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Palak Chicken, often called Chicken Saag, is a simple yet luscious chicken and spinach curry. While this version is creamy thanks to a few tablespoons of cream, it’s still light and homestyle, with richer flavor than most restaurants. This recipe is easy-to-follow, requires one pan, and gives you the option to use fresh or frozen spinach.
Key Tips for Palak Chicken That’s Not Watery or Bland
While making a rustic curry like Palak Chicken is simple enough, there are a few key techniques that make it extra flavorful:
- Bhunai: Bhunai is key in this dish, and in any curry for that matter. A common mistake is adding the spinach while there’s still moisture pooled up with the chicken. This ends up stewing the spinach instead of intensifying its flavor. I find it’s better to fully sauté (bhoon) the chicken first, then add the spinach. Once the spinach cooks down, continue sautéing to deepen the flavor and evaporate any extra moisture it released while cooking.
- Use equal or more spinach than chicken: For a long time, I used more chicken than spinach and was always left wanting more “sauce”. This recipe uses plenty of spinach so it doesn’t just coat the chicken lightly, but provides ample body to the curry.
- Add oil and ghee/butter generously: Not only is the oil necessary for sautéing (bhunai), but it makes your Palak Chicken moist so you’re not left with dry chicken pieces. I also like to finish with a bit of ghee or butter, which adds richness and brings out a buttery depth in the greens.
Palak Vs Saag: The word palak means spinach, and the word saag means greens. “Saag” is used to describe any stewed or puréed vegetable greens (like Sarson Ka Saag), while “palak” refers to a dish made only with spinach (like Palak Paneer).
Ingredient Notes
For the Curry base:
You’ll need standard, everyday curry ingredients like onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, and spices. Here are a few notes on them:
Spices
- Whole spices: A small amount of cumin seeds, black peppercorns, and cinnamon stick deepen the flavor and aroma. I’ve tried adding black cardamom, but found it overpowering when reheating leftovers. Feel free to experiment with adding bay leaves or green cardamom pods.
Spinach
My testers and I have tested this recipe with every possible form of spinach – still turns out delicious. Here are some notes:
- Fresh Grown/Mature Spinach: Vibrant color and stronger, brighter, more floral spinach flavor.
- You’ll need 3 bunches, or around 1.2 lb/550g after removing stems. Wash thoroughly and remove stems (thin stems are fine), then pulse to chop in your food processor.
- You can also freeze washed spinach, then smash it inside the bag by crushing it with a rolling pin.
- For smoother, restaurant-style spinach texture, you can blanch the spinach: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and let it wilt for 2 minutes. Then drain (no need to squeeze out moisture) and process in the food processor to a smooth purée.
- You’ll need 3 bunches, or around 1.2 lb/550g after removing stems. Wash thoroughly and remove stems (thin stems are fine), then pulse to chop in your food processor.
- Baby Spinach: Similar to mature spinach, but has a more delicate, less robust flavor.
- You’ll need 1 lb/16 oz. Usually it comes in pre-washed packets so no need to wash, just pulse to chop in the food processor.
- Frozen Spinach: A little darker and earthier compared to fresh spinach (less vibrant in color and flavor), but still works wonderfully in this curry and you can’t beat the convenience.
Chicken
Palak Chicken is traditionally made with bone-in, cut up, skinless chicken.
- Bone-in chicken: If you can, go for small-cut chicken pieces, the same size you’d use in Chicken Karahi (called karahi cut). I usually use cut up leg quarters (thighs and drumsticks). This is around 8 pieces of bone-in chicken.
- Boneless chicken: If using boneless chicken, cut into 1.5-2″ chunks. You’ll also need to cook for a shorter time, so around 20-25 minutes instead of 35-40. If you find your chicken shredding while cooking down the spinach, remove the chicken pieces and sauté down the spinach before adding the chicken back in. See FAQ for more tips.
Finishing Touches:
Here’s where we take our comforting, homestyle Palak Chicken and make it restaurant-level:
- Ghee (or unsalted butter): Adds richness and buttery flavor to the spinach. If your curry can take a little more salt, you can also use salted butter, which has better flavor than unsalted.
- Heavy whipping cream: I’ve just enough to make enhance the creamy flavors without making it heavy or diluting the flavor of the curry. Cream also improves the texture of the spinach, keeping it moist and slightly loose.
- Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves): An essential in Punjabi cuisine. You’ll often find it alongside spinach in curries like Palak Paneer, Sarson Ka Saag or Aloo Palak.
- Green chili pepper: Add at the end for aroma and crunchy, peppery texture. I like using Indian finger chilies for tolerable heat, but a smaller quantity of serrano would work as well. Deseed if you want to reduce the heat.
How to make Palak Chicken
Tip before you start: Keep water next to the stove to deglaze as needed. This is especially important if using a stainless steel pan instead of nonstick. (Ample oil also helps prevent spices and chicken sticking to the pan.)
- Sauté the chopped onions along with whole spices until golden. Once you add the garlic and ginger, the onions will deepen even more in color. If at any point the onions start to stick to the pan or brown unevenly, deglaze with 1-2 tablespoons water.
- Sauté the chicken for 5 minutes, until it goes from pink to pale and sears lightly, developing some golden-brown spots.
- Sprinkle in the ground spices and salt. Allow the spices to bloom before adding tomatoes.
