Palak Chicken

I've recently tried my take on Palak Chicken with my MiL's help! I wasn't a huge fan of Palak Paneer until I had my MiL's version of it. Her spinach base sauce is very tasty in the sense that it isn't bland tasting. Her sauce has a lot of flavor from spicy, sweet, and savory at the same time. Most of the recipes that I've tasted before were bland and didn't quite bind well with the rest of the ingredients. I simply loved her version and she taught me how to make the sauce so that I could make it with chicken. We loved it with the chicken! You can experiment with other meats and seafood as well. I think it would be good with shrimp as well, or if you'd like to make it vegetarian you could use paneer or vegetables. I think you'll find the recipe quite healthy because there isn't much oil or butter/fats in it.

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Palak Chicken

Ingredients:

- spinach puree (see recipe below)

- tomato puree (see recipe below)

- sautéed chicken (see recipe below)

- 1 yellow onion (diced)

- 1/2 tbsp of red chili masala

- 1 tsp of dried coriander

- 1 tsp of garam masala

- a pinch of ground cinnamon

- a pinch of ground cloves

- 1 tsp of jaggery (gur)

- 2 tsp of salt

- 1/2 tbsp of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

- 1 tbsp of EVOO or canola oil

- 1 tbsp of ghee (clarified butter)

Directions

1 - Heat the ghee and oil in a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat and throw in the onions and cook them for about 5 minutes or until onions are soft.

2 - Add tomato puree and cook that for another 5 minutes or so until it's bubbly.

3 - Add red chili masala, coriander, garam masala, powdered cinnamon, powered clove, gur and salt and cook for a couple of minutes.

4 - Add spinach puree and kasuri methi and cook for about 5 minutes and then add the sautéed chicken.

5 - Do not cover the pot or else it won't remain green. If you cover the pot, especially while it's hot or warm, the sauce will turn dark.

6 - Serve with parathas, naan bread, and/or basmati rice.

Optional: Add a drizzle of fresh whipping cream on top of the palak chicken for creamy flavor.

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Palak Puree

Ingredients:

- 16 oz bag of spinach

- 1/8 cup of milk

- 2 garlic cloves

- 1 inch piece of ginger

- 1 tsp of baking soda

- water to boil

- 2 - 3 ice cubes

Directions:

1 - Boil a pot of water and add baking soda

2 - Add spinach to the water and let it wilt and boil for about 4-5 minutes max.

3 - Drain the spinach out of the water using a ladle with holes and put it in the blender. Add about a 2 - 3 tbsp of the boiled spinach water into the mix.

4 - Add milk, ginger, garlic and ice cubes in the blender and blend it.

5 - Take it out in a container to freeze if you're planning to use it later.

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Tomato Puree

Ingredients:

- 2 vine tomatoes

- water

Directions:

1 - Boil a pot of water

2 - Add whole tomatoes and let them boil until the peel is wrinkled

3 - Take tomatoes out and peel the skin off the tomatoes

4 - Blend them and take them in a container to freeze if you're planning to use it for later.

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Sautéed Chicken

Ingredients:

- 1 package of chicken tenders

- 1 tsp of red chili powder

- 1 tsp of dried coriander

- 1/2 salt

- 1 tsp of chicken masala

- 1 tbsp of EVOO or canola oil and 1 tbsp for cooking

Directions

1 - Clean and cut the chicken tenders into 1 inch pieces

2 - Mix the rest of the ingredients and marinate the chicken tenders in it for a couple of hours.

3 - Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non-stick flat pan over medium heat and sauté the chicken in the pan for a few minutes until it's cooked and set aside.