Indian Chickpea Curry with Tomato & Spinach {Vegan & Gluten Free}

This quick, easy Indian chickpea curry with tomato and spinach makes for a perfect midweek meal; a satisfying dish that can be on the table in just 25 minutes. Leftovers freeze well and are easy to reheat in a microwave for a packed lunch.  Full instructions and substitution suggestions included.  

Easy Chickpea Curry with Tomato and Spinach

This Indian chickpea curry with tomato and spinach is high on my list of easy midweek supper recipes, and is probably my favourite vegan dinner recipe. Starting from scratch, it can be on the table in 25 minutes which is exactly the sort of dish I love for an after work meal. 

Based on the traditional chickpea curry recipe of chole, we’ve added a big handful of spinach for that all important extra veg! 

Why make this chickpea and spinach curry?

• I love the blend of the spices, tomato and spinach.
• It’s easily adaptable depending on how I feel on the day; sometimes I want a bit of extra heat, so I add some more chili powder, and at other times I’m looking for a milder experience, so I cut down on the spices, and maybe even stir in a little coconut milk to take the edge off the heat.
• It is a simple recipe – only using three Indian spices.
• It’s an economical dish, as the main ingredient is chickpeas – a great value source of protein.
• Its a healthy dish – low carb and low calorie.

This is definitely our Anglicized recipe, rather than truly authentic. Should you want to make it more in touch with its Indian roots you can replace the oil with clarified butter/ghee.

Serve this Indian chickpea curry with tomato and spinach with some plain or pilau rice (we also have an Instant Pot pilau rice recipe), cooked bulgar wheat or naan bread, or just some steamed vegetables. Any leftovers can be frozen, but it’s better if you take some out to freeze before you add the spinach, but it is still fine to freeze with the spinach.

Is this Indian Chickpea Curry with Tomato and Spinach similar to Chole?

Chole, also known as chana masala, channay, or chole masala is a chickpea based curry from the Punjab. The main difference between the recipes is that we have added spinach.

How to make Indian Chickpea Curry with Tomato and Spinach

Step one – as always, I recommend measuring out ingredients first.

Step two – heat the oil in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan or skillet. Chop and fry the onion for a few minutes, then crush and add the garlic. Fry until the onion is soft and translucent.

Step three – add the spices, and stir to coat the onion with spice. Continue to cook for a few minutes as the delicious, spicy aroma is released.

Step four – add the canned tomato and tomato puree. Make sure you’ve got all the tomato out of the tin by filling it about 1/3 full of water, swirling it around, and then adding the water to the pan.

Step five – Add the chickpeas, and stir. Turn down the heat under the pan. Cover, and leave the curry to simmer gently for about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step six – add the spinach. If you think it will spill out of the pan, stir in half the spinach, cover again and leave for a minute until it wilts. Then add the remaining half, stir in and cook for one more minute.

Step seven – Once ready garish with coriander (cilantro) and serve in big bowl or with rice, bulgar wheat, naan bread, or other side dish.

Indian Chickpea Curry with Tomato and Spinach Hints and Tips

• You can substitute ghee for the vegetable oil.
• Leftover fresh ginger can be frozen, and then grated straight from the freezer, with a fine sharp grater, such as a microplane. Simple grate from frozen the next time you use it. It’s a great way of keeping the flavours fresh.
• The drained liquid from the chickpeas is known as aquafaba and makes a fabulous vegan egg white substitute.
• Not all brands of canned chickpeas are equal and the texture straight from the can varies wildly.  I use different brands to cook and make hummus with. Experiment until you find a brand that suits your taste.
• I far prefer fresh chillies to dried in this recipe – chop up leftover chillies, free freeze on a silicon mat and pack into a plastic pot once frozen.
• As lovely as unfinished / non coated cast iron cookware is, never use it to cook tomato based dishes as they will taste metallic. Use an enameled or stainless steel pot.
• This recipe freezes well, but it is better to add the spinach when you reheat it.   Follow the instructions until step 4 and then pack into plastic boxes, allow to cool and then freeze. To eat, allow to defrost, heat the curry, and then add the spinach leaves and continue heating for a minute or two, until they’re wilted. As always with frozen food make sure it’s piping hot all the way through.
• Add some stock to leftovers and whizz into a tasty soup.

How to add more vegetables! 

We love vegetables!  My one mantra for a better diet is to add an extra portion of vegetables to every meal whenever I can.

