Name: Chana Saag Balti
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Balti
Ingredients: 2 tbsp ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil; 1/2 tsp cumin seeds; 1/2 onion - finely chopped; 2 green chillies - finely chopped; 1 tbsp mixed powder; 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 1/2 tsp turmeric; 3 tbsp tomato puree; 300ml (1 1/4 cups) base curry sauce; 1 large handful of chopped spinach; 225g (1/2 lb) tinned chickpeas; 1 tomato - quartered; 1 tbsp white wine vinegar; 1/2 tsp methi (dried fenugreek leaves); Salt to taste

Veggie Baltis can be amazing. Take this chana saag Balti for example!

Almost everyone loves a good Balti. They’re delicious and taste amazing served with hot naans.

Make this chana saag balti and you will get to enjoy one of the most popular veggie Baltis around.

Even if you enjoy your meat, you won’t miss it here! Chana saag Balti is not only tasty, it’s cheap, quick and easy to make.

You won’t miss the meat.

You can whip this up in minutes. It tastes just like the chana saag Baltis you get at the best Balti houses.

Forward preparation for chana saag balti

There isn’t really much to do to prepare this chana saag Balti recipe.

Chop some onion and spinach, get your spices together and heat up that base sauce.

That’s it. Simple.

The Base Sauce

Although it is possible to make a Balti without a base sauce, they taste much more authentic if you use one.

Here is one of my recipes. It takes about an hour to make but it makes a lot.

You can keep it in the fridge for at least three days and it also freezes really well.

Other variations

Chana saag Balti, as popular as it is, can be pimped up if you want.

Try adding some cubed potato or mushrooms. If it sounds good, it will be.

Step by step instructions

Melt the ghee over medium-high heat and stir in the cumin seeds.

Infuse the cumin seeds in the ghee for about 20 second and then add the chopped onion.

Fry the onion in the ghee for about three minutes and then stir in the chillies.

Add the ground spices to the Balti bowl and stir well to combine.

Add the tomato puree and give it all a good stir.

Add about half the base sauce and bring to a simmer. You can add more as needed.

With the sauce simmering, stir in the spinach.

Add the chickpeas and stir well.

Stir in the tomatoes and get them right into the sauce.

Stir in the fenugreek leaves and vinegar

To finish, stir in the vinegar and fenugreek leaves.

If you like this Balti recipe, you might like to try some of these too…

Aubergine Balti
Balti Dhal Fry
Chicken Balti
Chicken Balti no base sauce

Dig in!

Yield: 1 - 2

Chana Saag Balti

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 onion - finely chopped
2 green chillies - finely chopped
1 tbsp mixed powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp tomato puree
300ml (1 1/4 cups) base curry sauce
1 large handful of chopped spinach
225g (1/2 lb) tinned chickpeas
1 tomato - quartered
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil or ghee in a Balti bowl or similar over medium high heat. When hot, stir in the cumin seeds and let them infuse into the oil for about 20 seconds.
Stir in the chopped onion and fry for about 3 minutes or until soft and translucent.
Add the chillies followed by the ground spices and stir well to combine.
Now add the tomato puree and about half of the base sauce. Bring this to a simmer.
Add the spinach and chickpeas and stir this into the sauce. Simmer for a further three minutes and then add the quartered tomato.
To finish, stir in the vinegar and methi. Season with salt to taste.

I hope you enjoy this chana saag balti recipe. If you do try it, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.