Chickpea spinach curry

Crushed tomatoes, ginger and curry powder make the sauce for these chickpeas. A few mashed beans give it body, while most stay whole. Spinach goes in near the end so it remains easy to distinguish from the tomato base. This is a substantial bowl meal with a short pantry list.

Build the tomato base before adding beans

Finely diced onion softens into the sauce more readily than large pieces. Give it the first part of the cooking time, stirring so the pieces soften evenly. Add the garlic, ginger and spices only when the onion is ready. Their brief cook in the oil is followed by tomatoes, which supply moisture before the seasonings can scorch.

Curry powders vary in heat and in the balance of their spices. Start with a blend you enjoy, reading the ingredient list if you need to avoid a particular allergen. A strongly flavored blend can dominate this amount of tomato, while a mild one leaves the ginger and cumin more noticeable.

The initial tomato simmer matters to the texture. Stir across the bottom and let the sauce bubble gently before adding chickpeas and water. A pan with a very wide base loses liquid faster, so judge the finished thickness alongside the stated time.

Mash enough chickpeas to thicken the sauce

Cooked chickpeas have soft centers you can press against the side of the saucepan. Mash a small number and stir them through the liquid. Their texture helps the sauce cling to the remaining whole beans without needing flour or a blender. Mashing too many makes the dish much denser.

Use drained beans for a predictable amount of liquid. If cooking chickpeas from dry, have them fully tender before beginning this recipe; the tomato simmer is meant to heat cooked beans. A hard center will not disappear during the short finishing time.

Add the chopped spinach in manageable handfuls and fold it down as it softens. Turn off the heat before stirring in lemon, then taste a spoonful containing both beans and sauce. Extra rice can be served separately if wanted; it changes the size and nutrition of the whole meal.

Keep the leftovers flexible

Portion the curry into shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours. Use within three days, reheating until steaming throughout. A little water can restore sauce that has thickened around the chickpeas in the refrigerator. Stir gently to avoid crushing all the beans during reheating.

White beans are the listed alternative to chickpeas. Their softer texture makes gentle stirring especially useful. If buying spinach for more than one meal, weigh this portion first and save the rest for a salad or another cooked dish while it is still fresh.