Saag Chicken / Palak Chicken Recipe – Dinner Special

Palak Chicken or the Saag Chicken is my weeknight savior. This Saag Chicken / Palak Chicken Recipe is going to become all time favorite in your food list. And you know me before I get on to the recipe I need to get chatting with you. Ok, G is back from her East Coast trip, turned 14, got into a good high school. Sam and I celebrated our 15^th anniversary this week. The marriage is 15 and the daughter is 14. Yes, you guessed it, she is a honeymoon baby, well almost, conceived within the first three months of our wedding. And this is precisely what I am going to write about today because if you’re anyone like me, I know you go online to find compatriots be it any situation, starting from a clogged toilet. I know there may be someone where I was about 15 years back and sharing my experience may help.

Sam and I had a perfect love story. If you want to know about that read here.

But this story is not about meeting him or marrying him; it is about expecting a baby when you least expected it. Sam and I lived in different cities when we got married because of work. And just after I got back from a weeklong trip from the place he was stationed then, I discovered I was pregnant.

Saag Chicken / Palak Chicken Recipe – Dinner Special

Hell broke loose, as that was the last thing on our minds. I was 25 and he, 27 and we had so many plans, for our careers and for our lives. Our parents too were unprepared for something like this. I remember I was so devastated just at the thought of how my life is going to change. For the first 3-4 days, I kept crying. However, after a few days, the whole idea that I will be a mom soon started sinking in and I was so scared. Sam, on the other hand, was happy. He started looking for a job immediately so that we could live in the same city. And in about 3-4 months, he moved too. Our parents were extremely supportive too. Sam and I had good stable jobs, so things were not really stressful financially. But my life took a complete U-turn just because I conceived the baby so early. At that point in time, it seemed that the U-turn would lead me southward and it probably did too for a few years but in the end, everything worked out.

After G was born, for the first 4 months, life was absolutely beautiful. The first baby of the family, she was taken care of by every single person in the family. We lived in a joint family with Sam’s parents and sister, and those 4 months before we moved to the US are memorable for us. Our days were spent with this baby and her little infant histrionics. Then Sam got this opportunity to move to St. Louis and we moved here to the US.

For the next two years, the only thing I did was probably to take care of this baby and sulk. I don’t mean that I did not love spending time with her but what I meant was somewhere within me I felt it was forced even though it wasn’t. I craved to go to work and outdoors and here I was in a completely new country with no support from family just staying home and taking care of a baby. We moved to California when G was 3 and things got a little better, to start with, the weather. I started taking up freelance gigs but the biggest hurdle was my dependent visa status. Nothing was working out and it was a frustrating time. Sam has always been very supportive and he always insisted that we could go back to India but he was doing really well here career-wise, so I decided to stay put here.

And then the visa situation got us to move to India for 18 months as expats. That was the best 18 months of my life. I got back to work and was fortunate that the company I had joined had a California office too. And when I moved back it was a smooth transition. G was 6 when I resumed full-time work and it was absolutely perfect. Today I do not harbor any guilt for not being able to be with her when she was little as I was always there nor do I harbor any guilt for staying at home and not pursuing my career for those few years as now, I am in a very comfortable and happy space as far as my career is concerned. For women, it’s a double-edged sword, do THIS or THAT. So I know just how hard it is.

The point of me writing this piece is not telling you what is right and what is wrong. I do not want to make a comparison between the stay at home mom and the working mom. I have been both. This is my story and I have learned a lesson and that is, patience brings you rewards. Looking back, the six years I stayed at home I could have been happier and less frustrated but I was so eager to get back to work and even being with my daughter 24X7 I did not appreciate that blessing as much. However at the same time, if I was comfortable staying at home then, I would not have been able to make a comeback. So that frustration was necessary too. I think there is a greater plan for you somewhere beyond what you plan for yourself. And in the end, everything works out.

Now to the Saag Chicken or Palak Chicken Recipe, my favorite weeknight chicken, more so because this is the way I force myself to eat spinach. No G is ok with spinach but I hate it. A delectable mélange of spices embraces the chicken and then the curry is finished off with a couple of heaping cups of chopped spinach.

Along with Saag Chicken / Palak Chicken Recipe, You may also like the recipes below:

• Kohlapuri Chicken Curry
• Mom’s Chicken Curry
• Easy Chicken Bharta

Palak Chicken / Saag Chicken

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Somdatta
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins

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Description

A quick and delicious weeknight favorite, the Saag Chicken or Palak Chicken is cooked to perfection in a rich sauce with a melange of spices. Try out this Palak Chicken Recipe on your next dinner plan.

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Ingredients

• Chicken – 11/2 pounds
• For the marinade:
• Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp
• Turmeric – 1 tsp
• Ginger Paste – 1 1/2 tsp
• Garlic Paste – 11/2 tsp
• Garam Masala – 1 tsp
• Kashmiri Red Chili Powder – 2 tsp
• For the Sauce:
• Vegetable Oil – 3 tbsp
• Ghee – 2 tsp
• Bay Leaf – 1
• Whole Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
• Cinnamon Stick – 1 inch
• Onion – 2/3 cup, finely chopped
• Ginger – 1/1 tsp, finely chopped
• Garlic – 2 tsp, finely chopped
• Tomato – 2 medium, blanched and pureed
• Tomato Paste – 2 tsp
• Turmeric – 1 tsp
• Cumin Powder – 2 ½ tsp
• Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder – 2 tsp
• Green Chilies – 1-2, as per taste, chopped fine
• Plain Yogurt – 1 tbsp
• Sugar – To taste
• Salt – To taste
• Garam Masala – 11/2 tsp
• Spinach – 2 cups, finely chopped
• Heavy Cream – 1 tbsp
• Kasoori Methi – 11/2 tsp
• Cilantro leaves – 1 tbsp, finely chopped

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Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients of the marinade.
2. Put the chicken pieces in it and massage the marinade in it. Let it rest for at least 4 hours or longer.
3. For the Sauce:
4. Heat a pan and add the vegetable oil. Let it heat for a couple of minutes.
5. Throw in the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and cumin seeds. Let it sputter for a few seconds.
6. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic. Sauté everything for a good 3-4 minutes until the onion looks translucent.
7. Add the chicken.
8. Add the blanched tomatoes and tomato paste.
9. Add salt to taste, mix it in and let it cook for a couple of minutes.
10. In the meantime, in a small bowl, mix in the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and yogurt. Mix everything in ¼ cup of water.
11. Add this spice-yogurt mix to the simmering sauce, give it a stir and let it cook for 2-3 mins.
12. Now pour ¾ cup of water and give everything another good stir.
13. Cover the pan and let it cook for 6-8 mins. The chicken should be tender by then. If the chicken is not tender, cook it covered for another 3-4 minutes.
14. Add the spinach, finely chopped green chilies at this point and cook for another 2-3 mins.
15. Add sugar to taste and also add the ghee and the Garam masala and mix it in.
16. Add the heavy cream and mix it in.
17. Lastly, throw in the kasoori methi and give it a final stir.
18. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

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• Cuisine: Indian

Keywords: Palak Chicken Recipe, Saag Chicken Recipe