Chicken Palak

Introduction

Chicken palak might actually be my all time favourite curry. The chicken and spinach pairs beautifully, they really are a match made in heaven.

The chicken is cooked as normal; in browned onions, tomatoes and spices. Then I make a separate tarka (tempering in oil with spices) with the spinach, green chillies, garlic, ginger and onions. This is the key step to this curry. It really is worth that little bit more effort as the flavour as it takes the flavour to out of this world! The vibrant spinach will wilt down into the onions. Then this spinach tarka is added into the chicken and simmered until the chicken and spinach if fully combined. Chicken palak really is a delightful dish to eat and only takes 35 minutes if you are organised and happy to multi-task. It is also a great dish to make for the kids, as it gets some greens into them with no fuss!

Tips for Chicken Palak

I always cook chicken palak with chicken on the bone, preferably a whole medium chicken. Meat on the bone always adds to the flavour of any curry. However you can of course use chicken breast pieces if you prefer.

To save time, I brown the the onions for the masala base and the tarka in separate pans at the same time. The tarka onions only need to be a light brown, so you do need to keep a close eye on this pan and be careful it does not over brown. The spinach will wilt down very quickly and the whole tarka process is done within 15 minutes. Whilst the tarka is finishing off, you can get on with adding the garlic, ginger, tomatoes etc, steps 1-2 mentioned below.

The spinach can be purchased from any supermarket, however I would recommend using palak from an Asian Supermarket store as the flavour just hits differently. Also using fresh methi (fenugreek) adds a richer depth of flavour, but anyone who is familiar with methi knows that the fragrance can be rather strong for some people. So I use the dried kasuri methi as the flavour is still very good and the fragrance is much more subtle.

I use tinned tomatoes for this curry as it adds a different level of richness to the masala that fresh tomatoes can not add. Again I use the food processor to blitz the tinned tomatoes, to give the masala a smoothness.

History of Chicken Palak

Chicken palak can also be know as chicken saag. Mainly because saag can be associated with adding other green vegetable like methi. However if you ask my mum, saag is totally different to palak, it’s a different green leafy vegetable which you can again find in Asian supermarkets. You can use this recipe to make the traditional saag my mum loves, in particular kotwan saag (mustard greens)/ sarson ka saag. Just switch out the spinach for the kotwan saag.

The dish is thought to have originated from the Punjab region, there lots of farm land would have cultivated palak, thereby making it’s way into this curry. Therefore this curry has been around for man years and it is still a favourite with home cooks and now with restaurants. There is not a Pakistani restaurant I have been to which does not have this dish on the menu!

I love to have chicken palak with chapatis/ rotis. It reminds me of home, comforting and nourishing food at it’s best. Another timeless curry for you all to enjoy. Chicken palak goes together very well with vegetable pakoras and a lovely cup of karak chai.

See my video on Youtube for how to make this curry!

INGREDIENTS  

Time: 35 minutes cooking time, 8 minutes preparation time

Masala base

• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 whole medium chicken, skinned and cut in pieces, approximately 1kg- 1.2kg
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1.5 tsp garlic, finely chopped
• 1.5 tsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes (blend in food processor to a paste form)
• 1.5 tsp salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 0.5 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 3/4 tsp cumin powder

Saag tarka

• 0.5 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 0.5 tsp garlic finely chopped
• 0.5 tsp ginger, finely chopped
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 2 heaped tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) you can use fresh fenugreek, remove the fenugreek leaves and add to the curry without any stems
• 300-400 grams of spinach, finely chopped or 2 large bunches of palak from you local Asian grocery shop, finely chopped.

INSTRUCTIONS 

Masala Base

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onions and brown. (NB You can start on the tarka step below whilst the onions to the masala base is browning, or when the masala base is simmering.) Then add the garlic and ginger as stir through

2. Then add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and stir through. Keep stirring at regular intervals. Let this simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Add splashes of water if the mixture starts to dry out.

3. Next add the chicken, stir through and let it cook for ten – fifteen minutes on low heat, cover the pan with the lid. You want to make sure the chicken has browned all over, keep stirring at regular intervals. Again add splashes of water if the chicken mixture starts to catch.

Palak tarka

4. In a separate pan heat the oil, add the onion and lightly brown. You do not want to over brown the onions at this point.

5. Then add the garlic, ginger and green chillies. Stir through. Then add the methi, stir and finally add the spinach and stir through. Cook this for 3-4 minutes, until the spinach as wilted down.

6. Then add this saag tarka to the masala chicken pan, add the garam masala, ground coriander and cumin. Stir through and let it cook on low heat for 10 minutes until the chicken and saag is fully combined.

7. Serve with chapati or naan and enjoy!

See my video on Instagram or TikTok to see how to make this dish!