This one was supposed to end badly– I left it to finish cooking while Dani and I went on a longer-than-expected run, and who knew what we would find when we got back? An apartment fire? A giant mess in the kitchen thanks to our cat’s poor decisions (yeah, that’s happened before)? Or even worse– burnt, wasted food? Actually, that extra time transformed this into the best version I’ve made yet, and now I’m passing it on to you– though the running part is optional.

I know, I know– you would usually serve Channa- or most other masalas separate from the rice. I’m with you– but I just got back from a run, and earned a bit of laziness this time, right? I didn’t feel like heating up the rice separately, since the wok was already hot, so I jut threw it in and let it do its thing. Try it sometime–it’s not necessarily traditional–but you just might like it.

This was really easy to throw together with a few short-cuts: canned chickpeas (they are already cooked), and leftover curry paste. I tossed in some green (unripe) mango to switch up the flavor from the last time, and let it simmer. The otherwise sour mango sweetened slightly with the heat, and it dissolved into a sauce that I could smell from a mile a way…

Let’s cook.

You’ll need:

4 Cups Cooked Chickpeas

4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

4 Cups Spinach

1 Lime

1/2 Onion, sliced thinly

1/2 Cup Parsley, chopped

4 Cups Cooked Rice

1 Cinnamon Stick

2 Bay Leaves

2 Cardamom  Pods

1 Tbs Cumin Seeds

1 Tbs Paprika

1 Tbs Chili Powder

1 Tsp Coriander Powder

1 Tsp Turmeric

1 Tsp Ginger Powder

1 Tsp Mustard Powder

2 Tbs Curry Paste

1/2 Tsp Saffron Flowers

2 Tbs Ghee (Clarified Butter)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Heat ghee on medium, and add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cardamom, and cinnamon stick, and stir until fragrant.

2. Add onions, and garlic. Continue stirring, and add paprika, coriander, salt, and chili powder. Raise heat to med-high.

3. Add chickpeas, saffron flowers, mango, and lime juice. Stir to heat evenly, then lower the to simmer until the mango dissolves– about fifteen minutes. Stir occasionally.

4. Add more butter if the sauce dries out,  then turn the heat up to medium.  Stir in cooked rice,  and stir until it absorbs all excess liquid.

5. Add spinach and parsley,  then turn off the heat. Remove cardamom, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick prior to serving.

Done.