Palak chicken is a creamy and comforting traditional Indian dish. The sauce is with warm spices, earthy from spinach and rich with real cream. This homemade recipe uses easy to find ingredients and spices and is quick to make.
¼teaspoonChili FlakesUse more or less depending how spicy you like it.
1teaspoonGaram Masala
11ozBaby Spinach (One large salad clamshell container)about ⅔ lb
1cupFresh Cilantro Use stems and leaves when blending, reserving a few leaves for garnish.
½cupWater
½cupHeavy Creamor more to taste
1lbBoneless, Skinless Chicken Thighssliced into bite size pieces.
½teaspoonSaltplus more to taste
Instructions
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon butter and fry bite sized chicken pieces until lightly browned on both sides and just cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Put skillet back on the stove with remaining butter and heat to medium. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until transluscent and just starting to brown. Add in minced garlic, ginger, garam masala, jalapeno and chili flakes. Cook until fragrant, stirring frequently for approzimately 2 more minutes.
Add spinach a handful at a time, stirring and letting each bunch wilt down before adding more. (*See note below) Once all the spinach is cooked down, remove from heat.
Transfer spinach mixture to blender with cilantro and water. Remove center part of blender lid (hot ingredients will create steam that needs to escape), and cover with a tea towel. Blend for 20 seconds (stopping after first 10 seconds to scrape down the sides of the blender) until spinach becomes a coarse sauce, then return to skillet set to low.
Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's as thick as you like it. Stir in cream and salt. Add cooked chicken and cook 2-3 more minutes until chicken is heated through. Season with additional salt and pepper if required, to taste and serve right away.
Notes
If you are having a hard time stirring the spinach in and getting it to wilt, scoop 1-2 tablespoon of water from the ½ cup used for blending and add it to the pan. The resulting steam will help wilt your greens down quickly.For a visual of the blender lid assembly, see photos in the step by step section.