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Chicken Saagwala

Every Indian restaurant has a version of saagwala – it’s generally one of the healthier options as it has little to no cream, and plenty of spinach!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Lunch, Main
Servings 4
Calories 534 kcal
Dairy Free, Diabetic, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly

Ingredients
  

Saagwala

  • 3-4 tablespoons oil e.g. soy, canola
  • 2 onions sliced
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1-2 teaspoons ground chilli
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 inches ginger grated
  • 300 g spinach leaves chopped
  • 1 large green chilli chopped
  • 400 g crushed tomatoes canned
  • 800 g chicken thighs skinless and boneless, cut into large chunks
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 2 tablespoons cream or coconut cream optional

To serve

  • 2-4 naan bread or rice for GF
  • raita* optional

Instructions
 

  • Heat oil in a large fry pan, fry onions until golden, about 5 minutes. Add spices, garlic and ginger and fry a further 2 minutes.
  • Wilt fresh spinach by blanching in boiling water or steaming in microwave. Squeeze out excess water and puree spinach with green chilli, tomatoes, cooked onions and spices.
  • Season chicken with salt. Heat a little more oil in the same pan and fry chicken pieces until lightly browned.
  • Add spinach puree to chicken and simmer on medium heat until chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Season with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Just before serving, drizzle cream over curry. Serve curry with naan bread and raita.

Notes

*To make the raita, mix 3 chopped tomatoes with ½ chopped telegraph cucumber (seeds removed), ½ small finely chopped red onion, a handful of chopped mint leaves, and 1 cup natural unsweetened yoghurt.
Don’t be alarmed at what seems like a mountain of spinach in the beginning – it all wilts down to create a rich, tasty saagwala curry. One serving of this will probably give you more greens than most people would have in a whole week!