Chana Saag
Easy and Healthy Chana Saag, packed with flavorful spices and nutritious ingredients. The ideal recipe for using up leafy greens!
Servings: 3 servings
Calories: 214kcal
Ingredients
Step 1:
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas drained and rinsed, or 1 ½ cups cooked
- Drizzle of olive oil (optional)
- Dash of spices
Step 2:
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 to 2 serrano peppers (green chili peppers)
- 2 pitted dates
- ¼ cup water
Step 3
- 2 small tomatoes chopped (about 1 cup)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or Kashmiri red chili
- ¼ cup water
Step 4
- 10 ounces spinach or baby spinach, kale, beet greens, swiss chard, or a mixture
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup unsweetened nondairy milk soy, cashew, hemp, pea, or coconut milk
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Optional for serving:
- Dash of mustard powder
- Tahini Yogurt Sauce or cashew yogurt
Instructions
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Dry the chickpeas between layers of a dish towel. Toss them in a drizzle of olive oil or lemon juice, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, or your choice of spices. Roast them for about 20 minutes, or until crispy.
- Step 2: Heat a large skillet over high. Add a few drops of water and they should sizzle when the pan is ready. Or heat a drizzle of oil instead. Add cumin seeds and toast for 1 minute. Add onion, garlic, ginger, serrano peppers, dates, and ¼ cup water. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring frequently and adding water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, to prevent sticking.
- Step 3: Add the tomatoes, turmeric, coriander, black pepper, cayenne, and water. Cook, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until tomatoes are soft.
- Step 4: Stir in the spinach and cook for about 10 minutes more, or until wilted, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup water and blend using an immersion blender. (Or transfer to a blender, add water, and blend until mostly smooth with some chunks remaining.) Stir in the nondairy milk until the desired creaminess. Add lemon juice, cilantro, garam masala, cinnamon, and cloves and mix well to combine.
- For serving: Sprinkle with mustard powder. Top with the chickpeas and add Tahini Yogurt Sauce or vegan yogurt.
Notes
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- Do not skip the mustard powder for serving. Adding mustard powder to cooked greens boosts sulforaphane levels to help protect against cancer.
- For serving: Enjoy Chana Saag with farro, quinoa, barley, wild or Forbidden rice, naan, and yogurt sauce.
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- Storage: Refrigerate leftover vegan saag in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 1067mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 9549IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 6mg
