Chicken and Spinach (Or Lambsquarter) Curry 1
Murg Saag With Palak Or Bathua
Mamta Gupta
Bathua or Lambsquarter (Chenopodium album) is a summer weed in UK. In India, it is a popular leaf vegetable during the winter months and it is cooked like spinach. It can be mixed with chicken and meat to make a saag dish, with new potatoes to make a lovely vegetable dish, with yoghurt to make a delicious raita and to dough, to give a distinctive taste to roti, poori or paratha. Bathua has medicinal uses in some skin conditions and it's oil is used to treat hook worms. It is said to be high in vitamin A, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, trace minerals, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, iron, and fibre. Do not use it from beds where insecticides or leaf fertilisers have been used. Serves 6.
This dish is suitable for cooking in a slow cooker or crock pot. Place everything except double cream and Garam masla in a bowl, mix, leave to marinate for a couple of hours. Cook as per instructions in your slow cooker book for chicken casserole. I cook on high for 3-4 hours and then leave it on slow until ready to eat.
Ingredients
1 kg. chicken fillets, skinned and cut into bite size slices
3 large cloves garlic, grated
2 large onions, peeled and grated
2 large tomatoes, chopped or 300 gm tinned tomatoes
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
200 gm or a large bunch of bathua leaves (you can use spinach instead), washed & chopped
4 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (adjust to taste. I use 1 level tsp.)
2 generous tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp. teaspoon turmeric
2 tsp. salt or to taste
1 tsp. Garam Masala
2 tbs. double cream or 4 tablespoon full cream milk (optional)
Instructions
Heat oil in a pan.
Fry onions ginger and garlic, until nicely browned.
Add chicken, and fry for 4-5 minutes, until sealed on all sides.
Add tomatoes, all the spices except garam masala, and salt. Stir fry for a few minutes.
Add bathua/spinach leaves, mix well and cook covered on low/medium heat for 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked. You may need to add a little water during cooking. The bathua leaves should cling to the chicken and there should be very little gravy.
Add cream or milk, if used. Mix well.
Add garam masala.
Serve hot with Tandoori Roti or Chapatti.
Notes
This dish can be cooked with spinach leaves or a mix of spinach and fenugreek (methi) leaves.