Spinach Chicken Curry

 

How often have you wanted to eat spinach coz it’s healthy, but you hated its taste? What if you added chicken to spinach...would that make it more appetizing and tasty? Well...that’s what I set out to test...and the outcome - tasty, healthy Spinach Chicken Curry :). So lets get started....

1.25 lbs Boneless chicken breast (Cut into bite sized pieces)

2 Medium sized onions (finely chopped)

2 Medium sized tomatoes (finely chopped)

1 Cup Spinach (finely chopped)
1 Serrano Pepper (finely chopped)

2 Tbsp Vegetable oil

2 Tsp Ginger-garlic Paste

1 Tsp Red chilli powder

4 Tsp Coriander powder

½ Tsp Cumin powder

½ Tsp Turmeric powder

½ Cup water

Corriander Leaves

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a pan. Once the oil is heated, add the onions and serrano pepper and fry till the onions turn golden brown. Then, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the spice powders – red chilli, coriander, cumin and turmeric. Fry for another 4-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue frying till you see the oil separating. This might take a while, so you might want to keep a watch over it, so that it doesn’t burn (especially, if you are not using a non-stick pan).

Now, add the spinach and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the chicken. At a high flame, mix the chicken, so that the outer sides of the chicken turn white. After this, reduce the flame, add the water, cover with lid, and let it cook till the chicken is done!!! Also, dont forget to add the salt. You can also add finely chopped coriander leaves when you add the chicken.

Once its cooked, yummy, tasty and healthy chicken-spinach curry is ready to serve :), and to make it more appetizing than it already is, garnish with coriander leaves !!

Serve hot with Rotis or Basmati Rice..yum yum yum !!

Spicy Chicken Curry

My first recipe on this blog is ‘Chicken Curry’, an all time favorite Indian dish. I have made this the South Indian style with a lot of fresh ground whole spices.

Alright, let’s start with the ingredients

Half Kg Chicken (I used boneless coz I couldn’t find whole cut chicken and it would be a big pain to try cutting a whole chicken by myself, but the best would be to use chicken with the bones)

3 - 4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 Large Onion

2 Medium Sized Tomatoes

1 Green Chili

2 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste

1 Tsp Poppy Seeds soaked in warm water

6 - 8 Dry Red Chillies

8 - 10 Curry Leaves

2 Tbsp Corriander Seeds

2 Tsp Peppercorns

1 Tsp Fennel Seeds

1 Tsp Cumin Seeds

1 Inch Cinnamon Stick

2 Cloves

2 Cardamoms

1 Tsp Turmeric Powder

1 Tbsp Yogurt

Half Cup Water

2 Tbsp Cream (Optional)

Salt to taste

Add the turmeric powder to the chicken and give it a good mix. Marinate for about half an hour. Heat about 2 Tbsp Oil in a pan and lightly fry the chicken, on high heat, till the outer side of the chicken turns white. Do not overcook at this point. Remove from the fire and set aside.

Heat about half teaspoon oil in another pan. Add all the ingredients, starting from the dry red chilies to the cardamoms, and roast them for about 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. You will soon start getting a wonderful aroma from the roasted spices. Remove from pan and grind them into a coarse powder.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat it for a couple of minutes. Then add the onions and the chopped green chili. Finely chopped onions are best for this recipe, hence, the finer, the better. Fry them till the onions turn golden brown. Then, add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for about a minute or two. Add the tomatoes and poppy seeds soaked in warm water. I chopped the tomatoes as fine as I could, coz I did not want huge chunks of tomatoes in my curry. Cook the tomatoes for a couple of minutes, till you see the tomatoes and onions are well blended and the mixture resembles a thick gravy.

Now, add the chicken and cook for about 2 – 3 minutes. Add the water. And continue to cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. Add the ground spices and continue cooking till the chicken is almost done. Add salt to taste. Remember to keep the flame on medium heat.

Now add the yogurt and cook till chicken is done. Remove from the flame and add the fresh cream, and give it a good stir. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Yummy, spicy, tasty chicken curry is ready to serve!! ! Serve with basmati rice, rotis or naan. Remember, this dish might be a little too spicy, so feel free to adjust the number of dry red chilies.

This is one of my favorite recipes and I hope you’ll liked it too..Cheers!!!