Chicken Saag Karai

I learned this dish from Titu at Sathi’s restraurant in Hexham on a morning spent in his kitchen. The version I have made here has a couple of tweaks purely out of personal preference. If you’re not a fan of spinach then by all means just miss it out. This recipe will serve 3-4 people.

You will need:

3 Large Chicken Breasts

1/2 Large Onion (Thinly sliced)

3 Large Garlic Cloves

2 Hands Full of Chopped Spinach

1 Inch Grated Ginger

1 tbs Chopped Coriander Stalks

3 Medium Tomatoes (Cut in to chunks)

1/2 tsp Black Mustard Seeds

1/2 tsp Whole Cumin

5 Curry Leaves

Fresh Coriander Leaves

2 Green Chillies

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp Tumeric

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

1 tsp Coriander

1/2 tsp Ground Cumin

1 Heaped tbs Coconut Cream

1 Heaped tsp Tomato Puree

1/2 Pint Water

1 tbs Cornflour (let down with a little water)

Salt and Pepper

1. Heat a frying pan on a medium heat with a little oil then add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Fry off for about a minute before adding the onions. Let the onions soften before you add the ginger, garlic, coriander stalks and chilli.
2. Once the rawness has cooked off the garlic and ginger add in your spices and give it a good stir. Add the tomato puree and stir before adding your tomatoes and about 1/4 pint of water. Allow to cook for 15 minutes until the tomatoes are breaking up before adding your chicken cut in to bite sized pieces.
3. When the chicken is just about cooked you can add in the spinach, coconut cream and remaining water. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes then season well with salt and pepper to taste. The sauce will be a little thin at the moment so slowly add the cornflour and keep stirring until it starts to thicken. Finally finish with a little fresh coriander and then serve with some basmati rice.

Enjoy!