Simple and delicious classic Indian chicken and spinach curry, Chicken Saag recipe made with tender chicken thigh, spinach, and flavourful curry sauce. Serve with plain rice, naan, or chapati. Healthy and delicious Indian curry dinner the whole family can enjoy!
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Why you would love this dish?
A delicious crowd-pleasing dish that all family members can enjoy. It's fast, easy, and budget-friendly. Loaded with plenty of fresh spinach that creates a perfectly balanced vibrant texture and flavour.
You can create the restaurant-quality tender chicken and spinach curry at home with a handful of cupboard-friendly everyday Indian spices and herbs. All ingredients used in this recipe are available at local supermarkets or grocery stores.
A healthy, nutritious, and versatile chicken curry that you can adjust the flavour and spices to your liking. If you are a fan of Indian curry dishes, you might also love other curry recipes like Chicken Rogan Josh, Garlic Chilli Chicken Curry and Hyderabadi Chicken.
What is Chicken Saag?
Chicken Saag is an aromatic chicken curry loaded with spinach or a choice of greens and is also known as ' Saag Murgh', ' Murgh Saagwala ' or ' Chicken and Spinach Curry '.
Healthy and nutritious classic Indian cuisine packed with authentic flavour. Saag means leafy green vegetables in Hindi and you can either cook this dish with spinach, mustard greens or a choice of green leafy vegetables.
Saag curry can be cooked with chicken, lamb, potatoes, or cauliflower with leafy greens or pureed greens. In this recipe, I am sharing our homemade version of the Saag Chicken curry recipe with simple ingredients.
Ingredients you need
Chicken - add boneless skinless chicken thigh for a quick and tender chicken result. You can also add chicken breast or bone-in chicken pieces.
Spinach - add washed and dried fresh spinach or defrosted frozen spinach.
Shallot - shallot onions are best in making Indian curries. If you don't have Asian shallots, you can add brown onions.
Garlic and ginger - add freshly grated ginger and garlic for the best flavour.
Whole spices - bring extra aroma to the curry and you can use these spices in many other Indian and Pakistani curries.
Ground spices - Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, and garam masala are essential ground spices you will need.
Ghee and oil - add ghee for a rich nutty flavour. If you don't have ghee you can add unsalted butter.
How to cook it
- Heat the pan to medium heat, and add ghee and cooking oil. Once the oil is hot and the ghee is melted, add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and cumin seeds.
- Let the spices sizzle for a few seconds and add the onion slices and cook until soft and translucent. Then add the garlic paste, ginger paste, and green chillies. Stir it well until the onions are light golden brown, then add the tomatoes.
- Cook until the tomatoes are soft and the oil starts to separate. Then add the chicken pieces, salt, and ground spices ( Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, and 1 tsp of garam masala ).
- Combine everything well and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes with medium heat. Then add water and bring it to a simmer.
- Close the lid and continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is tender. ( Stir occasionally and add more water if needed. )
- Now add half of the spinach and stir everything well. Once the spinach is soft, add the rest and combine well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Sprinkle a half teaspoon of garam masala and dried fenugreek leaves.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the spinach is cooked through and the curry sauce reaches your desired consistency. ( Make a taste test and add more salt and water if needed. )
How to serve this dish?
Saag chicken goes really well with basmati rice or a choice of naan bread. To plate this dish, spoon the curry over a bed of fluffy cooked rice and garnish with chopped coriander and fresh green chillies. Pair it with Indian onion salad, chicken pakora, Onion bhaji or butterfly prawn and make it a wholesome complete dinner.
Top Tips
- Why chicken thigh? I love to cook chicken thighs because it is dark chicken meat and contains more fat content than chicken breast. It has a rich intense flavour and is the best part of the chicken to create curry.
- Fresh spinach - wash spinach several times with plenty of cold water to remove any dirt and stubborn sand. Then add in a colander and shake off any excess water or use a salad spinner. Pat dry the excess moisture with a paper towel or clean cloth. If you are using pre-washed spinach, you can skip these steps.
- Frozen spinach - should be fully defrosted overnight in the fridge or prepared according to the packaging instructions. Squeeze out the excess water out before adding in the curry sauce.
- Adjust the heat - by adding more or reducing the chilli powder and fresh chillies quantities.
