Easy chicken saag
This comforting chicken curry only needs a handful of ingredients to become something delicious! Serve with small portions of rice, naan bread or roti.
Each serving provides 211 kcal, 33g protein, 5g carbohydrates (of which 3g sugars), 6g fat (of which 1g saturates), 2.5g fibre and 0.9g salt.
Ingredients
- 1½ tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 25g/1oz piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 heaped tsp medium curry powder
- ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 250/9oz young spinach leaves
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 3–4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (around 500g/1lb 2oz), cut into roughly 2.5cm/1in chunks
- 2–3 tsp fresh lemon juice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in large non-stick saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, ginger and garlic, cover with a lid and fry for 8–10 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.
Remove the lid, increase the heat a little and cook for 2–3 minutes more, or until the onions are lightly browned. Stir in the curry powder and chilli flakes (if using) and fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add the spinach, a handful at a time, and sprinkle with the salt. Pour over 150ml/¼ pint cold water and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and blitz with a stick-blender until almost smooth. Set aside.
Heat the remaining half tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Season the chicken with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and fry for 5–6 minutes over a medium-high heat, turning regularly until lightly browned in places.
Pour the spinach sauce into the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3–4 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, adding an extra splash of water if needed.
Season with a little lemon juice and extra salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.
Recipe Tips
If you don’t have a stick blender, let the spinach mixture cool for a few minutes, then blitz in a food processor. Use large leaf spinach instead of the baby leaves if you like by simply removing any tough stalks and roughly shredding the leaves before adding to the pan.
Make this curry with chicken thigh fillets instead of breast if you like, but make sure to trim off all the excess fat before frying. You may also find you need to simmer the meat longer in the spinach sauce until tender, so add extra water if you do.
Alternatively, you can make this vegetarian by using paneer or extra firm tofu instead of chicken!