Fry
by: Sarah Jampel
June4,2017
5
5 Ratings
- Prep time 15 minutes
- Cook time 40 minutes
- Serves 4 to 6
Jump to Recipe
Author Notes
Once you have your garlic-ginger-chile paste prepped (and, hint, you don't have to use a blender or food processor—you could chop them very finely, then mash with water in a mortar and pestle, or even just stir the water and minced vegetables together), all you need to do is wilt spinach, dump in a couple cans of chickpeas, add a few tablespoons of cream, temper spices in hot oil, and you're done.
It's incredibly flavorful without asking that you rummage through the spice cabinet; it needn't be accompanied by a posse of starches or proteins to become a balanced dinner (though rice, or bread, or a swoosh of cucumber-flecked yogurt across the plate would be welcome); it's easily turned vegan (sub coconut milk for heavy cream, then top with toasted coconut flakes); and you can use frozen spinach instead of fresh. If you want to use frozen spinach instead of fresh, cook 2 packages of spinach according to the packaging directions, drain well, and proceed with the recipe.
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's saag paneer in World of the East Vegetarian Cooking.
—Sarah Jampel
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- one 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 serrano or other hot green chile, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cupcanola oil plus 1 tablespoon, divided
- 1 1/2 poundsfresh spinach (or two 9-ounce packages frozen spinach, cooked according to the package and drained)
- 1 dashKosher salt
- two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 tablespoonscream, divided
- 1 teaspoongaram masala
- 1 teaspooncumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspooncayenne
Directions
- In a food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle, combine the ginger, garlic, and chile pepper with 1/4 cup of water so that you have a paste.
- Heat 1/4 cup canola oil in a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. When it's hot, add the garlic-ginger-chile paste and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds, until the mixture is very fragrant. Add the spinach (it's okay to work in batches) and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Stir the spinach around for 1 minute to make sure all pieces are coated in oil, then cover the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If all the water evaporates, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water and continue cooking.
- Add the chickpeas, another 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and stir until the chickpeas are mixed into the spinach. Add 3 tablespoons of cream, stir to combine, then cover and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the time is almost up, heat the last tablespoon of canola oil in a small pan on a separate burner. When the oil is hot, add the garam masala, cayenne, and cumin seeds. Fry, stirring, until the spices are fragrant and toasted.
- Immediately pour the spiced oil into the spinach-chickpea mixture. Add the last tablespoon of cream, stir everything to combine. Eat hot or at room temperature.
Tags:
- Indian
- Chickpea
- Cumin
- Milk/Cream
- Spinach
- Weeknight Cooking
- Fry
- Spring
- Summer
- Entree
- Side
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9 Reviews
Taylor S. December 26, 2022
Incredible, wow, we were all speechless eating this! I subbed curry powder for the garam masala because I did not have any; turned out delicious nonetheless.
Tami March 22, 2018
I love this dish! I've made it a few times and it is delicious. I add a bit less oil which doesn't affect the flavour, otherwise keep everything else the same. I serve it with naan.
Cheryl July 8, 2017
Delicious. Served over quinoa. I made it vegan by using canned coconut milk and had on hand "creme fraiche" that I had made from cashews. When I first added the chick peas, I thought, "oh no!" because it looked like so many chick peas to the spinach, but once it cooked and I added the cream, it was lovely.
Stephanie B. June 25, 2017
Do you know what the rice side is? Looks like basmati with saffron and/or turmeric?
Sarah J. September 20, 2017
Sorry for such a late response! It's this turmeric rice from Madhur Jaffrey: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/turmeric-rice-by-madhur-jaffrey-299840
Stephanie B. September 21, 2017
Great thank you! I think I ended up making some sort of turmeric basmati rice, but I'll try the link you posted next time I make the chickpeas.
judy June 15, 2017
I did make this--no spinach but a bag of fresh mixed brassica veggies worked great. And subbed mixed canned beans for the chickpeas--which I am allergic to.
Sarah J. June 20, 2017
So glad you were able to make it work for you!
judy June 15, 2017
This looks like a good quick recipe. I wish I was a little more refined. I never have chilis on hand, but always garlic and ginger. I have started substituting Sambal Olek for most of my chili pepper needs. already in a paste. My only regret are the sulfites in it. I can't eat chickpeas, but I have found that most canned beans work well. I get a 3bean mix (white/kidney/pinto) from my local market that works really well for these kind of applications, and is a great base for hummus.