- Sauté the tomatoes until softened. Deglaze with 2-3 tbsp water, if needed.
- If using fresh spinach, add the spinach, a handful at a time, and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. (Tip that you probably shouldn’t follow: If using fresh spinach, I usually chop the spinach as I go — while one batch is wilting down in the pan, I’m chopping the next.) If using frozen spinach, add all of it and stir to mix. (No need to add any water – the spinach will release its own moisture.)
- Cover and cook the chicken. I give it ample time to lose its raw taste and flavor the chicken. By the end, it’s super tender and your spinach has cooked in its own moisture.
- Sauté until the liquid reduces and the excess moisture dries up. Finish off the bhunai with ghee.
- Stir in the finishing ingredients. You don’t want the spinach to be watery, but you still want it to be moist and saucy. If it dries up too much, feel free to add a bit of water or even milk to moisten it up agian.
- Turn off the heat. Garnish with the garam masala (if using) and cilantro.
What to Serve with Palak Chicken
This is one of those wonderful curries (like Aloo Keema, Butter Chicken, etc.) that go equally well with both rice and roti/naan/paratha. I love the comforting way the spinach curry coats the rice grains, but it’s also dry enough to scoop up with your choice of flatbread. This would also pair with a vegetarian pulao such as Matar Pulao or Chana Pulao.
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Palak Chicken (Chicken Saag)
Palak Chicken, often called Chicken Saag, is a simple yet luscious chicken and spinach curry. While this version is creamy thanks to a few tablespoons of cream, it’s still light and homestyle, with much more flavor than most restaurants. This recipe is easy-to-follow, requires one pan, and gives you the option to use fresh or frozen spinach.
- 1/3 cup neutral oil, such as avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 6 black peppercorns
- 1/2- inch cinnamon stick
- 1 small (150 g) yellow onion, finely chopped or quartered and thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1″ piece ginger, crushed
- 1 lb (454 g) bone-in, cut up skinless chicken pieces, I use cut up leg quarters – Note 1
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 medium (130 g) Roma tomato, finely chopped
- 1.2 lb (550-600 g) fresh or frozen (thawed) spinach, finely chopped (See Note 2)
After Cooking
- 2 tbsp ghee, or unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves – Kasuri methi, crushed between your fingers
- 1 small green chili pepper, such as serrano pepper, Thai, or Indian finger chili, chopped
- 1/8-1/4 tsp garam masala, optional
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the whole spices (cumin seeds, peppercorns, and cinnamon) and sauté for a few seconds, allowing to sizzle until fragrant. Add the onions and sauté for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Deglaze with 2-3 tbsp water. As the water dries, add the garlic and ginger and allow it to cook for 1-2 minutes. The onions will deepen more in color.
Add the chicken and sauté for 5 minutes, until it goes from pink to pale and sears lightly, developing some golden-brown spots. Sprinkle in the ground spices (red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric) and salt. If the spices or chicken start to stick to the bottom of the pan, deglaze with another 1-2 tbsp water. Stir well and sauté for another minute, allowing the spices to bloom. Add tomatoes and sauté for 2 minutes, until softened. Deglaze with 2-3 tbsp water, if needed.
If using fresh spinach, add the spinach, a handful at a time, and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. If using frozen spinach, add all of it and stir to mix. (No need to add any water – the spinach will release its own moisture.)
Reduce the heat to low-medium, cover, and let it simmer for 35-40 minutes, stirring halfway through. The chicken should become tender, while the spinach releases its moisture, deepens in color, and loses any raw taste.
Uncover and increase the heat to high. Sauté, stirring gently, until the liquid reduces and most of the moisture dries up, about 5 minutes. Stir in ghee, mixing for 1-2 minutes, until the oil/ghee begins to separate from the dish.
Stir in the heavy cream, green chili pepper, and dried fenugreek (Kasuri Methi). Sauté for another 1-2 minutes, until the oil starts to release from the sides. (Note 3)
- Turn off the heat. Garnish with the garam masala (if using) and cilantro. Serve hot with naan, roti, paratha, or basmati rice.
- Boneless chicken: If using boneless chicken, cut into 1.5-2″ chunks. Cook for a shorter time, around 20-25 minutes instead of 35-40. If you find your chicken shredding while cooking down the spinach, remove the chicken pieces and sauté down the spinach before adding the chicken back in. See FAQ for more tips on using boneless.
- Fresh Grown/Mature Spinach: Vibrant color and stronger, brighter, more spinachy flavor, but tedious to wash. 😅
- Use 3 bunches, or around 1.2 lb/550g after removing stems. Wash thoroughly and remove stems (thin stems are fine), then pulse to chop in your food processor. You can also freeze washed spinach, then smash it inside the bag by crushing it with a rolling pin.
- Baby Spinach: Similar to mature spinach, but has a more delicate, less robust flavor.
- You’ll need 1 lb/16 oz. Usually it comes in pre-washed packets so no need to wash, just pulse to chop in the food processor.
- Frozen Spinach: A little darker and earthier compared to fresh spinach (less vibrant in color and flavor), but still works wonderfully in this curry.
Calories: 489kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 42g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 21g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 90mg, Sodium: 941mg, Potassium: 1038mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 13332IU, Vitamin C: 46mg, Calcium: 177mg, Iron: 5mg