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Chicken Saag

I got this recipe from the wonderful cookbook From Bengal to Punjab, The Cuisines of India by Smita Chandra. (This recipe is called Chicken with Spinach in the book.) Everything I've tried in this cookbook has been very good. Highly recommended.
This recipe has lots of ingredients and lots of steps, but it isn't very hard to make and we really like it. I wanted to put it on our website because (1) I like having all our favorite recipes in one place and (2) it will be easier having instructions separated into steps instead of all in one paragraph as they are in the cookbook.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Mile-High, WW
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds skinless chicken legs and/or thighs
  • 20 oz frozen spinach (or ___ oz. fresh spinach)
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 3/4 inch fresh ginger, grated
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tbsp olive oil or other healthy oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds (whole)
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1 inch stick cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or more)
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or I use chipotle)
  • 8 tbsp plain lowfat yoghurt (it's fine to use high fat yoghurt but use nonfat if you want to keep WW points down)
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala

Instructions

  • If using frozen spinach, thaw throughly and drain well in a collander.
  • Pat the chicken dry and salt well. Set aside.
  • Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add the cumin, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon.
  • After the spices puff up and darken (in a second or so), add the ginger and garlic. Cook for 1 mimute.
  • Add the onions and saute until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
  • Add the coriander, turmeric, salt, and cayenne. Cook for 1 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Gradually add the yoghurt, stirring constantly. Cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the spinach. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. (If using fresh spinach, cook till it has wilted.)
  • If you want to check to see if it needs more salt, taste now before adding chicken.
  • Add the chicken and stir to mix.
  • Cover the pan, reduce heat to low and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Uncover, increase the heat to medium-high, and boil off most of the liquid.
  • Mix in the garam masala and serve.
  • It will taste even better the next day.