Indian-style Chicken & Spinach Curry

Adapted from The Fiery Vegetarian

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large sweet onion, sliced or diced

4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1 inch ginger, minced

1 tbsp ground coriander

1/2 tbsp turmeric

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

13.5 oz can of coconut milk

14.5 or 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes (no salt preferred)

1/2 cup water

1/2-1 tsp salt, or to taste

1 tsp sugar, or to taste

Roughly 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced into bite-sized pieces (~3/4 inch)

16 oz baby spinach

1 tsp garam masala

1.5 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves, or to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot (size: 5-6 quarts) over a medium-high setting. Once sizzling, sauté the onions (with a pinch of salt) over medium until dark golden brown (almost burnt/some pieces burnt; this may take 15-20 min; if burning too quickly, turn to low).
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic doesn't smell raw anymore.
3. Mix in the next four ingredients (coriander, turmeric, cumin, and cayenne) and toast for 2 minutes, stirring often. If the mixture still looks grainy, stir in a little more oil so the spices "dissolve" (mixture looks more wet than dry; the goal here is to prevent the curry from tasting grainy/sandy).
4. Stir in the coconut milk; once it looks even, add the crushed tomatoes and water. Add salt and sugar, then taste (if not salty enough, add more; if not sweet enough, can add more sugar later).
5. Add cut chicken thighs, stir, place lid on pot, and increase the heat to medium-high; once boiling (medium-large bubbles; watch carefully so you don't cook the chicken on high for very long), decrease heat to low and maintain a simmer (very small bubbles) with the lid slightly open for ~10-15 min until chicken is cooked (time depends on the size of the cut of chicken).
6. Remove lid and add spinach in batches until it is all wilted into the curry.
7. Add garam masala and lemon juice, then stir and taste. Can add more salt, sugar, or lemon juice here if needed.
8. Mix in cilantro as desired; serve hot with rice.