Palak Chicken

I think it's clear that I am borderline obsessed with curries. I'd sound like Bubba Gump if I'd list out all the varieties I've made; Shrimp Coconut Curry, Massaman Curry, Green Curry, Red Curry....it's a broad category, but essentially a sauce. Contrary to myth, not all curries contain turmeric, and most curries taste quite different.

In this case, I had a whole bunch of spinach and not enough feta or phyllo to make my favorite Greek dish (hellooooo, Spanakopita), so I got to do one of my favorite things: let the universe (and my google search) lead me to a new dish. I landed on Palak chicken, which is essentially a version of curry made with a spinach sauce. What kind of a spinach sauce, you ask? Well, literally a sauce made of mostly blended spinach. Talk about getting your greens. This was perfect.

I used 2 chicken breasts and diced them into cubes, then tossed in some light spices and lemon juice. I set this aside to marinate while I prepped the sauce portion.

Making the sauce was where things got interesting. Steps:

• Heating pan to medium high
• Adding cashews and chopped peppers to a pan with 1 teaspoon cooking oil oil
• Cooking for 2-3 minutes, until peppers softened
• Adding in a whole bunch of fresh spinach

Let me take it back a few bullets and look at the pepper portion. I made a mistake here by deviating from the guide to use a serrano pepper. I'm in a weird place with peppers right now as my serrano plant died. Tragic. I loved that little guy. I've got a new one going but it has not fruited yet. But, I've also got a whole bunch of frozen ghost peppers. You see, I had the most massive ghost pepper plant out back. It also did not survive after a bad storm. But, I have a plethora of them.

I had read that peppers weaken in the freezer as the capsaicin breaks down. For this reason, I used two (2) ghost peppers in this dish instead of the recommended peppers. Whoopsies. Don't do this. More to come.

I couldn't fit all the spinach in the pan at once, but that was fine. As the spinach wilted and took up roughly 1% of the original space, I added more until the whole lot was in there. Then, I cooked it down until it was all soft, then added some ice cubes to cool it down (as the recipe called for adding water here anyway). Then, I dumped the cooked spinach mixture into the blender.

Next, I added the whole seasonings (bay leaf, cardamoms, cinnamon, and cloves) and cooked them a few minutes. I then added some chopped onion and garlic to the pan and cooked until the onions softened. Here you can add chopped tomatoes or cherry, and in my case I decided to use halved cherry tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes were softened, I added the remaining seasonings and some water water to the pan.

I then stirred in the chicken and cooked it for 7-10 minutes, then yanked out the whole spices (at least the cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf - the cardamom had softened).

The interesting thing about using cashews in this is that it is a sauce thickener. I've done this in Chicken Korma and other dishes. Half and half or heavy can be used instead, but it is kind of amazing how well cashews work at this.

I mixed the spinach mixture into the sauce, and voila! Palak Chicken was born.

The dish was flavorful and a good thick consistency. Returning to my pepper comments, this dish was MUY MUY CALIENTE. I ate it, but boy, it burned. I told a friend of mine to never let me add 2 ghost peppers to anything again. The capsaicin had not broken down enough for this!

My dad happens to be a spice fanatic and as fate would have it, we were crossing paths a few days later. He was stoked when I explained my absurd over-peppering of this dish and said he'd gladly take it. I froze it and dropped it off, but whether or not his taste buds survived has not been confirmed.

My errors aside, I think this was a superb dish. Despite the heat, I ate it twice! I really like the idea of a lean spinach sauce and not using cream or cheese in it. You can add a heavy cream topping to add creaminess as desired, but I think as is, this is a stellar dish. Two thumbs up from me. I will try this one again once my serrano gives me some little ones!

Palak Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1 to 1½ inch cubes

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

For the sauce:

7 to 8 cups fresh spinach (8-9 ounces, about 2 bags)

2 to 4 green chilies, chopped (Indian, Thai, or Serrano chili peppers)

16 to 20 cashews (or 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream) 

2 tablespoons oil (I used avocado)

3 green cardamoms 

3 to 4 cloves

1 inch cinnamon piece

1 bay leaf 

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3/4 to 1 cup chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon garam masala 

1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves

1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste) 

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Instructions:

Add chicken to a medium bowl. Toss with salt, black pepper, red chili powder and lemon juice. Add 1 teaspoon oil to a pan heated over medium heat and add cashews and green chilies. Cook until the peppers have softened. Add spinach and cook on a medium heat until wilted. Remove from heat and cool; add about 1/2 cup ice cubes. Add spinach, chilies and cashews to a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Return the pan to medium heat. Add the remaining cooking oil to the hot pan. Add all the whole spices and let them cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the chopped onions and sauté 2-3 minutes, then add ginger and garlic. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, then add tomatoes and salt and stir. Cook for about 4 minutes, until tomatoes are soft. Add chicken pieces, garam masala, fenugreek leaves, cumin, and salt and mix well. Add 1/4 cup water and cover, cooking for about 7 minutes, until chicken is cooked throughout. Remove whole spices as well as possible (cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and cloves). Stir in the spinach puree. If sauce is too hick, add 1/4 cup water. Serve with steamed rice or naan.

adapted from palak spinach chicken