Creamy Chickpea Spinach Masala With Tadka

Creamy Chickpea Spinach Masala With Tadka

I think of this recipe, adapted from my book “Big Vegan Flavor” (Avery Books, 2024), as a spin on a North Indian chana masala with the addition of spinach and coconut milk and a South Indian-style tadka to finish. Tadka, perhaps my favorite and most used flavor-infusion technique from Indian cooking, is the process of blooming spices (and sometimes aromatics) in a fat, such as oil. Drizzling it on top of chickpea masala just before serving takes this meal from great to excellent. This has everything you might want in a creamy Indian-restaurant-style gravy dish, including the depth of flavor you typically get only after a slow simmer, but it’s ready from start to finish in a little over an hour. 

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

For the Chickpea Masala

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1½ teaspoons cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds (from 4 to 5 green cardamom pods)

2 tablespoons coconut oil (or neutral-flavored oil such as canola)

1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick

1 large yellow or red onion, finely diced

Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and freshly ground black pepper

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated or minced

1 to 3 serrano chiles (to taste), diced 

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 pound Roma or plum tomatoes, finely chopped

1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons no-sugar-added creamy almond butter

1 teaspoon organic brown sugar or coconut sugar

6 cups baby spinach (3 ounces), chopped

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 ½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice, plus more to taste

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped

1 small handful fresh mint leaves, chopped (optional)

For the Tadka

1½ to 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or neutral-flavored oil such as canola)

1½ teaspoons black or brown mustard seeds (see Tip)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 or 2 pinches asafetida or hing (optional; see Tip)

10 to 12 fresh curry leaves (or 20 to 25 dried; see Tip)

½ teaspoon Indian red chile powder (see Tip)

Prepare the chickpea masala:

Roughly grind the coriander, cumin, and cardamom seeds in a mortar with a pestle or add to a spice grinder and pulse just a few times. 

In a deep 12-inch sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high. Once hot, add the cinnamon stick and toss for 30 seconds. Add the roughly crushed spices and cook for 1 minute, tossing frequently.

Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to get some color, 5 to 7 minutes. Add a splash of water to prevent browning. Add the garlic, ginger, chile, turmeric and tomato paste and cook for 90 seconds, stirring frequently.

Add the tomatoes and their juices and 1½ teaspoons salt. Cook until the tomatoes start to break down and soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour in a few spoonfuls of coconut milk, scraping up any browned bits. Add the rest of the coconut milk, the chickpeas, almond butter and sugar. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, uncovering to stir occasionally.

Add the spinach and garam masala and simmer until the spinach wilts. Discard the cinnamon stick. Turn off the heat, stir in the lime juice, cilantro and mint (if using), and season to taste with salt and pepper. Taste, adding more lime juice or salt as needed.

Prepare the tadka:

Just before serving, prepare the tadka: Heat your smallest skillet or a tempering pan over medium. Add the oil and once shimmering, add the mustard seeds. Shake the pan occasionally. Once the seeds start sputtering, add the cumin seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Add the asafetida (if using) and swirl for 10 seconds. Add the curry leaves (cover the pan immediately if using fresh curry leaves to avoid splatter) and keep swirling until the mixture is very aromatic and the leaves have shriveled, about 20 seconds. Remove from the heat immediately and stir in the chile powder.

Pour the tadka on top of the chickpea masala. If freezing leftovers, pour tadka only on top of the amount you plan to eat right away.

Tips: All of the spices, including fresh curry leaves for the tadka, can be found at Indian grocers.

Make ahead: You can prep the onion, aromatics, tomatoes and spinach 1 to 3 days ahead; cover and refrigerate separately.

*I love this dish from Big Vegan Flavor! It really does taste restaurant quality. I use two serrano peppers. Perfectly spiced and balanced. Sometimes I swap the spinach for chard or other tender greens I have on hand and it's always good. If you can get the fresh curry leaves and mustard seeds, they really make this dish sing.

*Made last night, and thoroughly enjoyed. I made it pretty much according to the recipe, other than toasting the cumin, coriander, and cardamom before doing a course grind, but some changes I'll probably make in the future to make this a little less elaborate:

1. Canned tomatoes vs fresh, especially this time of year.

2. Course chop on all the veggies, because...

3. I'd also blend the sauce until smooth after adding the coconut milk but before adding the chickpeas.

4. Dried mint over fresh, if only because it's overpriced in normal grocers and the international ones are across town from me.

5. Skip the tadka. It's rich enough already, so I'll probably just add the black mustard seeds in with the initial spice mix, and maybe toast the curry leaves then too. Hing and chili powder can also go directly into the dish.

6. Probably double the amount of curry leaves in the dish. They were the best part of the tadka.