry cool slightly before serving.

Video

Notes

Chickpeas – Empty contents of a can into a colander and rinse well under under running water. Drain well before adding into the curry. If using soaked and cooked chickpeas, use about 2 cups in this recipe

Add 1-2 tablespoons water along with spices – If have more than enough oil in the pan then you can go ahead without water. Adding a dash of water helps spices not burn before getting a chance to be toasted, avoids sticking to the pan and cooks more evenly.

Tomato sauce – Canned tomato sauce (such as Hunts, Contadina,….) or tomato passata. This helps in skipping the traditional, lengthy process of cooking tomatoes in oil until all moisture is evaporated and oil is separated.

Spiciness – Adjust cayenne powder based on your spice level. Cayenne pepper is the same as Indian chili powder.

Resting time – Let curry rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. This helps it to further thicken the sauce.

Nutrition