This vegetable curry with spinach and chickpeas is the simple weeknight meal that you’ve been searching for. It is also one of my favorite “use it up” meals since you can clean out your fridge and add just about any vegetable. Of course, chopping vegetables can be time consuming, so the limiting factor for speed is how many vegetables you decide to add. And the more the better in my opinion!
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If you are short on time, stick to the main recipe that calls for canned tomatoes and baby spinach, which require no chopping. Then all you have to do is prep the onion, garlic, and ginger and open the cans. Easy peasy prep in five to ten minutes.
If you have a little more time, clean out your fridge to find all those veggies that are starting to wilt. After you rescue them from becoming science experiments, get them ready to go when you have time. Broccoli, carrots, zucchini, peppers, and other greens can be prepped up to three days in advance if stored in the proper containers. Chop them up on the weekend and you will be ready to cook a hot meal after a long day at work.
Now, I never thought vegetable curry would be something my kids would enjoy, but this is actually one of their favorite meals. I haven’t met a kid yet under the age of 10 that will eat spicy food (lucky you if you have one)! The spiciness of this dish will depend on how much curry powder you add and what type of coconut milk you use. Full fat coconut milk with tamper down the spice and mute the flavor more than low-fat versions.
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- Ingredients for winter curry
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- Winter vegetable curry
Vegetable Curry with Spinach & Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp peanut or olive oil
- 1 large onion coarsely chopped (1 cup)
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp curry powder or more to taste
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes or 2 diced fresh tomatoes
- 13.5 ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk
- 2-3 cups fresh greens such as spinach, chard, kale, or bok choi roughly chopped
- 15 ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- Any other seasonal vegetables such as broccoli, peppers, carrots, zucchini
- Rice or Cauliflower rice for serving
Instructions
- Heat peanut or olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers.
- Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add ginger and garlic cook for 1 minute while stirring.
- Add curry powder and stir until fragrant, another minute.
- Pour in the undrained tomatoes and coconut milk and bring to a boil; reduce heat.
- Add any other vegetables that you plan to add (except the spinach or other greens as these only need to be wilted at the end). Simmer 10 minutes uncovered to allow the sauce to thicken and the vegetables to cook and soften.
- Add spinach and chickpeas then cook until the spinach is just wilted and the chickpeas are warmed through, another 3 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and serve alone or over rice/cauliflower rice if desired.
Source: adapted from Parents magazine; Everyday Easy Meals 2011
What brand of curry do you use? I always find curry dishes hard to make and not as flavorful as I’d like. Always looking for a good recommendation!!:)
I just use store brand curry. I agree that sometimes homemade curry doesn’t have as much flavor as you would expect. In this recipe the garlic and ginger really make the flavor stand out. If you want even more flavor you could also double the curry powder, but my kids usually complain it is too spicy if I try to add more! Also if you use low-fat coconut milk instead of full fat it doesn’t tamper the flavor as much. Last tip – season with a good salt. I have a pink Himalayan salt that makes my cooking really pop (Dr. Mercola brand, only $8 for a large bottle).