Palak Channa: Spinach & Chickpeas


I finally purchased Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries and I've been waiting to get this book for a long time! Actually, my mom gave me the money to buy whatever I wanted for my birthday and this is what I chose :) I really love his recipes as I already have one of his other books. I decided to make this recipe for Palak Hara Chana, though I did some variations as I didn't have all of the ingredients.

Oh, and pardon the picture... I almost forgot to take one and had already started eating, so I quickly snapped a pic!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans chickpeas, or 1 cup dry soaked overnight and cooked
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ajwain
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar (or jaggery, crumbled)
  • salt, to taste
  • 8 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped or 1 package (8 - 10 ounces) frozen spinach
  • 2 teaspoons cumin/coriander powder
  • 1 medium lime, juiced (or 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate)
Method:

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until seeds stop popping. Sprinkle in the cumin seeds and ajwain and cook until they sizzle and turn reddish brown, 5 to 10 seconds.

Add the onion and fry until it is light brown around edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground chili powders and turmeric and cook without burning, about 5 to 10 seconds. Pour in 2 cups water and stir in sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until half the liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and coriander/cumin powder. Cook until the spinach is warmed through and has turned olive green, about 5 minutes.

Add in cooked chickpeas and simmer over medium heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas absorb the flavors, 20 - 25 minutes. If the sauce is too thin and you prefer it thicker, mash some of the chickpeas and simmer about 5 more minutes.

Add the lime juice (or tamarind) and stir. Serve and enjoy!

He was going crazy to try this and couldn't get enough! But he won't eat the meat from McDonald's ;)

28 comments:

Uma said...

nice combo!

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Lovely curry. I make this at home often but slightly differently. Looking good and enjoy your curry book.

Finla said...

I am sure he is a veggie dog :-) Ilove that book too. I have made quiet a lot of dishes from the book and till now none has failed, every time it is a huge hit in my place too.

Sushma Mallya said...

Thats a very unique combo but very nice recipe to try...looks yum meeso...

Priya Suresh said...

Irresistible palak channa, looks awesome..

Mythreyi Dilip said...

My favorite, looks very delicious dear:)

Suganya said...

Hi Meeso, that was a yummy subzi recipe. Looks so good. Healthy too...

Soma said...

That looks very delectable! The vegetarian dog!! :)

Soma(www.ecurry.com)

Sum Raj said...

wooo looking soo good dear..

Liz said...

Yum! You could also use 1 T. amchur powder (add w/ the spices) instead of the lime. I love how rich-looking this turned out to be despite the relatively small amount of oil.

Parita said...

Delicious combo!

veggie belly said...

660 curries in one of my favorite books. Love that your dog will eat this and not mcdonalds - good dog!

PranisKitchen said...

thats so deliicous curry.. very healthy ingredients..nicely done..

Oceana said...

dont know how i came here but ..i find u r funny..following u ..
thanks for sharing these recipes !!!

SpicyTasty said...

Palak channa looks lovely. Book marked.

Smita Srivastava said...

Looks great . Innovative combo - need to tyr it out ...

Smita
@http://littlefoodjunction.blogspot.com/

Adelina said...

yummmm- looks so good! and man- if the dog loves it, it MUST be delicious!-usually they don't care for pulses!

Nammi said...

yumm, spinach and channa. Maybe your dog is vegetarian

Red Chillies said...

Looks good. I have tried the combination of methi and chana before. Will keep this in mind.

Padhu Sankar said...

Nice combo and lovey curry!!

SpicyTasty said...

One of my fav combo. Healthy and goes well with roti's.

Sarah Naveen said...

Nice combo..looks so yummy!!!

Khaddy said...

ooh looks good
i have some leftver chickpeas i think ill make this

Usha said...

Meeso, nice to see you back with new recipe...nice glaze on Palak Chana. I am amazed to see your dog enjoying vegetarian treat.

I make this combo in simple dry stir-fry manner with onion,cumin,green chilies and lots of garlic...another variation is make stir-fry first then bake with layers of ricotta+mozzarella cheese.

test it comm said...

This sounds both healthy and nice and tasty!

Unknown said...

loos delicious..

Namitha said...

Awesome combo..We had a dog who used to prefer veggie dishes..

Sharmi said...

looks nice!