Spinach-Chick Pea Curry

Ohhhhh man, do I love Indian food.

You know that, because I've already shown you chicken curry, which I love just as much as this.

This uses the same curry paste, which is super duper handy because you can make several different varieties of curry at the same time and have a theme night!

I love theme nights.

Here's what you'll need for a batch of this magestic curry:

• 2 cans chick peas
• 1 cup diced tomatoes (or half a can, whatever)
• 2 tablespoons curry paste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2-3 cups fresh spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• chicken stock, as needed

So easy!

So, heat a pan to medium-high heat.   We're going to crisp the beans first!

Then, drain and rinse the beans well.

Shake the beans to get as much liquid out of them as you can.  Then, when the pan is very hot, add a drizzle of olive oil and the chick peas to the pan.

Now, you must be patient at this step.  We want the chick peas to dry out and get a leeetle bit crispy, so let them sit right where they are for a bit.  Every 90 seconds or so, flip them around until they start to get golden on all sides.

While that happens, you can mince the garlic!

You know the drill:  whack it with your knife to get the skins loose...

...then remove the skins and discard them.

Then, run your knife over and over the garlic to chop it finely.

By the way, this is the curry paste that I use:  it's delicious and you can find it almost anywhere in the Asian-foods section!

And, I use a very fancy off-brand cayenne pepper that works just fine, thank you very much!

Now, after the chick peas have begun to crisp, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, curry paste, garlic, and as much cayenne pepper as you can handle to the pan.

Nice.  Now, stir this all around to combine it, then splash in ½ cup or so of chicken or vegetable stock...just enough to make a light sauce.

Then, let the tomatoes and chick peas simmer for a few minutes - the smell is heavenly at this point.

Now, taste it!  You might like to add more curry paste or cayenne pepper - your call!

At this point you can let this stay warm on the stove for hours and hours - just turn the heat back up when you're ready to serve!

Right before serving, dump tons of spinach into the curry, and fold it over.

Ahhh, yes.  Gently stir this around just for a minute or two to wilt the spinach, then you're ready to serve!

And that's it!  Serve this with other curries, rice, pickles, naan....whatever you like!