Chicken and Spinach in Coconut Gravy

Chicken & Spinach in Coconut Gravy

Saag Meat is a popular Indian dish, saag being spinach cooked with any kind of meat and a lot of spices. Baby spinach goes very well with chicken and so does coconut milk. Combining these 3 flavours produced a delicious main course for dinner tonight. Keeping the dried red chilies whole provides full flavour of the chilies without adding a lot of heat. In spite of keeping the spices down to a minimum, this chicken dish tasted wholesome, peppery and creamy.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lbs. of chicken pieces

1 tsp. ginger paste

1 tsp. garlic paste

1/2 tsp. Kashmiri mirch/paprika/chili powder, or to taste

1/4 tsp. turmeric powder

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

salt to taste

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

5 dried red chilies

1 Tbsp. kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

1 lb. pre-washed baby spinach

1 large onion, sliced

1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken in next 7 ingredients for half an hour.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Fry dried red chilies & kasuri methi until chilies darken. 
4. Add chicken pieces & fry lightly with onions until oil resurfaces.
5. Add baby spinach and stir-fry until wilted.
6. Stir in coconut milk and bring to a boil.
7. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and serve with steamed rice or Indian bread.