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Palak chole featured Image.

Palak Chole Recipe

Tanvi Srivastava
North Indian spinach and chickpeas curry made with whole spices, tomatoes, onions ginger and garlic.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 9 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For Cooking Chickpeas (Skip if using canned chickpeas)

  • 1 cup (~200g) raw chickpeas or 15oz canned chickpeas, drained
  • 3 cup water
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Pinch baking soda

For The Spinach Puree

  • 1 cup water
  • 4-5 broccoli florets , optional
  • 12-15 oz spinach
  • ⅛ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 2 clove

For The Spinach Sauce

  • 4 tablespoon mustard oil (or any cooking oil of choice)
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 2 green cardamom cloves
  • 2-3 Thai green chillies (adjust to tolerance) , slit
  • 1 teaspoon garlic paste
  • ½ inch ginger julinned
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ¾ teaspoon red chili powder hot, adjust to taste
  • 1 cup onion finely chopped
  • ¾ cup tomato (1 large tomato, finely chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves, optional but recommended)
  • ¾ teaspoon garam masala or chana masala powder or kitchen king masala

Instructions
 

Cook Chickpeas. This can be a done a day in advance. Skip if using canned

  • Wash the chickpeas under running water. Soak in enough water overnight(8-10 hours).
    1 cup (~200g) raw chickpeas
  • Next morning, drain and add chickpeas to a pressure cooker with 3 cups water, oil and teaspoon salt.
  • Pressure cook for 15-20 minutes or until they are soft. You could cook in instant pot as well. Discard the bay leaf and reserve the stock. Place the boiled chickpeas in a separate bowl.

Make The Spinach Puree

  • Thoroughly wash the spinach leaves. Roughly chop the stems and leaves if they are too big. If you feel that few stems are too stringy, discard.
    12-15 oz spinach, 4-5 broccoli florets, 2 clove
  • Add 1 cup water to a cooking pot along with cloves and fennel seeds. Bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling,broccoli florets to it. Let cook for 3-4 minutes and the add the spinach. Cook until the spinach has wilted and the broccoli is dark green in color.
  • Add the vegetables along with leftover liquid to a food processor. Also add the cloves and fennel seeds. Pulse to make a puree.
    I do not like to make a smooth puree however you can blend to desired texture/consistency. Set the blended spinach aside.

Make Masala for Palak Chole

  • Heat up oil on high in a heavy bottomed cooking pot.
    4 tablespoon mustard oil, 1 cup onion, ⅛ teaspoon fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seed, 2 green cardamom cloves, 1 small cinnamon stick
  • Once the oil is smoky, reduce the heat to medium & wait for 1-2 minutes. Temper with cumin, cinnamon, and green cardamom. If you are using canned chickpeas, add a bay leaf as well.
  • Add the garlic, green chillies and ginger next. Saute for 10-15 seconds taking care to not burn anything.
  • Add the chopped onions next and sauté  till the onions start to lightly brown.
  • Next add all the ground spices(expect garam masala ), add a bit of chicpea stock and saute the spices for a minute or so.
    1 teaspoon garlic paste, ¾ cup tomato, ¼ teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 2-3 Thai green chillies (adjust to tolerance)
  • Add the tomatoes, salt and sugar next. Continue to cook on medium low heat till you see oil separating on the sides of the pot. The tomatoes will soften and turn mushy.This may take 5-8 minutes. 
  • Add the spinach and chickpeas and mix well. Sauté with masala for 5-7 minutes until you see that the spinach is bubbly.
    1 cup (~200g) raw chickpeas, 12-15 oz spinach, ½ inch ginger, 4-5 broccoli florets
  • Reduce the heat to low, add the reserved chickpea stock depending on the consistency of the sauce you like (I add about ½ cup). Mix well. Taste and adjust the salt if needed. If you need to thin out more, add water.
    Cover and let cook on low for 15-18 minutes
    1 teaspoon salt
  • Check once or twice in between. The spinach will bubble a lot during cooking and you will need to stir it in between to avoid sticking to bottom. Also the spinach will change color to dull green and you will start seeing glisten on the sides of the pot. If you feel that the sauce is getting dry, add ¼ cup stock or water.
  • Finish with kasuri methi and ¼ teaspoon garam masala. Let sit for 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm.
    1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves, optional but recommended), ¾ teaspoon garam masala

Notes

  1. Green color of Spinach Sauce - Over the years, I have seen many discussions about the color of spinach sauce and read many articles on how to preserve it etc etc. If you ask me, there is no right or wrong. The color of the sauce is simply dependent on how long you sauté the spinach puree with the masala base. I personally like the sauce to be well sautéed and even though it loses the bright green color in the process, I love the deep smoky flavor that comes along.
  2. Spinach Puree - I prefer to keep the spinach on a slightly coarse side while blending however you can blend to a smooth puree.
  1. Add Tadka (Optional)- Many times, for added flavor, to the finished curry, I add a tempering of crisped cumin seeds and red chili powder. Try it!
  1. Add Store Bought or Homemade Chana Masala Spice Blend- Add 1 teaspoon of your favorite chana masala powder to the curry if you wish. It gets super flavorful.
  2. Finish the curry with a dollop of ghee and a tablespoon of heavy cream if you wish.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!