Spinach and chickpea rice... a great Indian vegetarian meal...

You can't talk about Indian cuisine without mentioning vegetarian and even vegan dishes. In fact, more Indian people are vegetarians, than they are meat eaters. Chickpea and rice are one of the staples for all those on a vegetarian diet, but not only Indians. Chickpeas are a staple food ingredients practically in all plant based kitchens these days. 

I've chosen this recipe, because in our home we absolutely love spinach! This dish is perfectly balanced in regards to spices and it's also very filling too. Just one tip - prepare all your ingredients first, have all the spices etc already measured and at hand, as once you start cooking this dish, everything goes pretty fast. 

This particular recipe comes from Good Food Channel website and it's author is no other than Anjum Anand -  one of my kitchen heroes, when it comes to Indian cuisine.

How to make it...

Ingredients:

- 200 g baby spinach
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon ghee or melted vegan butter
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 10 black peppercorns
- 1 heaped teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1-3 green chillies, according to taste, pricked with a fork
- 1 heaped teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ tablespoon ground  cumin
- 200 g canned chickpeas, (drained weight)
- 300 g cooked basmati rice
- 1-2 teaspoon lemon juice

Method:

- Tip the spinach into a large saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water. 

- Cover and cook over a medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes or until wilted. 

- Drain through a sieve, squeeze out any excess water, then tip into a food processor and blend to a smooth purée.

- Heat the oil and ghee in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, black peppercorns and cumin seeds and fry for 20-30 seconds or until the cumin is aromatic.

- Stir in the onion and chillies and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until turning golden brown at the edges, then stir in the ginger and garlic and cook for a further minute.

- Add the ground coriander, garam masala and ground cumin and season with a pinch of salt. 

- Stir in a splash of water and cook for 1 minute. 

- Add the chickpeas and spinach, stir well to incorporate then cook for 1-2 minutes, until any excess moisture has evaporated. 

- Stir in the rice and heat through.
- Add the lemon juice, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. 


Smacznego!

You may also like:

          

Have you made any of my recipes? Tag @anulaskitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #anulaskitchen