Spinach, Tomatoes, and Chickpeas Recipe

This is a recipe from one of the Hare Krishna cookbooks. I love making Hare Krishna food because mostly it is cheap and easy, probably none more so than this recipe! Basically all you need is spices, oil, margarine, a tin of tomatoes, and a tin of chickpeas (all of which I just keep handy in the pantry), plus a bunch of spinach. The spinach is really the only thing you need to plan for when doing the grocery shopping. This is also a complete protein meal when served with rice.

Serves 4 with rice or approximately 2 without

400g tin chickpeas
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp grated fresh ginger (though I just use 1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
400g tin chopped or crushed tomatoes
450g fresh spinach, washed, stemmed, and chopped
4 tbsp water
1 tbsp margarine (I use Nuttelex as it is very buttery)
Sprinkle of salt

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds, ginger, ground coriander, and turmeric, in that order and in quick succession. Stir-fry for around 30 seconds.

2. Add the tomatoes and chopped spinach. Stir to blend the spices into the spinach. Pour in the water and add the salt. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the chickpeas and dot with butter. Simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the excess liquid has been cooked off.

Happy eating! :)