As someone who loves a good meal, cooking one, came to me as a natural passion. I belong to a family where meal times consisted of not just food, but also noisy conversation centered around the events of the day and discussing the menu for the next. (ah yes, we are a greedy lot! )

For the most part of my life so far, my contribution in the kitchen was assisting mom and my duties were limited, to chopping veggies and laying the table. Then along came the great Indian wedding, and I was suddenly the queen of my very own kingdom. My curiosity about this magical world, coupled with an enthusiastic sous-chef (my husband, Vineet), led me to take on the challenge of preparing meals on a daily basis, and not succumbing to the convenience of hiring a cook.

This blog is a product of my experiments with food (not all are life threatening :D) for my fellow culinary enthusiasts - especially the newly weds and hungry bachelors and is dedicated to the women who've inspired me in the kitchen;
Aji (s),Ma and Nigella Lawson.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Palak Chicken Curry

Just got back from work a little while ago. I had a bunch of fresh Spinach that I was wondering how to put to use when Vineet suggested we make Palak Chicken Curry... So while he stepped out to go pick up some chicken from the shopping complex next door, I got the rest of the prep done...and in about 25 minutes, dinner was served! Apologies for the quality of the photograph...but I really was in a hurry to eat ;) !


Ingredients:
450g Boneless chicken
2 medium Onions
2 medium Tomatoes
1 medium bunch Spinach
2 large cloves Garlic
1/2" piece Ginger
1 green Chilli
Whole Spices:
1 Black Cardomom + 3-4 Cloves + 3-4 Black peppercorns + 1/2 Bayleaf + 1/2 tsp Saunf (fennel/ aniseed)
Powdered Spices:
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder + 1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder + 1-1/2 tsp Kitchen King Masala + 1/2 Mutton masala or Garam masala, whatever you have at hand.

Method:
1.  Puree the Onions, Ginger and garlic till chunky. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, and sautee the whole spices till fragrant. Add the pureed onion-ginger-garlic mixture. Fry on a medium-high flame till light brown.

2.  Meanwhile, wash the Spinach leaves and put them into a microwave safe bowl with a little water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 2-3 minutes till the leaves are wilted and cooked. Open lid and allow the boiled spinach leaves to cool for a few minutes.

3. Puree tomatoes and add along with the slit green chilli to the browned onions in the cooker. Cook for a few minutes, and add the dry spice powders and cook for another minute. While the tomato puree cooks, puree the boiled spinach leaves till nice and smooth.

4.  Cut the chicken into curry-sized pieces, and add to the onion-tomato gravy. Stir gently, to coat the chicken nicely in the masala. Cook for a couple of minutes till the chicken pieces are formed. Add the pureed spinach leaves along with 1/2 cup of water, and Salt.

5.  Pressure cook for 2 whistles. Allow pressure to drop. Open cook for a few minutes if you wish to thicken the gravy.

We enjoyed this with fresh warm Rotis and Boondi raita along with some chopped onions spiked with a squirt of lime juice. Yum! :)

6 comments:

  1. Awesome!! tried it... and still licking fingers :)
    Great and clear instructions for multi-tasking in the kitchen... especially for amateur cooks like me :)

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  2. Hey tanya..... Tried this palak chicken recipe....and loved it.... Thnks for helping me get all those praises !

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  3. Tried it tonight when I was by myself and deserved a treat! Really delicious! Keep posting these Indian recipes since I need considerable help in that department!

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  4. wow! so awesome to read all this ! :) thankyou! sooo motivating! :)

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  5. Great Recipe..Tried it..it was awesome..Thank u

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  6. I am very excited to know new things. like this one, i was unaware of Palak Chicken Curry Recipe So thank you for the blog.
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