Spinach and Chickpeas Gravy
This is a very simple side dish for chapathis/naan without lot of spices, yet very flavorful and healthy.
Ingredients:
Oil - 2 tablespoons
Garlic Cloves - 2, minced
Onion, medium size - 1, finely chopped
Salt - as per taste
Curry powder/garam masala - as per taste
Yogurt - 1 cup (I used low fat yogurt)
Milk - 1 cup (I used 2%)
Frozen chopped spinach (10 0z) - 1, thawed
Canned chickpeas (15 oz) - 1, drained and rinsed
Procedure:
1. Heat oil in a skillet.
2. Add the onion, salt and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Now add the curry powder and cook for another 1 minute.
4. Add yogurt, milk, thawed spinach and the drained chickpeas and let it simmer until all the flavors blend together.
My Notes:
1. The dish was nice and creamy. I actually added a mixture of full cream and milk, that definitely gave a richness to the gravy.
2. Be careful while adding salt because the canned chickpeas already has salt in it.
3. Update: I did not make the Naan. It’s the frozen variety we get in US, Deep Brand. Just heat it in the oven for 2 minutes, it’s ready to eat and you get a very nice fluffy naan. I also broil it for another 1-2 minutes to get a crunchy texture. The one in the picture is Garlic Naan and we absolutely love it. It’s so handy while entertaining friends also. But be sure to heat it just before eating and serve it immediately or else it tends to dry.
Dear Ranjeetha of Ranji’s Kitchen Corner has passed me the Nice Matters award. My another friend Divya of Dil Se has passed me the Rocking Girl Blogger Award. Thank you very much Ranji and Divya.
I would like to pass both the awards to my very good friend Dee of Ammalu’s Kitchen.
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Tags: 2% milk, canned chickpeas, chana, channa, chick peas, chickpeas, cream, curry powder, frozen chopped spinach, frozen spinach, full cream, garam masala powder, garbanzo beans, garlic, low fat yogurt, onion, palak, spinach, spinach and chickpeas, spinach with chickpeas
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:53 am
Lovely blend of flavors, and oh so healthy. That naan looks good too. thanks for your version.
-trupti
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:10 am
Yes the spinach and chickpeas look great, but tell me more about the naan! that looks gorgeous!! did you make that? I make spinach and chickpeas often but haven’t ever used milk/yogurt - cool idea - thanks!
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:05 am
Lovely! and pretty simple too. Thanks!
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:08 am
chickpeas and spinach is a delcious and healthy combo…..i love it..ur photos are so welcoming too…congrats on ur awards madhuram!!!
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:17 am
That is a nice quick fix recipe for busy days .
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:03 am
Even we use frozen naans and parathas from Deep brand..
they are yummy isn’t it.. 
love the curry.. I agree adding cream wud give out such nice flavor.. 
Siri
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:04 am
I totally forgot - Congrats on the award!..
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:05 am
also.. Congrats on becoming ‘Pantry Chef’ at Dining Hall..
Siri
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:09 am
congrats on ur award. very good and healthy recipe…check out my blog for a surprise for u:)
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:11 am
Madhu, I like the combo of chickpeas and any green. Thankyou for the awards!!! and congrats on becoming the pantry chef at dining hall!
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
Congrats on your awards Madhuram! I was wondering why Madhuram is not baking today but you finally did use the oven for the Nan.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:29 am
Congrats on your award Madhu
Love this combo never made it, but sure it must taste great 
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:39 am
Lovely combo of spinach and chick peas. the curry looks great. Congrats on the awards.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:19 am
delecious comboooo madhu
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
spinach and chickpeas is a rare combo, but yeah packed with nutrition
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Gravy looks YUM!… Sounds so healthy. Nice pictures. really want to try this once.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
congrats on the award madhu..and the dish looks healthy with spinach n chickpeas..perfect with naan..nice pics
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Congrats for the well deserved awards…This recipe remind me of my hostel days,we used to get it in our mess..
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
We buy Deep’s Naans too.
I have a similar pic of the naan with kurma in my drafts for a long time now.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Hi Madhu,
Love the chick peas.BTw is it khulchas or Naan?you should have mention that too.Sorry i confused u abt the cinnamon bread.Only i feel like that.I take that to my friend’s place.They like it very much.Thanks for sharing it.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Trupti, Arundathi it’s store bought naan. I have made naan earlier, it has come out well also, but it’s a very tedious process. Moreover the Deep brand Naans are very good, so we just buy it and do some side dish.
Laksh, your most welcome. Try it sometime. You can add or decrease the yogurt/milk as per your taste. No hard and fast rules. But the taste is very good if you add some cream. A little goes a long way.
SS, yes it’s a quick fix recipe. If you have the naans, lunch/dinner is ready within 15-20 minutes. We will also have time for another side dish.
Siri, totally agree with you. Those naans are amazing. Have you tried using the broil for that? If you have not, give it a try. Just keep it for 1-2 minutes, you get the hotel texture exactly. Thanks to you guys for starting the Dining Hall.
Sangeeth thank you for passing another award.
Dee, we are fans of beans too. Especially my husband loves chickpeas. I often make sambar too.
Cilantro, yes it’s true. I use the oven most of the days, especially after starting this blog. I atleast switch it on for a couple of minutes to help the fermentation of my idli batter. Today I tried a cookie recipe and it was a TOTAL DISASTER!!!
Cham, Bhags, Sukanya try it definitely. We love it.
Uma, Sagari, Divya thank you very much.
Hetal, the taste is amazing right? There is not much masala going in the dish yet it’s very comforting.
TBC we too are fans for those naans. Have you tried their puran poli, it’s good too.
Kamala, it’s Deep brand Garlic Naan. No problem dear. Actually there are 2 other indian families in our complex. They are my taste testers and they told that they liked it too. Maybe they were polite!
Next time I want to try it using the entire butter specified in the recipe, to see whether the tops come out soft.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:56 pm
That’s a nice combo of spinach and chickpeas.Never thought of that combination before.Looks delicious.Congrats on the award.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Hi there, This recipe looks fantastic. Just like the one I made a while ago. It was for my Tried And Tasted Event, we re cooking Carribean this month - up for the challenge? It is about cooking from other blogs, a lot of fun
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:11 pm
lovely colour combination idea chickpeas and spinach.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:47 pm
beautiful combo abd the nan looks awesome…
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 am
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Hi Madhuram! Wow…wow…and wow! I love spinach and chickpeas, and I can imagine how wonderful it would taste in combination. The only problem I have with cooking chickpeas is the length of time it takes to cook then - yes I do use the dried/raw version and am yet to try the tin version…. (Silly, huh?).
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Maheswari welcome to my blog. Thank you very much for the lovely comment.
Zlamushka welcome to my blog. I’ll definitely look into it and try to participate too.
For Spicy Lovers, Sushma, Swati Raman thank you very much guys.
Spillay, do try the canned version of the chickpeas or any othe beans for that matter. Just be sure to drain it and rinse properly. The taste is as good as freshly made. Even if you cook the chickpeas, if you use a pressure cooker it does not take that much time. Soak it overnight, just pour enough water to cover the chickpeas and leave it for one whistle and move the cooker from the stove.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
This is a dish I definetly want to try. Incidentally, I tried a cashew-cream combo to get a thick gravy for curry and I suggested using chickpeas as one of the main ingredient choices, other than paneer. Sharing the same with you: http://blog.felinemusings.com/2008/05/21/rich-creamy-masala-curry-with-paneer/