Spinach Chickpea Curry: With Coconut, Not Tomatoes

A super quick, easy and tasty vegan main that can be on the table within twenty minutes. This spinach chickpea curry is made with coconut milk rather than tomatoes, which makes a most delicious change. Serve with rice or flatbreads.

When you want something in a hurry, tins are your friend. Add a few fresh ingredients and some spices and you have a meal fit for anyone. This spinach chickpea curry is one of my go to midweek meals.

Spinach Chickpea Curry

As with most good dinner recipes, this spinach chickpea curry starts with an onion and some oil. Gently fry the onion until translucent, then add spices. If you’re not yet feeling hungry, the aroma of frying onions and spices should do the trick. 

Tip in the coconut milk and give a good stir. Then add the chickpeas and simmer with the lid covered. It’s best to add the chopped spinach stems before the leaves as they’re a little tougher, so will take longer to cook. 

I try to go easy on the salt, so you may find that ½ tsp isn’t enough for you. Somewhere between ½ and 1 tsp should be about right. There are however, plenty of flavours going on in this curry. Just think spices, coconut and lime. So you might not need quite as much salt as you think. Just check the seasoning as you go along.

Stir this in just before you add the spinach leaves. Cover the pan and simmer for a further 3-4 minutes.

Turn off the heat but leave the lid on whilst you get the table ready and dish up the rice or flatbreads. Finally, squeeze in the lime juice just before serving. Yoghurt goes really nicely with this curry, if you fancy some. See my top tips below for other accompaniments.

Spinach Chickpea Curry Top Tips

Cooking Times

Although you can cook this spinach and chickpea curry within fifteen minutes, it’s tastier if you can leave it for a bit longer. Allow the chickpeas to simmer for an additional five minutes before adding the spinach and the flavours will have a chance to penetrate and develop further.

Can You Cook Your Own Chickpeas?

Yes, you can cook chickpeas from scratch. I boil up a batch then freeze them in tin size portions as so many recipes require tins. A 400g tin of chickpeas contains about 250g once drained of liquid. Don’t forget to keep the liquid, known these days as aquafaba. It can be used for any number of things, including vegan meringues.

Dried chickpeas normally double their weight when cooked. So for the 500g of chickpeas needed for this spinach chickpea curry, you’ll need 250g of dried.

You’ll need to soak the chickpeas overnight prior to cooking. The longer you do this, the less cooking time you’ll need. So I try and soak mine for twenty four hours. Rinse them well, place in a lidded pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, place the lid on top and simmer for an hour. Try a chickpea. If it’s not soft, continue to cook until the whole batch is done to your liking. But be careful not to overcook to the point of disintegration. 

You can keep the cooking water as aquafaba and use it just as you would the tinned stuff.

What Can You use Instead of Spinach?

Kale and most types of cabbage work really well if you can’t get hold of spinach or don’t like it. Likewise you could substitute chard, beetroot or turnip tops. Nettles make a great spinach substitute when they’re in season too.

All but the turnip tops will need a longer cooking time though. So add them at the same time as you add the chickpeas and test for tenderness before turning the heat off. They may need an extra few minutes.

Coconut or Tomatoes?

A surprising number of people are allergic to tomatoes. So coconut milk can be a very welcome alternative. Moreover, it makes for a particularly creamy and delicious chickpea spinach curry. But a tin of coconut milk is more expensive. You can easily substitute a tin of tomatoes if you prefer. You may, however, need to add a little water if the curry is looking too dry.

What Other Veg Can You Add?

Red or orange peppers make a nice colourful addition to spinach chickpea curry. Just chop them into smallish chunks and add at the same time as the cumin seeds. One or two peppers work well.

A couple of small sweet potatoes or one large one make an excellent addition. Cut into small cubes. Add as soon as the onions go translucent and fry for a few minutes before continuing the recipe.

What do You Serve with Spinach Chickpea Curry?

For a quick midweek meal, this chickpea and spinach curry is excellent served with just rice or flatbreads. If, however, you want a proper curry night or you’re entertaining, it makes a great centrepiece for a larger spread. Just sprinkle some chopped coriander over the top.

Cauliflower and potato curry is a nice foil as is a mixed vegetable curry. Chutney is a must. Although mango chutney is traditional, I find my spiced apple chutney or rhubarb pickle work a treat. A green salad can freshen things up. And a bowl of cucumber and mint raita is always welcome.

If you’re planning on accompanying the curry with rice, put the rice on to cook before you start on the curry. They should then both be ready at the same time.

Other Chickpea Recipes You Might Like

• Barley bowl with spiced aubergine, chickpeas & tomatoes (vegan)
• Black chickpea & red quinoa burgers (vegan)
• Carrot falafel with tahini sauce (vegan)
• Freekeh with chilli chickpeas and herbed vegetables (vegan)
• Middle Eastern chickpea salad (vegan)
• Savoury chocolate falafel

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this spinach chickpea curry or a variant of it, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like more curry recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.

Choclette x

Spinach Chickpea Curry. PIN IT.

Spinach Chickpea Curry – The Recipe

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5 from 17 votes

Spinach Chickpea Curry

A super quick, easy and tasty vegan midweek main that can be on the table within twenty minutes. Serve with rice or flatbreads.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: chickpeas, curry, easy, quick, spinach, vegan, vegetarian

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 540kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 large onion finely diced
• 2 clove garlic finely diced
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 red chilli seeds removed and finely chopped
• 2 cm knob root ginger finely chopped or grated
• 1 tsp madras curry powder (I used madras for this one)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 400 g tinned coconut milk
• ¾ tsp sea salt or to taste
• 500 g cooked chickpeas (2 x 400g tins – drained)
• 250 g mature spinach well washed – you can use more if you have it and also baby spinach if that's all you can get hold of – see note below
• 1 lime juiced

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• In a large pan, fry the onion in the oil over a gently heat until translucent – about three minutes.
  2 tbsp sunflower oil, 1 large onion
• Turn the heat up a little and add the cumin seeds, garlic, ginger and chilli. Stir and fry for a couple of minutes or so.
  2 clove garlic, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 red chilli, 2 cm knob root ginger
• Add the curry powder, turmeric, coconut milk and salt. Give a good stir and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the chickpeas, cover the pan and simmer for four minutes.
  1 tsp madras curry powder, 1 tsp turmeric, 400 g tinned coconut milk, 500 g cooked chickpeas, ¾ tsp sea salt
• Chop the spinach stems into 2-3 cm lengths and add to the pot. Place the lid over the top and simmer for three minutes. Roughly chop the spinach leaves and throw in. Cover and simmer for a further three minutes.
  250 g mature spinach
• Turn off the heat. Leave covered for a further two minutes. Squeeze in the lime juice, stir and serve with rice or flat breads.
  1 lime

Notes

If you’re using baby spinach, just add the whole lot at the spinach leaf stage and omit the chopping up the stems bit.

Red or orange peppers make a nice addition. Just chop them into smallish chunks and add at the same time as the cumin seeds.

A couple of small sweet potatoes or one large one make an excellent addition. Cut into small cubes. Add as soon as the onions go translucent and fry for a few minutes before continuing the recipe.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 540kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Sodium: 368mg | Potassium: 1092mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 6001IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 8mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

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I’m sharing this recipe for spinach chickpea curry with A Strong Coffee for #CookBlogShare.