With a simple spice collection, some basic pantry staples, a few standard veggies, and about 30 minutes or less… you can have this delicious chana saag.
Make it for dinner, lunch, or prep ahead of time to have ready for later in the week. If you’re solo, you’ll definitely have leftovers for future enjoyment. Yay happy belly and quick nourishment for your future self!
Extremely flavorful and filled with healing spices to support your immune system and offer anti-inflammatory benefits without any heat. Although spicing it up with cayenne or your fav hot sauce is always encouraged by me ;)
This also offers a nice punch of plant-based protein and healthy fats with the garbanzo, spinach, coconut oil, and mylk.
No more really needs to be said. Other than, don’t be scared of Indian food. No, this wasn’t infusing spices for several hours… but you can do this. It’s one of my favorite style cuisines to make (or eat out). But home cooked is almost always best. So much more fresh! AND saves you some of that hard earned dough.
Chana Saag
Yields 2-4 servings (depending on how large a serving)
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp coconut oil
3/4 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp salt (I use fine ground pink Himalayan)
1/4 sweet yellow onion, diced
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1/4 tsp asafoetida, optional - if you don’t have this you can omit, but it does add a little extra something special
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp fine ground black pepper
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1, 16oz can garbanzo beans, strained and rinsed
roughly 6 heaping cups of loose spinach
1 cup dried jasmine white rice (or any grain of your liking)
2 cups filtered or spring water
Note that not all ingredients are photographed in their proper amounts - I used only 1/4 onion and double that amount of spinach.
DIRECTIONS
Add rice and water to a sauce pot and cook on a low heat until done.
Heat coconut oil in a medium to large frying pan. Add mustard seeds and salt and cook for 1-3 minutes on a low heat. Stir occasionally.
Add onion, tomato, and remaining spices (cumin, coriander, asafoetida, turmeric, black pepper, ginger) and cook on a low heat until tomatoes have reduced and onions have become a bit translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add coconut milk, spinach, and garbanzo beans. Cook until spinach has wilted.
Serve with rice and enjoy!
Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This is great to have for a quick lunch or dinner on the go!