I love the traditional flavors of a good Asturian fabada, a Madrid stew or a disarmament stew. But since I don't want to get bored of eating legumes, I'm always looking for new ways to cook them. Of course, I need them to be easy recipes that don't take me all morning to prepare, and this chickpea and spinach curry is just that.
We start as we would with any traditional stew: with a good stir-fry. In this case we are going to do it slightly differently. We start by sautéing the chopped onion brunoise and we add a little salt to make it sweat. We are also going to put the grated garlic and ginger in the saucepan, which we will fight (better with the help of a spoon) and grate.
When the onion is poached and soft (about 5-6 minutes over medium heat), we are going to add the spices. It is important that whenever we add spices we wake them up in the pan, that is, we cook them slightly. It is the way to get them to release their aroma and essential oils. With medium heat, we add the turmeric, curry, cumin and pepper – the latter essential to maximally activate the anti-inflammatory power of turmeric – and let them toast lightly for 30 seconds. If we want spicy, we add chili powder.
Once our stew base is ready, we are going to add the crushed tomato and let it cook over medium-high heat for about five minutes. What we are going to do is concentrate the flavors. When the sauce has reduced, add the cooked chickpeas (which we will have washed and drained well) and the coconut milk. We need to cook everything together for about ten minutes so that the sauce thickens and gains creaminess. When everything is done chup chup soft, adjust the salt, add the spinach and let it cook for five more minutes.
You can accompany this chickpea curry with steamed fish, some boiled eggs (my favorite option because it is the most useful of all) or a grilled chicken fillet. It is even the perfect accompaniment to some homemade chicken burgers. You can also accompany it with cooked rice or eat it as is, without adding anything else to the curry.
A satisfying dish, with protein and perfect to take in a tupperware to the office or warm our soul at home on the coldest days. And on top of that it's easy. You can't ask for anything more.
