Palak Chicken is a weeknight friendly, healthy and hearty dish that is deeply comforting. This version is well balanced with some flavour additions that make it sing!
Chicken is such a convenient weeknight staple isn't it? It cooks quickly and with a little variation in technique and spices you can make so many flavorful Pakistani Chicken Recipes from the Palak Chicken here to the ever popular Chicken Ginger and One Pot Chicken Pulao.
Why you should make this Murgh Palak
This recipe for homemade Pakistani palak chicken(or chicken and spinach curry) is a winner because it is:-
- perfectly seasoned
- quick to make stovetop
- Uses convenient boneless chicken (although you can use bone in)
- easily adaptable to the kind of spinach you have
- healthy because it's nutrient rich thanks to the spinach
- can be served with roti or rice
Let's talk Ingredients (and where they fall short!)
Palak Chicken ingredients are fairly straightforward, but like many recipes with straightforward ingredients, the quality/kind matters a great deal.
Let's break it down into two sections: Fresh ingredients and Spices.
Fresh Ingredients:
- Tomato: Since there is all of one tomato, it's got to be full flavored.
- Green Chilies: However many you add is upto you, but for me one is a minimum because of how it perfumes and flavours the masala.
- SPINACH!: I used to be team frozen spinach (the desi kind), but while I will still use it in a pinch I have pivoted since.
My preference in terms of spinach for this recipe is as follows: baby spinach, regular fresh spinach, frozen desi spinach.
Pantry Ingredients:
- Kasuri methi or dried Fenugreek. While fresh is great this is my pantry friendly fave. A little goes a long way here towards creating a dish that is aromatic and has more nuanced flavour.
How to Make Palak Chicken
Palak Chicken is a chicken dish made by creating a simple chicken masala base, similar in approach to this Chicken Masala. The process is simple.
TIP: Use your food processor to chop spinach fast.
Sizzle your cumin seeds and then saute onions until the edges turn golden. A little green chili is fun in here!
Add your ginger garlic paste, saute to get the rawness out and then add your chicken and spices.
Mix well until the colour changes then add a tomato and a little water and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes.
Once your chicken is tender crank up the heat to dry out the moisture. Add in your kasuri methi, then the spinach and cook for another 10-15 minutes on medium high heat, stirring frequently. You want the water in the dish to dry up and the oil to rise over it.
Taste and adjust seasoning to personal preference. I love a little squeeze of lemon juice in here.
Recipe Changes
I used to cook this recipe a little differently. Notably:
- no green chilies in the base
- adding the spinach with the tomato
- kasuri methi at the end
I've made the adjustments I have because it improves the flavour of the chicken itself as well as the overall dish. Also spinach doesn't reallllly need a long simmer, most of the work is in drying the water out towards the end.
Can I make Palak Chicken ahead of time?
Yes. Since it is a masala based dish and not a dry one like this Highway Karahi it holds up well. Reheat it stove top for optimal flavour.
Can I add yoghurt or cream to this dish?
Some recipes add either ingredient and you are welcome to if that's what you're used to. Given the natural creaminess of this chopped spinach I don't think it really needs it and prefer instead to serve it with some thick plain yoghurt.
What do I make with Palak Chicken?
The answers to that depends entirely on whether you plan to serve it with roti or rice.
Made this Palak Chicken? Rate it below and tag me in your recreations on Instagram @flourandspiceblog - happy cooking my friends!
Murgh Palak - Palak Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless chicken cut into big cubes about 50% more for bone in
- ½ a large red onion
- 1-2 diced green chilies
- 1 tomato
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 heaped teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger or ginger paste
- ¾-1 teaspoon salt start w ¾
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¾-1 teaspoon cayenne / red chilli powder
- ¾ teaspoon coriander powder
- 400 g fresh spinach (can use less, see notes)
- Heaped tbsp of Kasuri Methi dried fenugreek - optional
Finishing touches
- lemon juice, garam masala
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion and tomato
- The easiest way to dice spinach is to run it through a food processor. The second easiest is to use kitchen shears and snip away.
