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Lunch30 min · 4 servingsCurry suave de garbanzos con espinacas

Mild chickpea and spinach curry

Each serving has 382 kcal, 20.1 g of protein, and 12.3 g of fiber, or 5.3 g of protein per 100 kcal. Ready in 30 minutes; makes 4 servings.

  • High in fiber
  • Low energy density
  • May cause bloating

Per serving

  • 382 kcalCalories
  • 20.1 gProtein
  • 12.3 gFiber

Calculated ingredient by ingredient from USDA FoodData Central. 5.3 g of protein per 100 kcal.

Mild chickpea and spinach curry, seen from above
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Ingredients

4 servings

Plus, with no meaningful nutrition (not counted in the table):

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced, and a small piece of fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 tablespoon mild curry powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • Water (about 100 ml, or a scant 1/2 cup)
  • Salt and a few drops of lemon juice to taste

Weights are for each food as described on its page: raw, cooked, or drained, as noted. Grams are the reference used for the math; ounces and cups are rounded US equivalents.

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion for 6 minutes, until soft.
  2. Add the garlic and ginger, stir for 1 minute, then stir in the curry powder and turmeric for just a few seconds so they don’t scorch.
  3. Add the tomatoes and water and simmer gently for 8 minutes.
  4. Add the chickpeas and simmer 5 more minutes; mash a few with a fork to thicken the sauce.
  5. Add the spinach in batches and stir until it wilts.
  6. Take the pot off the heat, let it cool for 2 minutes, and stir in the yogurt (it curdles if it boils). Adjust the salt, add a few drops of lemon juice, and serve over the rice.

Why it is filling

Chickpeas bring fiber and plant protein, and spinach and tomatoes add a lot of volume for few calories. Greek yogurt stands in for the usual coconut milk or cream: it mellows the spices, adds protein, and keeps the sauce light. It is a mild curry with no chili, meant to go easy on your stomach; even so, legumes and onion give some people gas.

In numbers, each serving has 20.1 g of protein and 12.3 g of fiber, with an energy density of 91 kcal per 100 g of the dish. In the satiety index by Holt and colleagues (1995), the foods that were most filling per calorie were those with more protein, fiber, and water and less fat.

High in fiber
At least 5 g of fiber per serving, a fifth of EFSA’s 25 g daily reference.
Low energy density
100 kcal or less per 100 g of the dish: plenty of volume for few calories.
May cause bloating
It has at least 30 g per serving of beans, cruciferous vegetables, or other ingredients that give some people gas.

If your appetite is small

  • Freeze the curry without the yogurt or rice in single portions; stir in the yogurt when you reheat it.
  • If a full serving is too much, have half with an extra spoonful of yogurt and save the rest for the next day.
  • If chickpeas don’t agree with you, use half and make up the rest with cubes of cooked chicken or tofu.

Nutrition facts

Values per serving and for the whole recipe (4 servings), calculated from the ingredients. Protein per 100 kcal: 5.3 g.
NutrientPer servingWhole recipe
Calories382 kcal1,528 kcal
Protein20.1 g80.3 g
Carbohydrates60.8 g243.2 g
Fiber12.3 g49.2 g
Fat7.7 g30.6 g
Approximate weight421 g (15 oz)1,685 g (59 oz)

How it is calculated

Each ingredient contributes its per-100 g values from the site’s food database, multiplied by the amount in the recipe. Seasonings, water, and lemon or lime juice are not counted. It is an approximation: the actual size of the foods and how you cook them shift the result a little.

What each ingredient contributes to the whole recipe.
IngredientAmountCaloriesProteinFiber
Cooked chickpeas480 g787 kcal42.5 g36.5 g
Onion150 g60 kcal1.7 g2.6 g
Tomato400 g72 kcal3.5 g4.8 g
Spinach200 g46 kcal5.7 g4.4 g
Nonfat Greek yogurt200 g118 kcal20.4 g0 g
Cooked white rice240 g312 kcal6.5 g1 g
Olive oil15 g133 kcal0 g0 g

To plan your meals

More recipes

See all recipes

Sources

Nutrition values for each ingredient (USDA FoodData Central) and the satiety reference, with the access date.

  1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC ID 173757).accessed .
  2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Onions, raw (FDC ID 170000).accessed .
  3. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC ID 170457).accessed .
  4. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Spinach, raw (FDC ID 168462).accessed .
  5. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Yogurt, Greek, plain, nonfat (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) (FDC ID 170894).accessed .
  6. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Rice, white, long-grain, regular, enriched, cooked (FDC ID 168878).accessed .
  7. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Oil, olive, salad or cooking (FDC ID 171413).accessed .
  8. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (PubMed).Holt SH, Miller JC, Petocz P, Farmakalidis E. A satiety index of common foods. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995;49(9):675-90.accessed .