For vegetarians, such as myself, protein is one of those nutrients that there just isn’t enough of. So, in an effort to add as much protein to our diets as possible, we rely on lentils and beans, like Chole (Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans). In this process, we often get bogged down and forget the other essential nutrients that come from leafy greens. And if you have not already figured this out, I am a huge fan of adding leafy greens to any recipe. And that is exactly what I have done here.

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It is not just about eating your greens, but it is also about how you are cooking them in an optimal manner for nutrient absorption. So in this recipe, I have prepared the Chole and I have added the Palak (Spinach) after turning off the heat. The Palak cooks just enough with the residual heat, thus maintaining its nutrients.

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My husband loves Chole, but getting him to eat leafy greens is just as hard as getting children to eat their greens. So I usually buy a huge bag of triple washed greens, Palak in this case, and leave it in the refrigerator so he can throw a handful of it in whatever he is cooking. When we are away on long-distance, Chole is one of his quick, go-to recipes, so convincing him to throw in some Palak was not hard. He thoroughly enjoyed it. So yayy! 🙂

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Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Serves	3-4

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Ingredients

Beans

• Chole (Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans) – 2 cans

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Vegetables

• Onions – 1 large, thinly sliced
• Tomato – 1 large, diced
• Green Chillies – 2, finely chopped (Optional)
• Baby Spinach – 2 cups

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Spices & Herbs

• Jeera (Cumin Seeds) – 1 tsp
• Ginger – 2 tsp, grated
• Garlic – 2 tsp, crushed
• Haldi (Turmeric Powder) – 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsp (Halve it if using Green Chillies)
• Chole Masala – 1 tbsp
• Salt – As per taste

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Oils

• Cooking Oil – 1-2 tbsp

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Ingredient notes

• I always keep a couple of canned Chole at home for a quick meal. If you have additional time, feel free to soak 1 cup of Chole overnight. Then, cook them in the pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles
• I use Everest Chole Masala. There are several other brands. Alternatively, a simple Garam Masala will also work

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Method

1. In a pan, add cooking oil
2. Once the oil has heated up, add the jeera
3. Once the jeera splutters, add the sliced onions, ginger and garlic. Fry them until the onions turn translucent and rawness of the ginger and garlic has cooked away
4. Add haldi, red chilli powder, salt and continue to fry for 1-2 minutes
5. Add diced tomatoes. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the mixture has completly cooked. The way to know this is that the mixture cooks to a point where it looks like a paste with a layer of oil around it released
6. At this point, add the Chole, Chole Masala and 1-2 cups. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes
7. Open the lid, mash some of the Chole pieces to thicken the sauce, close the lid and cook for an additional 5 minutes
8. Turn off the heat. Add the spinach and close the lid for 1-2 minutes
9. Mix well and serve piping hot with rice or rotis. To make it even more decadent, add a dollop of Greek yoghurt on on the Chole 🙂

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