What is Chana Saag made of?

Chana Saag is a classic Indian curry made with chickpeas, spinach, onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and warm spices . Served with warm paratha or steamed basmati rice makes a perfect weeknight meal that can be easily adapted to vegan or gluten-free diets.

How long to soak chickpeas for chana?

Rinse dried chickpeas at least thrice. Soak them in 3 ½ to 4 cups of water overnight or for at least 8 hours.

What are the side effects of Chana Saag?

5 side effects of eating chickpeas Allergic reaction. Some people are allergic to legumes, including chickpeas. ... Gastrointestinal problems. Gastrointestinal issues after eating legumes are quite common. ... Interference with medications. ... Uric acid accumulation. ... Kidney stones formation.

What is the difference between Chana Saag and palak?

As it turns out, palak means spinach, whereas saag can mean any leafy green, including spinach but also mustard greens, kale, fenugreek leaves or whatever suits your fancy . No matter the greens you choose to include, this classic North Indian dish deserves to be served up often.

What happens if you forget to soak chickpeas overnight?

If you forget, you can simply start the cooking process, but expect them to take longer to cook than if you had soaked them first . It can take up to twice the time if you don't soak them first. The reason most people prefer to soak beans is: Soaking makes the beans cook faster.

What happens if you don't boil chickpeas?

Chickpeas need to be properly cooked before consumption to make them safe and digestible. Raw chickpeas contain compounds known as protease inhibitors and lectins that can be harmful if consumed in large quantities .

Why do my soaked chickpeas smell?

Soaking beans at room temperature promotes fermentation (and yes, the beans get gassy) resulting in (you guessed it) a sour smell . While certain types of fermentation can limit disruptive complex sugars (or oligosaccharides), the situation described above can be unsafe prior to cooking.

What does chana consist of?

Black Chana contains a wide range of phytochemicals including carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins, flavonoids, iron, phosphate, chloride etc. These phytochemicals serve as antioxidants and prevent various cancers. Regular intake of black chickpeas strengthens bones and reduces hot flushes in menopausal women.

Is Chana Saag good for health?

Chane Ka Saag contains a wide array of nutrients, including protein, carbohydrate, fibre, iron, calcium, and vitamins. In winters, it helps keep cold, cough, fever and other illnesses at bay . Green Gram Leaves are easily available during the winter season and are loaded with a range of health benefits.

What is the difference between saag and spinach?

Saag is the Hindi word for green leaves , and you can make this dish with mustard greens (the most common choice, especially in the Indian state of Punjab where mustard is grown) or spinach (the Hindi word for spinach is palak), but you can use any type of green leaves.

What's the difference between saag and spinach?

The difference is only in the contents. Palak in hindi is a single vegetable called spinach in english. Whereas saag too a type of Indian vegetable is prepared by a mixture of three -four leafy varieties of mustard leaves, spinach, fenugreek leaves and bathua leaves..

Chana Saag Recipe - Creamy Chickpeas and Spinach

Sometimes, when I’m suffering from a creativity block, all I need to do is take a stroll through the freezer aisle. Yesterday, as I was perusing the freezer goods, I saw a frozen dinner called Chana Saag. I didn’t look too closely, I just saw chickpeas and spinach and knew that’s exactly what I wanted to eat. So I adapted my Indian Style Creamed Spinach recipe by adding a can of chickpeas to make it a more filling meal, and this Chana Saag was born. And whoa, is it good!!

Is Chana Saag Spicy?

This recipe can be made either hot or mild depending on what type of curry powder you use, but either way the fragrant spices will be heady and flavorful. The coconut milk adds just the right amount of natural sweetness and creamy flavor to balance the warm spices.

How to Serve Chana Saag

I suggest serving this over rice or with some homemade naan to sop up the sauce. I served mine with some rice and while I usually go for jasmine rice, the Chana Saag was so flavorful that plain white rice did the job nicely.

Can I Substitute the Coconut Milk?

Absolutely. The original version of this recipe used a 12oz. can of evaporated milk in place of the coconut milk. I’ve since grown to love coconut milk with curry powder, so I now prefer that, and it makes this recipe appropriate for both vegans and vegetarians, so I went with coconut milk. But it tastes great both ways!

