Easy Chickpea and Spinach Curry

Pan with garnished chickpea and spinach curry.

5 from 2 votes

Easy, healthy & delicious this Chickpea and Spinach Curry makes perfect family midweek meal. It's creamy, comforting, packed full of plant based protein, heaps of fibre and ready in half an hour!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Keyword 30-minute meal, chickpea and spinach curry

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 519kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

Ingredients

2 tablespoon rapeseed/olive oil
2 x 400 g tins of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed or use 480g cooked chickpeas
1 x 400 g tin coconut milk light or full fat
100-150 g fresh baby spinach frozen can be used too, see notes
1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
120 g red or white onions (1 large or 2 smaller ones) peeled
20 g garlic (3-4 cloves depending on the size) peeled
10 g ginger peeled
20 g fresh coriander (cilantro) can be left out if not a fan or substituted with parsley at a push
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon chilli flakes add more if you wish, see notes
1 tablespoon garam masala
t teaspoon (heaped) mild curry powder
1 teaspoon (heaped) ground coriander
1 teaspoon (heaped) sweet or smoked paprika
1 teaspoon (heaped) ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
lime juice to taste
fresh coriander (cilantro) as garnish optional

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Put onions, garlic, ginger and fresh coriander (cilantro) in a food processor and blend finely into a paste. You might need to stop your food processor to scrape the sides as you go.
Blending is not necessary and if you don't own food processor or a blender, feel free to chop all the ingredients really finely instead.
120 g red or white onions (1 large or 2 smaller ones), 20 g garlic (3-4 cloves depending on the size), 10 g ginger, 20 g fresh coriander (cilantro)
Heat up couple tablespoons of oil in a casserole dish and fry the paste for about 5 minutes until softened and fragrant. Make sure to stir it from time to time to prevent it from burning.
Feel free to add a splash of water when frying the paste to help it along and avoid using excess oil.
2 tablespoon rapeseed/olive oil
Add spices and tomato puree and mix them into the paste. Let them fry for another minute or so until fragrant.
1 tablespoon tomato puree, 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, ½ teaspoon chilli flakes, 1 tablespoon garam masala, t teaspoon (heaped) mild curry powder, 1 teaspoon (heaped) ground coriander, 1 teaspoon (heaped) sweet or smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon (heaped) ground cumin
Next, add chickpeas followed by chopped tomatoes, ½ tin worth of water and coconut milk.
Give everything a good stir, cover with a lid and bring to boil.
Once boiling, give it another stir, turn the heat down to simmer and cook (only partially covered to let some steam escape) for 10 minutes.
2 x 400 g tins of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes, 1 x 400 g tin coconut milk
Next, take the lid off the pan and simmer your curry for 5 more minutes stirring from time to time.
Feel free to add a splash of water at this point if your curry looks a bit dry.
Take pan off the heat and remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
Using an immersion blender, give the curry a quick blend (couple of pulses, no more).
You want to keep most of the chickpeas intact but at the same time you want to create that extra body and creaminess to the curry as if it was cooking for hours!
Feel free to use potato masher if you don't have an immersion blender.
With pan still off the heat, add spinach and stir it in gently. It will wilt thanks to the heat of the curry without the need to cook it any further.
100-150 g fresh baby spinach
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and some freshly squeezed lime juice.
salt and pepper, lime juice
Enjoy garnished with some more fresh coriander and other toppings.
fresh coriander (cilantro) as garnish

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate, per portion (based on 4 portions) and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
Feel free to use frozen spinach instead of fresh. Simply defrost it as per the instructions on the packaging and make sure to squeeze as much water as you possibly can to prevent your curry from going watery. Depending on the spinach you've got, you might also want to chop it before adding to the curry at the same time as you would fresh spinach.
Use your favourite chilli flakes and adjust the amount to your liking. I cook with kids in mind hence only little chilli is used here.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer friendly.

TIPS:

Tinned chickpeas are one of the least expensive pulses you can buy so make sure to have few tins in your cupboard. With chickpeas, quick and easy meal is never far away.
This curry is mildly spiced as my kids can only take so much heat but I usually add some sriracha to my portion at the table if I fancy a bit more heat.
If you don't have to worry about the kids, feel free to use more chilli flakes or alternatively, add your favourite chilli pepper when blending onions, garlic, ginger and coriander into a paste.
My immersions blender trick really makes this curry taste as if it was cooking for hours but be careful not to blend too much (one or two pulses is all you need). You want plenty of texture still in it and not baby food.

Nutrition