Ideas for packing more vegetables into this chickpea curry include:

• Using different leafy greens – add shredded kale, spring greens or chard and cook until wilted.
• Cut butternut squash, pumpkin or sweet potatoes, into 1.5 cm cubes and add along with the chickpeas – cook for about 20 minutes until soft.
• Cut cauliflower or broccoli into bite sized pieces and add a few minutes before the end of cooking time
• Fry chopped bell peppers along with the onions and spices before adding the rest of the ingredients
• Throw in a strained can of sweetcorn along with the leafy greens
• Add chopped okra for the last five minutes of cooking.

 Why I don’t recommend buying spices in bulk

I generally don’t buy large packets of spices. It’s easy to find economical packets of spices in our local Indian supermarket, but unless you are using several spoonfuls of them every day, they just go stale before you get through them. 

I’ve lost count of the bags of flavourless, fragrance free powders I’ve thrown out over the years – such false economy!

I far prefer buying a premium brand – that tastes better and is more potent (so you use less) that than the mass market brands.  You can buy refills to decant into the original glass jars. 

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4.96 from 23 votes

Chole - Indian Chickpea Curry with Tomato & Spinach

This quick, easy and vegan Indian chickpea curry with tomato and spinach makes for a perfect midweek meal; a satisfying dish that can be on the table in just 25 minutes. Leftovers freeze well and are easy to reheat in a microwave for a packed lunch. Full instructions and substitution suggestions included.

Servings: 4 people

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time25 mins

Ingredients

• 1 dsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion (peeled & chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (peeled & sliced)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder (or chopped fresh chillies)
• 1 tsp fresh ginger (finely grated)
• 500 g cooked chickpeas (2 x 400 g cans drained weight)
• 400 g canned tomatoes or passata
• 2 tbs tomato puree
• 150 g baby leaf spinach
• 1 small bunch coriander (if you can't find fresh, use frozen or soak dried coriander before using)

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the onion and garlic with a generous pinch of salt until soft and translucent.
  
• Add the spices and fry for a few minutes, stirring all the time,until fragrant.
  
• Add the canned tomatoes and puree.  Fill the tomato can about a third with water, give it a swirl to rinse and add to the pan.
  
• Add the chickpeas and stir.  Turn the heat down, cover and allow to gently simmer for 15 minutes stirring from time to time, until the chickpeas are tender. Add more water if needed. 
  
• Add the spinach and stir in, cover, and allow to cook for another minute.
  
• Serve immediately garnished with fresh coriander.
  

Notes

• You can substitute ghee for the vegetable oil.
• Leftover fresh ginger can be frozen, and then grated straight from the freezer. with a fine sharp grater, such as a microplane. Simple grate from frozen the next time you use it. It's a great way of keeping the flavours fresh.
• The drained liquid from the chickpeas is known as aquafaba and makes a fabulous vegan egg white substitute.
• Not all brands of canned chickpeas are equal and the texture straight from the can varies wildly.  I use different brands to cook and make hummus with. Experiment until you find a brand that suits your taste.
• I far prefer fresh chillies to dried in this recipe - chop up leftover chillies, free freeze on a silicon mat and pack into a plastic pot once frozen.
• This recipe freezes well, but it is better to add the spinach when you reheat it.   Follow the instructions until step 4 and then pack into plastic boxes, allow to cool and then freeze. To eat, allow to defrost, heat the curry, and then add the spinach leaves and continue heating for a minute or two, until they're wilted. As always with frozen food make sure it's piping hot all the way through.
• Add some stock to leftovers and whizz into a tasty soup.

Substitution ideas:

• Use different leafy greens - add shredded kale, spring greens or chard and cook until wilted.
• Cut butternut squash, pumpkin or sweet potatoes, into 1.5cm cubes and add along with the chickpeas - cook for about 20 minutes until soft.
• Cut cauliflower or broccoli into bite sized pieces and add a few minutes before the end of cooking time
• Fry chopped bell peppers along with the onions and spices before adding the rest of the ingredients
• Throw in a strained can of sweetcorn along with the leafy greens
• Add chopped ocra for the last five minutes of cooking.

Nutritional Information

• This recipe is 5 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portion.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.

Nutrition Facts

Chole - Indian Chickpea Curry with Tomato & Spinach

Amount Per Serving

Calories 175 Calories from Fat 27

% Daily Value*

Fat 3g5%

Sodium 519mg23%

Potassium 782mg22%

Carbohydrates 30g10%

Fiber 9g38%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A 3905IU78%

Vitamin C 24.5mg30%

Calcium 127mg13%

Iron 4.4mg24%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Main

Cuisine: Curry, Gluten Free, Indian, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: Chickpea Curry, Chole Recipe

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Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in January 2007 as Chole, but was rewritten and republished with new photos, step by step instructions and hints & tips in February 2019.

Love canned tomatoes? Find lots of fuss free easy recipes using tinned tomatoes here …