WHAT KIND OF CURRY POWDER DO YOU USE?

I prefer to buy mild curry powder, that way I can make both mild and hot curries with it by adding my own cayenne pepper for heat, when I want. For this recipe, I used Sharwood’s mild curry powder. Or you can try making your own curry powder using this recipe forEasy Homemade Curry Powderfrom Spiceitupp.com.

Chana Saag Curry

4.57 from 79 votes

Ingredients

1.5 cups long grain white rice ($0.95)
1 yellow onion ($0.32)
2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.30)
2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
1 Tbsp curry powder hot or mild ($0.30)
1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
3/4 tsp salt ($0.03)
1 tomato ($0.31)
1 lb. frozen chopped spinach ($1.60)
1 15oz. can chickpeas ($0.49)
1/2 cup water ($0.00)
1 13oz. can coconut milk ($2.79)

Instructions

Begin the rice first. Add the rice and 3 cups water to a sauce pot. Cover with a lid, place the pot over high heat, and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off, and let the rice rest for 10 minutes, undisturbed, with the lid in place. Fluff with a fork just before serving.
While the rice is cooking, begin the curry. Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large skillet with the olive oil and sauté over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft. While these are cooking, dice the tomato.
Add the curry powder and cumin to the skillet and continue to stir and cook for one minute more. Add the diced tomato and salt. Continue to cook for about five minutes more, or until the tomato has broken down.
Drain the chickpeas in a colander and give them a quick rinse. Add the rinsed chickpeas, frozen spinach, and a half cup of water to the skillet. Stir everything together and then bring it up to a simmer over medium heat. Let the mixture simmer for five minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
After five minutes, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the coconut milk. Depending on how thick you want the sauce, you can either just heat through or let it simmer until thickened. Leave your chana saag chunky ,or, if preferred, use an immersion blender to purée some of the mixture. Once it’s heated through, adjust the salt to your liking.
Serve the creamy chickpeas and spinach over a bowl of warm rice.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 360.03kcalCarbohydrates: 61.18gProtein: 11.2gFat: 8.57gSodium: 660.27mgFiber: 8g

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Scroll down for the step by step photos!

Chana Saag Recipe - Creamy Chickpeas and Spinach - Budget Bytes (6)

How to Make Chana Saag Curry – Step By Step Photos

Begin the rice first. Add 1.5 cups rice and 3 cups water to a sauce pot. Cover with a lid, place the pot over high heat, and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off, and let the rice rest for 10 minutes, undisturbed, with the lid in place. Fluff with a fork just before serving.

First dice one yellow onion, mince 2 cloves of garlic, and grate about one Tbsp ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large skillet with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger over medium heat for a few minutes, or until the onions are soft.

Add 1 Tbsp curry powder and 1 tsp cumin to the skillet and sauté for a minute more. The spices will stick to the bottom of the skillet, but it’s okay because the juice from the tomatoes in the next step will dissolve it off. Just make sure that the heat is not up so high that they burn.

While the onions are sautéing, dice one tomato. Add the tomato to the skillet with 3/4 tsp salt and sauté for about five minutes more, or until the tomatoes break down a bit.

After five minutes it looks something like this. It will smell pretty amazing at this point!

Add 1 lb. frozen spinach (no need to thaw), one 15oz. can chickpeas (drained), and ½ cup water. Stir everything together and then bring it up to a simmer over medium heat. Let the mixture simmer for five minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

After simmering for five minutes, turn the heat down to medium-low and add a 13oz. can of coconut milk. Depending on how thick you want the sauce, you can either just heat through or let it simmer until thickened. Leave your chana saag chunky, or, if preferred, use an immersion blender to purée some of the mixture. Once it’s heated through, adjust the salt to your liking.

Whatever texture you choose, it’s freaking delicious.

Chana Saag Recipe - Creamy Chickpeas and Spinach - Budget Bytes (15)

Serve over rice or with a piece of naan for dipping!

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Coconut Curry Ramen$1.34 recipe / $1.34 serving

Coconut Curry Chickpeas$7.44 recipe / $1.86 serving

Chana Saag Recipe - Creamy Chickpeas and Spinach - Budget Bytes (2024)