Palak/Saag Chole

Submitted by Jujubegirl

"I recently fell in love with chole. Locally, menu dishes called "saag" are made with spinach, which is why I've listed it as Palak/Saag. I've played around with this, increasing the amount of spinach to tomato, lowering the fat and salt, etc. This is a healthy, tasty dish that is great with naan, roti, or even dosas."

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
• 15 cups Baby Spinach (finely chopped)
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon ginger (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon green chili pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon asafoetida powder (hing)
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds (jeera(can sub ground cumin)
• 2 tablespoons coriander powder (dhania)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala

directions

1. 1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
2. 2. Puree tomatoes, green chilis, pepper flakes, and ginger in a food processor or blender until a very smooth puree.
3. 3. Heat the oil in a pan. To test heat, drop a cumin seed into the oil. If the seed cracks immediately, the oil is ready.
4. 4. Add asafetida and cumin.
5. 5. After the cumin seeds crack, add tomato puree, coriander, and turmeric. Cook around 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring often.
6. 6. Add spinach, and a half cup of water, cook covered about 5 minutes on medium.
7. 7 .Add chickpeas.
8. 8. Cook uncovered approximately 10 minutes to desired thickness.
9. 9. Add garam masala, cook about a minute, then remove from heat and serve.