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saag chana recipe
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4.82 from 22 votes

easy chana saag recipe

Chana saag recipe is a perfect way to get protein and iron. It tastes even yum the next day. You can eat with bread rice or roti. Learn to make it here
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian(Punjabi)
Keyword: chana saag recipe, saag chana recipe
Servings: 4
Author: bhavana bhatia

Equipment

  • pressure cooker
  • pan / pot for cooking curry

Ingredients

  • 2 cups spinach chopped
  • 3 cups Boiled chickpeas or canned chickpeas (refer notes for dried chickpeas)
  • 2 medium onions diced
  • 1 cup pureed tomatoes / diced tomatoes
  • 2-3 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon garlic paste
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder / turmeric powder
  • ½ tablespoon garam masala powder or adjust as per taste
  • ½ tablespoon red chili powder / cayenne pepper / paprika powder adjust as per taste
  • Salt as per taste
  • 2 cups hot water
  • ¼ cup coconut milk optional( it will help to balance spice)

Instructions

  • In a pan or a pot, heat oil. Add onion with ginger, garlic and some salt and saute on low/medium heat until dark brown. (If you prefer the dark gravy cook as brown as possible. Switch off just before they start to burn.)
  • Add the crushed/pureed tomatoes with little salt.(I have just blended fresh tomatoes here.)
  • Continue cooking with little salt, once tomatoes have soften.
  • Add the spices(curry powder,garam masala and red chilli/paprika powder).
  • Continue cooking until the masala has mixed well.
  • Add chickpeas to curry mix and hot water, Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
  • Add coconut milk to the chickpea curry. You can adjust it according to your taste.
  • Add the chopped spinach leaves and turn off the heat.

Notes

Note: If you prefer the dark gravy cook as brown as possible. Switch off just before they start to burn. It is worth the wait trust me!
For boiling chickpeas :
Soak chickpeas overnight or at least for 4 hours in water for 2 hours in hot water. They swell and double in the size post soaking. If you want you can also use canned chickpeas for this curry.Pressure cook the chickpeas with 3-4 cups of water and bit of salt for 2-3 whistles or in a covered pot, until soft
For instant pot, I would recommend to cook on high of 15 minutes and release the steam after 15 minutes. This would change a bit based on the quality chickpeas you are using.

Nutrition

Serving: 4g