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a pot and add the diced onion, fry on medium high heat till the edges start to take on a golden brown.
- Optional: Add a diced green chilli (or two) for extra flavour.
- Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for a minute
- Add the chicken and spices, saute on medium high heat until all the sides of the chicken pieces have changed colour.
- Mix in the diced tomato, and ½-1 cup of hot water (more for stainless steel, less for non stick) and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
- Crank up the heat to dry up the excess water and add your kasuri methi and saute for a minute.
- Now add your spinach - spinach is a naturally watery green so at this stage your goal is to cook the moisture out of the spinach and have the oil rise above your dish. This takes about 10-12 minutes on medium heat.
- Adjust seasoning - a squeeze of lemon juice is lovely here, but you can also add some garam masala, and/or extra chilies.
Video
Murgh Palak or Palak Chicken from Sarah Mir on Vimeo.
Notes
Looking for more chicken curry recipes? I have tons!
Sumi says
Do you finely chop the fresh spinach before adding to the chicken?
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hey! So with the desi frozen spinach I never ever do anything. If I buy bags of baby spinach it depends on my mood, but with large leaf spinach I will do a rough chop. It is entirely upto you - I know people who puree their spinach because that's their preference. My family doesn't usually so I tend not to 🙂
Zakhia says
Hi , how many tablespoons of oil do you put in ?
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hi! It totally depends on what pot I am using. If yours is non-stick you're ok with 3tbsp or so but if it isn't then you'd need more! Happy Cooking!
Mahrukh says
Hey
Just wanted you to know that ever since I’ve moved to US from Pakistan your recipes have provided me a source of comfort whenever I miss ghar wala khanna! So thank you!
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Ohmigod thank you so much for sharing that with me!!! Absolutely made my day!
RAABEAA says
Hi Sarah!
I love all ur recipes! The murgh Chana and aaloo cHolay have become staples in our house!!! I wanted to ask if
You’ve ever done a recipe for palak gosht?
I would love to try it if you do!
Raabeaa 😁
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hi Raabeaa! I am SO glad to hear that and I have not shared a Palak Gosht yet but I will soon!
Zainab says
Made this today..Such a warm, comforting and easy recipe, awesome!
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Thank you Zainab! I am so glad you enjoyed it!!!!
Vishnu says
The curry came nice but there was slight bitterness. How to avoid bitterness?
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hi Vishnu! I usually use baby spinach and don't have that issue, but one way to avoid it is to cook the spinach a little less and that'll take the bitter after taste out!
Mina says
Excellent recipe! I actually used a combination of spinach and beet greens and it came out very earthy and flavorful. I added 3-4 cloves to the recipe as well because I remember them in the palak murghi I ate as a child.
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
I love your addition of beet greens!!!!! I’ve never had it but I’m sure it tastes amazing - thanks for your comment 💕
Sayeeda says
I have made this so many times. It's easy, healthy and delicious!
Sarah Mir says
I am SO SO happy to hear that Sayeeda!!!!
SH says
I love spinach and chicken! This is a delicate recipe and delicious! If I want to substitute the tomatoes with yogurt to make it “creamy”, can I do that? And half of an onion would be approx how many grams after trimming?
As a general rule, should I stick with 350 g onions and 210 or so grams tomatoes (pre trimmed) in chicken salan recipes? Can you please mention the grams of onions and tomatoes post trimmed for the homestyle chicken recipe? I’m sorry to be driving you bananas with these questions but I sincerely appreciate you answering our questions! You’re an AMAZING cook!
Sarah Mir says
Hi there! Excellent reminder to add more notes on the recipe! Okay let's address the questions
1.) Yes, but get a little more color on the onions because then that will give you more depth. Tomatoes tend to deepen flavour but yoghurt lightens it.
2.) Onions are typically 120-140g on an average, don't worry about the trimmed amounts so much unless you've got onions that are not in the best shape. Roughly speaking half an onion diced gives you about half a cup volume wise if that's easier to eyeball. Plum tomatoes which are my tomato of choice are typically 130-150g each!
Hope these help!