Chickpea and Spinach Curry

I went to an Indian restaurant in my neighborhood with a friend last weekend and we just could not get over how yummy our dinner was. I had a spinach and chickpea curry dish with rice and we also noshed on samosas and garlic naan. We ended the dinner with some black tea so needless to say we left completely stuffed and satisfied. What delicious food made with incredibly savory spices! So, naturally I wanted to try making the dish at home and it turned out wonderful. Head to your favorite health food store and pick up alot of spices before you make this dish. Trader Joe's has spices for $1.99 and they have all the good ones for this dish. Friends and yummy food is the best combination!


Ingredients:

1 carton of chickpeas
1 bunch of organic spinach (or at least three cups)
1 cup of brown basmati rice
1 organic tomato, chopped
1 tsp of ground ginger
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, chopped into tiny pieces
2 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of red pepper
1 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp of sea salt
2 tbsp of coconut milk (optional)
Filtered water

Rinse your rice well in a strainer; you can even soak it overnight in filtered water. Transfer one cup of rice to a medium saucepan and add 2 cups of water. Boil the water for a few minutes and then reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. The rice will be done cooking when it has absorbed all the water, Season with a little sea salt.

Place the chopped tomato and ginger in your food processor and process on high, making a kind of tomato paste. Put the olive oil in a large skillet and turn the heat on high. Add the chopped garlic and shallots and let them brown. Add the tomato and ginger paste and turn the heat down. Let these veggies simmer a little bit. If you need to add water, now is the time. Add a little at a time; you want enough moisture in the skillet so nothing burn or sticks to the skillet.

Rinse your spinach well and chop off the stems. Rinse your chickpeas in a strainer and add both to the skillet. The spinach will wilt when cooked and the beans will soften. Add your spices one by one and stir the ingredients well. If you want a creamier marinade, add the 2 tbsp of coconut milk but this is totally optional.

Let the ingredients simmer a little bit longer, 7-10 minutes overall. Taste the dish to see if another pinch of this or that is needed. Scoop the rice into a bowl and the chickpea and spinach curry into another bowl and serve. You can also serve with naan. Dates and tea make a sweet dessert, if you have room!

Have you made this dish or another similar?