Palak Chole (Spinach Garbanzo Curry)

Protein, fiber and iron enriched Palak Chole

Leafy green vegetables is recommended to be included in our diet at least twice in a week. With rich
anti-oxidants and iron content I try to make 2 dishes per week with leafy green vegetables like spinach, red leaves, radish leaves, kale, mustard greens, fenugreek(methi) leaves etc. In winter though spinach seems to be available in abundance. So I try to take advantage of it in cooking for the family. Spinach dal, Garbanzo-Spinach Patties are few of family's favorite dishes. After introducing kids to this protein, fiber and iron rich recipe they were reluctant to the palak chole dish initially but now they have acquired to this new combination and taste. What's interesting about this dish, let's take a look....

Serve with chapati or jeera(cumin) rice

Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 30
Serving size: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Main ingredients needed

• Soaked garbanzo beans - 2 cups
• Spinach - 2 cups
• Tomato(medium size) - 2 nos
• Onion(medium size) - 1 no
• Bay leaf - 1 
• Cloves - 3 nos
• Cardamom - 1 no
• Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Thania powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp(optional)
• Ginger garlic paste - 3/4 tsp
• Green chillies - 2 nos(adjust per spice needed)
• Oil to saute 
• Salt to taste

Note:

• Garbanzo beans need to be soaked 6 - 8 hrs or overnight. I would not prefer precooked, canned garbanzo beans but if you cannot avoid, you can use them.
• I make ginger-garlic paste fresh in the amount that I can use for a week and refrigerate it.

Preparation

1. Pressure cook the garbanzo beans with little bit of salt for 3 whistles.
2. While the beans is cooking, chop the spinach, onion and tomatoes and set aside.

Cooking

Do the entire cooking on low-medium heat for added taste

1. Warm 3 - 4 tsp of oil on medium heat in a skillet and add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fennel seeds and bay leaf. Give the spices a saute.
2. Slit the green chillies half way through and add to the spices along with the chopped onions. Saute the onions.
3. Once the onions turn golden brown(translucent) add the ginger-garlic paste and saute until there is no raw smell of the ginger-garlic paste.
4. To the sauteed ginger-garlic-onion, add turmeric, chili and thania powder and saute the spices for 10 seconds. Optionally you can add cumin powder to the spices.



Cook the spinach for 5 minutes covered, to retain maximum nutrients

5. Immediately add the chopped tomatoes with little bit of water, cover and cook for about 4 minutes, until the tomato is well cooked to be mashed.
6. To the mashed tomato masala, add the chopped spinach and cook covered for 5 minutes. You can add 1/4 tsp of salt at this point.
7. After 5 minutes, once the spinach is cooked, add the garbanzo beans. Add the water from the cooked beans and mix the spinach, masala and beans together. 
8. Taste the curry for salt and add salt per your requirement.. Let it come to a boil.
9. Remove the curry from stove and serve hot with chapati or cumin(jeera) rice and enjoy.

Very inviting paratha palak chole combo

Health benefits of the ingredients used in palak chole

Garbanzo beans are rich in protein and dietary fiber and aid in proper digestion thus keeping your large intestine free of harmful bacteria. The beans are satiating so they not only curb your hunger and help reduce weight but also help better regulation of blood sugar. Both spinach and garbanzo beans are rich in anti-oxidants. The vitamin C in spinach and tomato not only provide immunity but also help reduce blood pressure. The vitamin A in spinach aids in eye health. The calcium in spinach and garbanzo helps in strengthening the bones. For the health benefits of spices used refer Essential Spices for Healthy Cooking.

Try the nutrition enriched Palak Chole and let me know how your family likes this garbanzo beans-spinach curry combination, with your valuable comments.

You may also be interested in the following recipes

Garbanzo-Spinach Patties

Mixed Beans and Lentil Curry(Dal Makhani)

Stuffed Brinjal (Eggplant) Curry