Chickpea and spinach masala

This spinach and chickpea masala is one of my favourite vegetarian dishes.

Credit: Parveen's Indian Kitchen

• serves

  2-4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp (80 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 2½ cm ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 400 g tins chickpeas
• 3 handfuls spinach, roughly chopped
• naan or rice and yoghurt, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pasta pan and add the onions. Fry on a medium heat for 5 mins or until they are a light brown. Then stir in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the salt, chili, coriander powder and continue to cook for another minute.

2. Add the tomatoes and cook gently for 5 minutes, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. If it begins to stick, add a dash of water. Then simmer for 10 minutes allowing the onions to break down and the flavours to infuse.

3. Drain and wash the chickpeas before adding them into the sauce. Stir well and make sure all are covered. Turn heat up to high and stir continually for 5 minutes. If the sauce sticks, add a few splashes of water.  

4. Stir in the spinach and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add 30 ml of water and simmer for 2 minutes with the lid on.

5. Serve with basmati rice or naan, and yoghurt.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.