Chickpea Spinach Curry

I'll start by giving a shout out to my friend Anubhav in Phoenix who I haven't been in touch with in quite a while. This recipe is adapted from one he gave me a long time ago. Since we don't have a vent in our kitchen I waited to cook this until we had a nice 70 degree day with the windows open. It's the onion... read on. Feel free to leave out the coconut milk and use a whole can of tomatoes. We just happened to have half a can of coconut milk left over from something else.

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2" piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tsp. canola oil
1/2 tsp. cumin seed
1 tsp. ground corriander
1/2 tsp. dry mango powder (aka amchur, available at Indian markets)
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
several grinds fresh black pepper
1/2 of a 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (about 3/4 c.)
3/4 c. coconut milk
2 c. cooked chickpeas
1 c. chopped frozen spinach

Process onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor until they're almost liquified (this is where it helps to have the windows open). I made this mild, but if you want to kick up the heat, add some serrano chiles to this mixture as well. Set this aside for a moment and heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seed, corriander, mango powder, salt & pepper and cook for several minutes until dark and fragrant. Now add the onion mixture and continue cooking until it starts to dry out a little. Add tomatoes and coconut milk and mix well, then add chickpeas and spinach. Continue cooking for several more minutes until chickpeas and spinach are heated through. Serve over basmati rice.