Chickpea Curry with Coconut and Spinach

Steps

1. Rinse the basmati rice in a bowl of cold water, rubbing it between your fingers, and change the water 3 times until it runs almost clear, then drain. Put it in a saucepan with the 450 ml (about 2 cups) of water and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 12 minutes over very gentle heat. Turn off the heat and let it steam for 5 minutes without lifting the lid.
2. While the rice cooks, thinly slice the onion, grate the ginger and garlic, and cut the green chile into thin rings (seed it if you are wary of the heat).
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds: within 30 seconds they will crackle and darken by one shade. Immediately add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 6 minutes, stirring often, until the edges are deeply browned: that caramelization gives the sauce its depth.
4. Add the ginger, garlic, and chile and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant. Lower the heat to medium, add the ground coriander and turmeric, and stir for 30 seconds in the oil so the spices perfume the fat. If anything sticks, add 1 tablespoon of water.
5. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, raise the heat, and cook for 4 minutes, scraping the bottom, until the sauce thickens and small beads of oil appear around the edges.
6. Add the chickpeas, coconut milk, and the rest of the salt. Simmer gently for 6 minutes. Mash a ladleful of chickpeas against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon: their starch binds the sauce and makes it velvety.
7. Add the baby spinach by the handful and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until wilted, then turn off the heat. Stir in the garam masala and the juice of half the lime. Taste and adjust the salt.
8. Fluff the rice with a fork. Spoon the chickpea curry over the rice, scatter with chopped cilantro, and serve with wedges cut from the other half of the lime.