Chickpeas spinach curry is so easy to prepare, healthy and delicious which makes a wholesome meal or side for busy weeknight dinners or weekend brunch or lunch. This is a healthy, vegetarian and vegan chickpea spinach curry prepared in Indian style using spices and it is made without coconut milk or heavy cream but the gravy is based on tomatoes and delicious spices. You can enjoy the delicious curried chickpeas and spinach with rice, pulao, biryani, Indian breads like nan, chapathi, poori etc.
I made this chickpea spinach curry in a large sized 6 quart pressure cooker. Small sized pressure cookers are not recommended for this recipe unless you are sure if it has enough room for all the contents (ideally the contents shouldn’t fill up to the limits).
You can use canned chickpeas or dry chickpeas to make the dish.
I have used dried chickpeas in this recipe, but if you are using canned chickpeas adjust the amount accordingly (dried chickpeas almost doubles in size as they are soaked and when ready to be cooked so if you are using canned chickpeas use more amount accordingly).
I used fresh spinach leaves for the spinach chickpea curry, but you may also use frozen spinach if that is what you have. Regular spinach leaves and baby spinach leaves both works very well.
When making spinach based curry, you can add the spinach early or later in the preparation, based on what kind of texture you prefer.
If you just wish to cook the spinach lightly, leaving the bright green color on for dish, you can add in the spinach later, which is what I have done here.
Alternatively, you may also add the spinach leaves early with the chickpeas and cook them together where the spinach will get cooked along with chickpeas.
The combination of spinach and chickpeas is absolutely delicious and healthy and very easy to make.
Chickpeas is high in protein and for vegetarians and vegans, chickpeas is a wonderful source of plant based protein which also contain lots of healthy fibers. And with the addition of spinach leaves, you can see that the health benefits of this chickpea curry is even more!
The addition of tomatoes and spices make the gravy even more healthy, so delicious and spicy too. You can reduce the spiciness by reducing the chilies or you may skip the chilies altogether.
Is This Chickpea Curry Vegan?
Absolutely! This chickpea spinach curry is vegan so anyone on a vegetarian or vegan diet can easily add this to their diet for a delicious, healthy and filling dish.
There is no animal products including dairy products (like butter) so go ahead and try this vegan chickpea spinach curry for lunch or dinner and enjoy.
If you have spinach leaves, chickpeas and few other staples that you always need for making Indian recipes at home, you can easily make this at your home.
If you do not have any of the spices mentioned here, you can easily find them in any Indian grocery stores and many of them can be bought online from Amazon too. Or you may even skip some of the spices and experiment with new spices that you may already have and see if you like the new flavors.
In the below picture, you can see the chickpea spinach curry served with cooked brown rice which is a simple, easy to prepare, delicious and healthy vegetarian/vegan meal for lunch or dinner.
So here is how I made this easy chickpea spinach curry following this easy recipe using chickpeas, spinach leaves and spices.
Also try this spinach sambar (spinach with yellow split pigeon peas) and masala spinach dal if you like Indian spinach and dal recipes.
How To Make Chickpea Spinach Curry?
Ingredients to make chickpea spinach curry
dried chickpeas
salt
water
tomatoes
green chilies
onion
fresh spinach leaves
chopped cilantro leaves
spice powders
garlic powder or fresh garlic
turmeric powder
cumin seeds powder
red chili powder
coriander powder
garam masala powder
For seasoning
coconut oil
mustard seeds or cumin seeds
dry red chilies (broken)
Steps To Follow (The Process)
Rinse and soak the chickpeas in enough water for about 8 hours or overnight for best results.
After the soaking is done, discard the water used for soaking and rinse the chickpeas again in water and transfer the washed chickpeas to a large sized pressure cooker.
Peel and slice the onion in thin long slices. Add the chopped onions also to the pressure cooker.
Blend tomatoes and green chilies with 4 cups of water in a blender until smooth.
Add this to the pressure cooker and also add the cilantro leaves (if using) and also add all the spice powders – garlic powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds powder and garam masala powder, mix everything well.
Close the pressure cooker with lid and safety valve in position and once the steam begins to release, cook in medium heat for about 10 to 12 minutes or until 4 whistles come.
Once the cooking is done, switch off the stove and wait for the pressure cooker to cool down completely.
Once the pressure cooker is cooled enough, open the cooker very carefully and add the spinach leaves.
Stir and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until the desired thickness for the gravy is reached. If you want liquid like consistency, you may also add little more water and heat the contents for a couple of minutes.
To prepare the seasoning, heat oil in a small pan and add the cumin seeds.
Once cumin seeds are lightly fried (if using mustard seeds, the seeds need to splutter), add the broken dry red chilies and fry for few seconds.
Pour this prepared seasoning over the curry, gently mix in. Now the delicious chickpea spinach curry is ready to be served!
Below you can read the chickpea spinach curry recipe in detail.
Chickpea Spinach Curry Vegan Indian Style Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried chickpeas
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust as needed
- 4 cups water
- extra water as needed for soaking chickpeas
- 4 large tomatoes
- 2 green chilies optional
- 1 large onion
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves or more as desired
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves optional
spice powders
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder may use fresh garlic instead
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 tablespoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
For seasoning (optional)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds or cumin seeds
- 4 dry red chilies broken
Instructions
- Wash the chickpeas and soak in enough water for about 8 hours or overnight for best results.
- Once the soaking is done, discard the water used for soaking and rinse the chickpeas again in fresh water for one to two times.
- Transfer the washed chickpeas to a large sized pressure cooker, I used my pressure cooker which is 6 quart.
- Wash and peel the onion, slice in thin long slices. Add the chopped onions also to the pressure cooker.
- Make a puree of tomatoes and green chilies by adding the tomatoes, green chilies (if using) and also the 4 cups of water in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the tomato puree to the pressure cooker, mix everything well.
- Also add the cilantro leaves (if using) and also add all the spice powders - garlic powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds powder and garam masala powder, mix everything well.
- Close the pressure cooker with lid and safety valve in position and once the steam begins to release, cook in medium heat for about 10 to 12 minutes or until 4 whistles come.
- Once the cooking is done, switch off the stove and wait for the pressure cooker to cool down completely for safety reasons (this takes around 15 minutes average). Once the pressure cooker is cooled enough, open the cooker very carefully and add the washed spinach leaves.
- Mix everything well and simmer the dish for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the desired thickness for the gravy is reached. In case you want more liquid like consistency, you may also add little more water and heat the contents for a couple of minutes.
To prepare the seasoning
- Heat oil in a small pan and add the cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds are lightly fried (if using mustard seeds, the seeds need to splutter), add the broken dry red chilies and fry for few seconds.
- Pour this prepared seasoning over the curry, gently mix in. Now the delicious chickpea spinach curry is ready to be served!
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