CHICKEN PALAK

CHICKEN PALAK 

There are numerous recipes out there of this super yum spinach cooked with chicken. Many opt for frozen or tinned spinach but I always prefer fresh spinach. Although it gets time consuming but hey...I go to great lengths when it comes to cooking! So if you are going to prepare this dish with fresh spinach then you'll need at least 6 medium sized bunches for 1 Kilo of chicken. 

The spinach leaves have to be picked to make sure all leaves are good. Then it has to be finely chopped, washed well and drained before it can be used. Some people have their spinach blitzed to a paste...! Well...umm...we all have our choices...but spinach paste...that is not for me thank you! Spinach that's finely chopped gives some texture to the dish and yes...makes a great difference to overall taste. Once you have your spinach all ready for use...the cooking doesn't take long. So...here goes. This is what you are going to need. 

INGREDIENTS 

1. Spinach - 6 medium sized bunches. Or tinned spinach or frozen. Keep in mind that spinach cooks down to very little. I don't use frozen or tinned - so you will have to do some guesswork to see how much of frozen or tinned spinach you'll need for the amount of chicken you are going to use. What I normally do is blanch the fresh spinach before use. 

2. Chicken - 1 Kilo cut into 12 pieces. Washed and drained.

3. Fenugreek leaves (Dried) Kasuri Methi - 2 Heaped Tablespoons. (Believe me that this very much complements Spinach and improves the overall taste greatly) 

4. 1 Cup Cooking Oil 

5. 2 medium sized onions - Sliced 

6. 3 medium sized tomatoes - peeled and quartered. 

7. 2 Teaspoons turmeric powder 

8. 1 Teaspoon coriander powder 

9. 1 Teaspoon cumin powder

10. 1 Heaped Tablespoon ginger and garlic paste 

11. Green Chillies Paste - amount all depends on how hot you would want it to be. 

12. Salt to taste. Go easy on the salt as Spinach already has salt content. 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1) Heat the oil in your pan and add the sliced onions. You don't have to brown them much. Just a slight tinge of browning is enough. 

2) Add the ginger and garlic paste and the green chillies paste. Stir for a minute. Add the fenugreek. Add the chicken. Stir fry the chicken until it changes colour. All this on high flame.

3) Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander powders. Add salt. Add tomatoes. Add the spinach. Do not add water. 

4) Cover the pan once everything comes to a bubbling boil. Cover pan and reduce heat. Do keep checking in between to check water content. The idea here is to let the water dry up. When you see that the water has greatly reduced, increase heat and stir fry until oil separates. 

5) Taste for salt and add more if necessary. 

6) Serve hot with a dollop of fresh cream if you wish. You can serve Chicken Palak with Boiled Rice, Roti, Naan or any other type of bread. 

FRESH BUTTERED ROTI

BOILED RICE