Chickpea and Spinach Curry

This is the most used cookbook in my house. If I showed you my actual copy of it, it would not look like this: It is more roughed up and definitely has some battle stains. But, I love it. It's changed the way I bake for sure, and I will never eat anything less than real maple syrup on waffles again (srsly? that other stuff is just corn syrup with some flavoring.). That is neither here nor there... today is all about this amazing Chickpea and Spinach Curry. It's really easy, and if you have some basic canned goods and fresh spinach in your house, you're pretty much good to go.

Chickpea and Spinach Curry
(stolen and slightly adapted from VWAV by Isa Chandra Moskowitz- why is it so hard for me to spell her last name?)

1 12-oz can stewed tomatoes (she calls for whole ones and then has you chop them up; I just get pre-chopped ones)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced (I may have used 1 tsp. of powdered ginger)
3 tsp. curry powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 cardamom pods
10 c. fresh spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 c. water (approximately)

The spice list can look a bit long and daunting, but I just measured them all out together into a small bowl. When it was time to add them, I just threw it in!

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds and cardamom pods. Cover with a screen if you have one; once they start to pop, those suckers can hurt! Cook until they start to pop, then add the onion. After it starts to brown, add the garlic and ginger (if using fresh). Saute 2 more minutes. Add spices and some of the juice from the stewed tomatoes. Stir. Add the tomatoes and drained chickpeas.

Then add the spinach. This is where you may need to add some water- I added at least a tomato can's worth- but I also wanted to have enough sauce to serve this over rice. When the spinach has wilted, you are basically done! Serve over brown rice and salt to taste.