IndiaI make this once a week, almost unchanged, for several years now. The one thing that evolved: I fry the spices longer than most recipes say. Two minutes in oil with the onion is the minimum. Three or four is better. The smell that comes out when cumin and coriander open up in hot oil — that is the whole point of the dish.
Mash a few chickpeas at the end, directly in the sauce, with a spoon. The starch thickens everything in 10 seconds. No thickeners needed.
Chickpea and Spinach Curry
By Sergei Martynov
Two cans of chickpeas, a bag of spinach, tomatoes, coconut milk, and a handful of spices. One pan, 35 minutes. The kind of meal that costs almost nothing, reheats perfectly, and somehow gets better the next day. The spice list looks long but everything on it is standard pantry — once you have them, this recipe costs next to nothing per portion.
What you'll need
Ingredients
- 800 g
See recipes with canned chickpeascanned chickpeas (2 cans, drained)
i - 200 g
See recipes with fresh spinachfresh spinach
i - 1 piece
- 4 piece
See recipes with garlic clovesgarlic cloves
i - 1 tbsp
See recipes with fresh gingerfresh ginger
i - 400 g
See recipes with canned chopped tomatoescanned chopped tomatoes
i - 2 tbsp
See recipes with tomato pastetomato paste
i - 200 ml
See recipes with coconut milkcoconut milk
i - 150 ml
See recipes with vegetable brothvegetable broth
i - 2 tbsp
See recipes with vegetable oilvegetable oil
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with ground cuminground cumin
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with ground corianderground coriander
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with turmericturmeric
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with garam masalagaram masala
i - 0.5 tsp
See recipes with cayenne peppercayenne pepper
i - 1 tsp
How to make it
Instructions
- 1
Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Drain and rinse the chickpeas under cold water.
- 2
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 to 6 minutes until soft and starting to colour at the edges. Add the garlic and ginger, stir for 1 minute.
- 3
Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Stir constantly for 2 minutes — the spices need to fry in the oil, not just sit in liquid. This is where the flavour comes from.
- 4
Add the tomato paste and stir for another 2 minutes until it darkens slightly. Then add the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, broth, and coconut milk. Stir well.
- 5
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should reduce and thicken. If it still looks thin, mash a few chickpeas against the side of the pan with a spoon — the starch thickens the sauce without any flour.
- 6
Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring between each addition until wilted. Stir in the garam masala. Taste and adjust salt. Serve over basmati rice or with flatbread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is chickpea and spinach curry watery and bland — how to get a thick rich sauce?
Watery curry is almost always about skipped steps. The spices need to fry in oil with the onion — 2 to 3 minutes on heat activates the aromatics much better than dropping them into liquid. The tomato paste needs to darken in the pan before any liquid goes in — 2 to 3 minutes alone removes the raw metallic taste and adds depth. And the final simmer should be uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes, so the extra moisture cooks off. If it still looks thin: mash a few chickpeas directly in the sauce with a spoon. The starch thickens without any flour.
Chickpea curry from canned vs cooked from scratch — is it worth the extra effort?
For curry, no. Home-cooked chickpeas are slightly firmer and more neutral in flavour, but they absorb the spices and sauce the same way during cooking, and the difference in the finished dish is minimal. The only thing that matters with canned: rinse them well under cold water. That removes the canning liquid and excess sodium. If you want a nuttier flavour and better texture, cook from scratch. For a regular weeknight curry, canned is completely equivalent.
What spices do you need for chickpea and spinach curry — can you use ready-made curry powder instead of individual spices?
Ready-made curry powder works. The flavour will be less layered because blends are often heavy on turmeric and light on everything else. A good base for this dish: cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala, plus cayenne if you want heat. Garlic and ginger are non-negotiable either way. If using a blend, add a separate pinch of garam masala at the very end — it pulls the whole flavour together. The key rule regardless of what you use: fry the spices in oil before you add the tomatoes. Without that step the curry will taste flat no matter how good the spices are.
Can you make chickpea curry without coconut milk — how to replace it in this recipe?
Coconut milk gives creaminess and takes the edge off the spices. Without it the curry will be sharper and more acidic. The closest substitute is cashew cream: a handful of cashews soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes, then blended with water to a milk-like consistency. Oat or soy cream from the store is an easier option. Just more tomatoes and broth without any creamy component also works — you get a tomato-forward curry, different dish but still good. If you drop the coconut milk, add a pinch of sugar at the end to soften the tomato acidity.
What to serve with chickpea and spinach curry — basmati rice, naan, or something else?
Basmati rice is the classic: it absorbs the sauce and stays fluffy. Regular long-grain rice works too, just different texture. Naan or flatbread is good if you want to scoop the sauce with bread — the simplest way to eat curry. Chapati (plain unleavened wheat flatbread) is a lighter option. Quinoa or cauliflower rice if you want to skip the carbs. A spoonful of plain yogurt on top right before eating cools things down and balances the spice. Small addition that changes how the whole dish feels.
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Comments (1)
Cook the canned chickpeas until it just barely yields to a knife for chickpea and spinach curry. It continues softening from residual heat for 2-3 minutes. Cooking until fully soft in the pan means mush on the plate.