Mediterranean Style Chickpeas & Spinach
One of the many great restaurants in Atlanta is Cafe Istanbul, serving fantastic vegetarian Turkish food. I really enjoyed this dish there and decided to make it at home so I don’t need to fly across the world each time the craving hits me 🙂 It is delicious, abundantly nutritious, and quick to prepare.
Serves 2/Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
14 oz can of chickpeas, drained or 8 1/2 oz of cooked chickpeas
150 g of spinach, chopped
2 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds, jeera (We indians love our jeera but remember its not an Indian dish!
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp of coriander-cumin powder, dhana-jeera
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
1/4 tsp of salt, or to taste
1 tsp oil
2/3 cup basmati rice, boiled
Yoghurt Accompaniment:
1/2 cup greek yoghurt (plain would work as well); 1/2 cucumber, grated; salt and pepper to taste, mint paste or fresh (optional)
1. Heat oil in pan. Temper the oil with cumin seeds for 20 seconds, then add garlic and onions. Saute for 5 minutes on a medium heat until onions are yellow/brownish.
2. Add the chickpeas, coriander-cumin powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Stir and warm through for a few minutes.
3. Now add chopped spinach and parsley and simmer with lid closed on low heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Prepare rice by placing rice in big pot of salted boiling water. Drain after 8-10 minutes. Rice is ready.
5. Prepare yoghurt accompaniment by mixing all the ingredients.
6. Serve the dish with rice and yoghurt!
What do you think? How did yours turn out? For the Atlantans, does it live up to the restaurant standards? What would you change?
VegDelights 