- Cooking for a big batch - use a large heavy bottom pot or pan to prevent overcrowding and distribute heat evenly to all ingredients.
Ingredient Variations
- Chicken thigh substitute - If you prefer healthier low-fat chicken saag, you can use skinless, boneless chicken breast instead of chicken thigh.
- Bone-in chicken - You can also add bone-in chicken pieces but it will take more time to be cooked. So make sure to cook longer until the chicken pieces are tender before adding the spinach.
- Vegetarian and vegan options - substitute chicken with potato, tofu, paneer, Quron meat ( vegan meat ), or a choice of meat-free vegan protein.
FAQs
Chicken saag is an authentic Indian-style chicken curry cooked with spinach and light aromatic curry sauce, while chicken tikka masala is a British Indian restaurant-style heavy rich creamy aromatic curry dish made with cream, onions, and tomato sauce. Both of these dishes are popular chicken curries in restaurants and takeaways in the UK and across the world.
Chicken palak is made by using only spinach leaves and chicken in a cream-based curry sauce and chicken saag can be made by using any of your choice of leafy greens and chicken.
Spinach is rich in antioxidants and has a number of health benefits and it is a staple ingredient in Indian recipes. It has a unique earthy flavour and is rich in vitamins, fibre, and minerals. Spinach thickens the curry sauce and enhances both flavour and nutritional value to the curry sauce.
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📖 Recipe
Chicken Saag ( Chicken and Spinach Curry )
Equipment
- 1 Large pot/pan
Ingredients
- 400 grams Chicken thigh Boneless chicken thigh or breast, Cut medium bite-size pieces. ( About 14 oz )
- 100 grams Spinach Washed and drained, Cut thin slices or chopped. ( About 3.5 oz ) see details in note
- 2-3 Shallot onions Cut thin slices or finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Garlic paste Or grated garlic
- 1-2 Tomato
- ½ tbsp Ginger paste Or grated ginger
- 2-3 Green chilli Cut thin slices ( Optional )
- 2 tbsp Ghee Or unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp Cooking oil
- 1½ tsp Salt or salt to taste
- 1 cup Water Warm water ( About 240ml ) add more water if needed.
Spices
- 4-5 pods Green cardamom Lightly crushed
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds Jeera/jeera seeds
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Kasuri methi Dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or regular chilli powder mild/hot
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- 1½ tsp Garam masala Or curry powder
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
Instructions
- Heat the pan to medium heat, add ghee and cooking oil. Once the oil is hot and the ghee is melted, add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and cumin seeds.
- Let the spices sizzle for a few seconds and add the onion slices and cook until soft and translucent. Then add the garlic paste, ginger paste, and green chillies. Stir it well until the onions are light golden brown, then add the tomatoes.
- Cook until the tomatoes are soft and the oil starts to separate. Then add the chicken pieces, salt, and ground spices ( Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, and 1 tsp of garam masala ).
- Combine everything well and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes with medium heat. Then add water and bring it to a simmer. Close the lid and continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is tender. ( Stir occasionally and add more water if needed. )
- Now add half of the spinach and stir everything well. Once the spinach is soft, add the rest of the spinach and combine well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Sprinkle a half teaspoon of garam masala and dried fenugreek leaves. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the spinach is cooked through and the curry sauce reach to your desire consistency. ( Make a taste test and add more salt and water if needed. )
- Serve immediately with fluffy basmati rice, naan, or chapati.
Video
Notes
- Can you store the leftover chicken saag? Yes, you can cook it ahead and keep it in the air-tight container and store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. To freeze it, allow the saag curry to cool down completely, then transfer it to the freezer-safe bag or container and freeze it for later use. It usually lasts in the freezer for a couple of months.
- How to reheat it? You can reheat it in the microwave in the microwave-safe container or reheat it in the pot over the stovetop until piping hot. Add a splash of water if needed.
- Is this dish spicy? Chicken and spinach curry is a medium hot curry but you can adjust the spiciness by using mild or hot chillies to your preference.
- Nutritional facts are calculated approximately per serving, without rice or naan and it can be varied by a number of different factors.
Jonathan says
I am from Bradford, known as the ‘Curry Capital’ around England, and this is the absolute best recipe for a proper chicken and spinach curry. Better than restaurant quality in 95% of countries!