Chickpeas and Spinach (Chole Palak)

I love Indian food, although I don't really make it at home all that often.  I've made channa masala for the hubby before and he really liked it, so I thought this would be a great dish to make.  I was browsing through recipe ideas to make for dinner and came across this chickpeas and spinach dish.  I had all of the ingredients in the refrigerator (which rarely happens!) so decided to make it.  It made the house smell amazing and as I was cooking it, I was thinking how much the Hubbs was going to love it. 

This recipe even caused me to have an accident with my chef knife, which rarely, rarely, rarely happens.  I was so into chopping the spinach I happened to look away while I was chopping and chopped off 1/3 of the nail (+ skin) on my index finger.  The. most. painful. thing. ever.  It took a good week+ for me to be able to type properly and put any kind of pressure on it.  This accident did make me realize that Hubby is good in stressful situations where wifey is crying hysterically with a bloody bloody finger.  He has always told me he feels sick/weak at the sight of blood, so this was reassuring.  I'm not telling you this to gross you out, only just that I gave this recipe everything.  And the (not so) funny part?  Hubby didn't like it.  Not really at all.  Sigh.  I thought it was great.  It caused him to realize that he doesn't like garam masala, so if I had made it without (I wouldn't though because it added such flavor!) he probably would have liked it.  So I have two small deli containers of it in the freezer because I couldn't eat all of it when I made it.  But hey, now I have a tasty meal ready to go for my lunch when I don't feel like cooking!  Try it.  Just be careful when chopping the spinach!


Chickpeas and Spinach (Chole Palak):




So delicious!



Serves: 4-6

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece ginger, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 cups cooked chickpeas

28 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

8 oz. bag baby spinach, chopped

1.  Place a large pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and allow it to become hot.   Once it is hot, add the onions, garlic and minced ginger.  Cook, stirring frequently for 3-5 minutes, or until the garlic and ginger become fragrant. 
2.  Add the spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, red pepper flakes, sea salt, garam masala and black pepper.  Stir to coat the onion mixture.  Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant. 
3.  Add the chickpeas and diced tomatoes, stirring to coat.  Lower the heat and allow ingredients to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring periodically, until liquid thickens. 




Look at that deliciousness!



4.  Add the chopped spinach and stir to coat.  Stir periodically until the spinach wilts.  Season to taste.  Serve over rice.  That's it!

Enjoy!

Koko