Curries like these are comfort meals for me. I love making curry that is loaded with flavor. This palak chana is so easy to make and so delicious. I love the summer months for the freshly harvested vegetables from our backyard. This year we have been very successful in growing greens as we had a much cooler summer. We had great success with Malabar spinach and have been cooking all summer with it. Also called Pasalai Keerai in Tamil, Malabar spinach tastes great raw as well as in recipes like Palak Paneer, Palak Raita, Spinach rice, and Keerai Molagootal. We love greens as is and apart from spinach we also had a wonderful crop of beets this year. We enjoyed the beet greens more than the beets themselves and cooked with them several times. If you are looking to make recipes with beetroot leaves, make sure to try the Beetroot leaves poriyal / stir fry and the Beet greens dal.
Why this recipe works?
Most of the time when we think of curry with palak/spinach, I tend to lean towards palak paneer or palak tofu. A few years back my friend Arthi introduced me to this version of palak subzi and we loved it right away. Here are a few reasons, why this recipe works very well for us.
Chickpeas or garbanzo beans are a great source of plant protein and are very easy to cook.
Canned chickpeas work great when short on time and hence the recipe is a great option for weeknight dinners.
Spinach cooks extremely quick and tastes delicious with the simple spices used in this recipe.
Fresh or frozen spinach both work equally well. I always have couple of bags of frozen spinach in the freezer to make quick recipes like this.
Palak chana can be served with rice or roti. I love it with my quinoa as well.
This chickpeas and spinach subzi freezes very well.
Ingredients and substitutes
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes. Chickpeas / Chana / Garbanzo beans - I like to start with dried chickpeas and then soak them and cook to use in the palak chana recipe. Canned chickpeas work just as well and save quite a bit of time and prep work. I make this with the white garbanzo beans, but the black chana would also work. Spinach / Palak - I have used fresh as well frozen spinach to make this recipe. When in season, I use fresh spinach from our backyard or from the farmer’s markets. Vegetables - I use onion, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic in the recipe. The ginger and garlic can be skipped as well. Spices and spice powders - I use cumin seeds along with turmeric powder, red chili powder, and garam masala. All the spices can be found in Indian grocery stores or online. Use salt to taste. Oil - I make this using oil most of the time. Sometimes, I make it using both oil and ghee.
Step by step process
Soak the chickpeas overnight in enough water. Replace the water and cook it in a pressure cooker with salt. If using Canned Chickpeas, drain the chickpeas from the can onto a colander and rinse it well.
Clean the spinach leaves and saute it in a pan with 1 teaspoon of oil until they shrivel and cook (1). It does not take long at all. If using frozen spinach, thaw the spinach in the microwave or cook it until soft in a pan.
Once the leaves are cooked (2), blend it until nice and smooth. You could use a blender to grind it or use a hand blender (3). If using a blender, wait until the spinach cools down completely before grinding it.
In a pan, heat the remaining oil. I usually use a combination of oil and ghee but when cooking for my vegan friends, I skip the ghee and use just oil.
Add cumin seeds and let it crackle (4). Now add the chopped onions. Sauté until the onions are translucent.
Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and garam masala and mix well (5). Keep in mind that we cooked the chickpeas with salt. So add salt accordingly.
Now add the chopped tomatoes (6). Cook it until the tomatoes are mushy and comes together as gravy.
Add the pureed spinach and bring it to boil over medium heat.
Add the cooked chickpeas and mix well (7). Bring it to a boil again and let it simmer for about 10 mins mixing in between.
Serve hot with roti or rice.
Expert tips
Soak the chickpeas overnight and then cook it the next day. I use my instant pot to cook the dried chickpeas.
I also like to cook it in bulk and then freeze the chickpeas. This way I have a batch ready to make this palak chana, chana chat or Mediterranean chickpea salad.
Cook the chickpeas with salt. This makes it more flavorful.
Start with a good quantity of spinach. They shrink a lot!!
Frequently asked questions
More Spinach Recipes
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