If you haven't yet tried jarred chickpeas, then this is the recipe to try them with! Jarred beans have such a different texture from their tinned alternative, as they are beautifully soft and tender.
They also tend to come in a cooking liquor, which is delicious; especially in a recipe like this, as it is used to enhance the overall flavour of the dish.
If you can't get jarred chickpeas, then tinned chickpeas will work, but you may need to cook them for a bit longer to get the right texture. If you're going with this option, then simply swap the cooking liquor for vegetable stock.
Chana Saag is lovely as a main, but also works really well as an Indian side dish or as a tasty, warming lunch.
Serves 2 as a main and 4-6 as a side
2-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 white onion
2 teaspoons of fresh ginger
2 large cloves of garlic
½ teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoons of garam masala
1 teaspoon of chilli
½ a 570g jar of cooked chickpeas + liquid from the jar
½ a 400g tin of finely chopped tomatoes
Couple of handfuls of fresh spinach leaves
Fenugreek (optional)
- Peel and dice the onion.
- Peel and grate the garlic and ginger.
- Remove the seeds from the chilli and finely dice.
- Drain the chickpeas and reserve the liquid.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large lidded pan over a medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot , add the onion and ground cumin and sauté the onion until becomes translucent, (adding more oil to the pan as needed).
- Add the garlic, ginger, dry spices (except the garam masala), green chilli and salt. Fry for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the spices.
- Add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook, covered, on a low heat for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and cooking liquid and bring to a rolling simmer (almost boiling). Reduce the heat and cook for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Throw in the spinach leaves and stir until the spinach has wilted in the sauce.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the garam masala.
- Leave to cool slightly before serving.
