Chicken Saag with Vegetables
I love Indian food, and have ambitions to learn how to cook it at some point (I have this cookbook on my Amazon wish list, which I will point out in case E is reading this). This week, I made a version of Chicken Saag (a Punjabi dish that uses garam masala, tomatoes, cream or milk, and fresh spinach or other wilted greens) from the Cookbook of the Month. It was really simple and delicious.
I put a twist on my adaptation by including some additional vegetables. Neither of my housemates is a fan of wilted leaves of any kind, so in order to appease them, I added some vegetables they do like: carrots, celery, and peas. I also added some diced tomatoes rather than just using tomato paste to flavor the sauce. I know this was a non-traditional move, but when you have family members who are mostly non-fussy, I don’t think it’s bad to occasionally cater to their tastes in order to make dinner a little more appealing. If adding more vegetables made them more likely to enjoy the finished dish (which it did), then I’m perfectly okay with that. It’s not like I added a bunch of sugar.
Now that I’ve finished justifying the way I bastardized a traditional Indian dish, let’s get to the recipe. This is a one-pot meal, which every busy person can’t help loving. It’s naturally gluten-free, and could probably be made dairy-free by using almond milk in the sauce.
If you like Indian food, this is a great beginner dish – it’s pretty much no-fail. Serve it over basmati rice, and you have a hearty dinner in one bowl.
Chicken Saag with Vegetables
Adapted from Time for Dinner by Pilar Guzmán, Jenny Rosenstrach, and Alanna Stang
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast and/or thigh meat, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
1-2 handfuls fresh spinach or other tender cooking greens
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons garam masala
3/4 cup half & half
kosher or fine grain sea salt
ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil. Brown the chicken pieces on all sides, 5 minutes or so. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion, celery, and carrot to the pot, along with the additional tablespoon of oil. Sauté until tender, 7-10 minutes (sorry there’s no photo for this step – I got distracted, my usual hazard when cooking with a toddler perched on the counter).
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, garam masala, and spinach. Cook, stirring often, until the spinach is wilted and the sauce is heated through.
Stir in the half & half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the chicken back into the pot along with the peas, tossing gently to coat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer a bit until everything is heated through, 15 minutes or so.
Serve over basmati rice.
Serves 6.
Here’s the printable recipe. Enjoy!
