063 / 75 · Cupboard to Table

Coconut Chickpea and Spinach Curry

3 bowls · Active 15 min · Total 40 min

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Chickpeas and spinach simmer in a coconut-tomato curry that needs only one pot. Ginger and curry powder provide a clear flavor without a long spice inventory. Serve with bread or separately prepared rice if wanted; the recipe itself is the curry, with enough sauce to spoon around the beans.

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Coconut chickpea and spinach curry.

Soften the onion before the liquid

Onion stays firm if it is rushed into acidic tomato. Give it time in the oil, then add ginger, garlic and curry powder briefly. Keep the liquid ready so the spices do not scorch. Coconut milk smooths the sauce, while tomato keeps it from feeling uniformly rich.

Spinach at the finish

Fresh baby spinach wilts in a minute or two. Add it only when the chickpeas and sauce are ready. Frozen spinach is possible as a variation, but must first complete its full package cooking instructions, then be pressed and weighed as specified; thawing and squeezing alone are not sufficient. A gentle simmer keeps coconut milk from separating aggressively. If serving with separately prepared rice, plan its cooking sequence so it is eaten promptly or kept safely hot, not left lukewarm while the curry is prepared. Its storage clock remains separate from the curry.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil (15 ml)
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped (150 g)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (15 g)
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes, 14 oz (400 g)
  • 1 can coconut milk, 13.5 oz (400 ml)
  • 2 cans chickpeas, 15 oz (425 g) each, drained and rinsed
  • 4 oz baby spinach (115 g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice (15 ml)

Set out

At least 3-liter (3.2-quart) saucepan with lid, Mixing spoon

Allergens

No major US allergen identified in the base ingredients. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion for 6–7 minutes until soft. Add garlic, ginger and curry powder for 30 seconds.
  2. Add tomatoes, coconut milk, chickpeas and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer.
  3. Cook uncovered for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce lightly thickens.
  4. Fold in spinach for 1–2 minutes until wilted, then stir in lime juice and serve.

Use one full coconut tin

The recipe uses the whole tin, avoiding a small leftover that needs cold storage. Stir or shake the tin before opening if its cream has separated, following the package instructions.

Timing

Includes softening onion, briefly warming aromatics, bringing the sauce to a simmer, reducing it and wilting fresh spinach. The optional frozen-spinach preparation requires its additional full packet cooking and pressing time.

A useful detail

Curry powders differ in heat and salt; taste near the end before adding more seasoning.

Another way

  • Use 3 oz (85 g) fully package-cooked frozen spinach instead of fresh: complete the full packet cooking first, cool only enough to handle safely and press out excess water, then weigh 85 g prepared spinach. Add it at the final spinach stage and heat through. Allow the extra packet cooking/preparation time and suitable equipment in addition to the base recipe.
  • Replace one can of chickpeas with 1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets (150 g), simmering until tender.

Keep it well

Refrigerate the curry in shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below for up to 3 days, or freeze for 2 months. Reheat to 165°F/74°C. Any rice accompaniment has its own stricter rule: cool and refrigerate as quickly as possible, ideally within 1 hour of cooking, use within 24 hours of that original cooking and reheat only once to 165°F/74°C; eat promptly and discard reheated rice remains.