Spinach chickpea curry is one of my favorite curries to eat. Its tasty, healthy and loaded with complex carbs and plant-based protein. This Spinach chickpea curry is vegan and gluten free. Its also low in fat. The base for this curry is spinach which is a good source for vitamin A, K and C. Spinach is also high in iron. I love to enjoy this Spinach chickpea curry with chapati and rice.
To prepare this Spinach chickpea curry, all we need is very simple ingredients. To prepare the spinach puree, first we blanch the spinach. Blanching spinach helps to preserve the flavors and nutrients. To blanch the spinach, bring water to boil, add spinach and cook for 5 minutes. Now immediately transfer spinach to ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Now drain the spinach and make a puree.
Let’s talk about all the spices that we are using in this curry. I love to add spices to my curry. It adds a lot of flavor and every spice that we add, all has medical benefits. The basic spices we are using in this Spinach chickpea curry are salt, chili powder(use sweet paprika for less heat), turmeric , cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala/curry powder and black pepper. Along with spices, we are using cumin seeds and pinch of sugar.
I have grown up eating curries made by my mom. Curries are healthy and very delicious meal. To prepare this Spinach chickpea curry, we blanch the spinach separately and make a puree and then in another pan, we start preparing the base. Let’s start by sautéing the onion, garlic and ginger. Once cooked, add spices and tomato. Once this mixture is cooked, add chickpeas and cook with spice mixture and then add the spinach puree in the last and cook just for couple of minutes to retain its nice bright green color.
This Spinach chickpea curry is a staple in our family. Its a healthy and tasty way to eat spinach as well and get all its benefits. This curry freezes nicely, so if you have leftover, you can always freeze the extra and it will happily stay in the freezer for couple of months. The great thing about this Spinach chickpea curry is that you can make this spinach curry base and then use different type of protein like other beans, lentils or even cubed tofu. This spinach curry base can be used with vegetables as well.
Spinach chickpea curry recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Cups fresh spinach
- 1 Cup chickpeas
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 1 Medium onion finely chopped
- 1 Cup diced/pureed tomatoes
- 1 Teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 Inch ginger peeled and grated or minced
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon chili powder/paprika for milder flavor
- 1 Teaspoon turmeric
- ½ Teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ Teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 Teaspoon garam masala/curry powder
- 1 Teaspoon lime juice
- 1 Teaspoon sugar
- ¼ Teaspoon black pepper powder
Directions
- Step 1 First lets prepared the spinach puree. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add spinach and cook for 5 minutes.
- Step 2 Now transfer the spinach to ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, puree spinach.
- Step 3 In another pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds followed by onion, garlic and ginger.
- Step 4 Cover and cook until onion is cooked for about 5-7 minutes. Now add all the spices and cook the spices for 30 seconds.
- Step 5 Now add tomato puree and cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Step 6 Once this mixture is cooked, add chickpeas, sugar, lemon/lime juice and mix well. Cook it covered for 5 minutes.
- Step 7 Now in the last add spinach puree and cook for just couple of minutes uncovered on low flame.
- Step 8 Spinach chickpea curry is ready to enjoy.
