Happy Cooking: Chicken Palakwala....Indian Masala

Friends,

Chicken in spinach with Indian masala is an exotic dish and as such requires some working and ingredients. Though the purist insist that the chicken should not be boneless.....but I assure you that this recipe will be as pleasing as the one prepared with normal chicken. But, you may try with either.......the procedure is the same, as the masala is.


For Chicken Palakwala you require:

1. A whole chicken but not weighing more than 600 to 750 gms, dressed. OR boneless chicken about 300 gms.

2. A bunch of palak, about 400 gms

3. Puree' of 200gms tomato.

4. 200gms onion.

5. 3-4 green chillies. 100gms of fresh coriander leaves.

6. 100 ml cooking oil. 04 Tps single cream OR 25 gms butter.

7. 02 tps jeera/cumin, 02 red chilly powder, 02 tps curry powder/chicken masala, 2'' cinnamon stick, 5-6 green cardamom, 04 cloves/laung, 02 tps coriander powder, 01 tps turmeric powder.

8. 03 tps ginger garlic paste. Salt to taste.


Method


Step One

1. Wash and cut the chicken into medium size pieces, and apply 01tps of ginger garlic paste and a little salt and keep aside to marinate for at least 30 mts.

2. Cut the roots, weed out grass & other unwanted plants, and wash Palak/Spinach at least 3 times. Heat water in a vessel and as it starts to bubble, drown the palak and par boil for TWO mts.Remove and immediately dip in cold water. Again, remove from cold water and blend it in a blender till it forms a smooth thick liquid . Keep it aside.

Step Two


1. In a grinder, grind to paste, half of fresh coriander with green chillies along with 100 gms of onion.

2. Dice fine the remainder of the onion.

Step Three

1. In a wok/kadai, put in the oil and upon heating fry the marinated chicken till it starts to brown. Remove from wok and keep aside.

2. In the remaining oil in the kadai/wok put in the ginger garlic paste, green cardamoms, cinnamon,cloves and fry till golden brown, add the fresh green masala, fry for two mts and add the diced onion. Fry and as the onion turns pink add turmeric and fry. Sprinkle in the red chilly powder fry and add half of the tomato puree'. Stir fry and when the masala reduce by half put in the chicken and stir fry, adding all the dry powder masala. Add half of the single cream/butter and the rest of the tomato puree'. Continue to fry and when the oil starts to separate, put in salt to taste & add the blended palak. Add if required pour in a few spoons of water so that the dish remains moist(or if you wish to have a little curry) and helps final cooking of the chicken with palak. Cover, let it simmer for two mts and switch off the flame.

3. After removing to dish, garnish with cream and fresh coriander.


Best served with Chapati or Rice(Remember to keep the curry likewise by adjusting water)