Pakistani Palak Chicken is an easy and delicious Pakistani chicken curry made with spinach. Over the years, I've learned plenty of tips and tricks to make this recipe easy enough for beginners, yet not compromising on the flavor!
Love authentic yet easy Pakistani recipes? Try this Keema, Mutton Karahi, and Palak Paneer.
About this Recipe
This palak chicken recipe is an everyday, hearty meal with unique flavors. It’s made with simple ingredients and pantry spices, and it only takes about 40 minutes to prepare. Another favorite one pot recipe is this Keema Matar.
Palak chicken goes by many names: murgh palak, saag chicken, or saag murgh. Palak means spinach, and murgh refers to chicken. Saag refers to a number of leafy greens including spinach and mustard greens that are eaten in Pakistan and India.
Chicken palak vs chicken saag - they are basically the same thing, though technically a chicken palak recipe is made with only spinach.
I didn't like palak when growing up, classifying it as a boring green. But as an adult, I've come to love it for its earthy flavor. It's also healthy!
If you’re interested in a vegetarian option for palak, then try these Palak Paneer and Palak Aloo recipes too! You'll love them. 🙂
Why this Recipe Works
Frozen spinach: Most palak chicken recipes call for fresh spinach, which is blanched and then either chopped or pureed. I don't like doing extra work so I'm always looking for shortcuts.
My solution for skipping these steps is to use chopped frozen spinach. All you have to do is thaw it, and then plonk it in directly into the chicken palak. This saves a ton of time without sacrificing on flavor!
Use a blender or chopper to do all your chopping for you: My least favorite kitchen task is to chop and prep the ingredients. If you're anything like me, consider investing in a chopper. I chop everything in it! Onions, tomatoes, ginger & garlic, you name it. This saves a TON of time!
Minimal spices: This recipe for palak chicken requires only a few basic spices. However, I highly recommend using the magical ingredient dried fenugreek leaves to finish off the recipe. It's perfect for saag/palak based recipes as it rounds off the flavors of any curry brilliantly.
Easy and one pot: With my trick for using frozen spinach, this murgh palak becomes a one pot recipe that's fast and easy to make.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Oil or Ghee
- Onion: Red or purple onions are most commonly used for Pakistani curries, but I have also used white onion with success.
- Tomatoes: Use fresh, ripe and juicy tomatoes for this palak chicken curry. If in a pinch, you can also substitute with canned crushed tomatoes.
- Chicken: Bone-in chicken yields the most flavor, so I highly recommend using it. But you can use boneless chicken, although breast can dry out quickly so I would recommend using boneless chicken thighs.
- Ginger Garlic Paste: this is an essential for Pakistani and Indian recipes, and I always have some on hand. Here's the ginger garlic paste recipe.
- Spices: Pretty basic spices such as kashmiri lal mirch powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. I also add whole garam masala: black peppercorns (sabut kali mirch) and whole cloves (sabut laung).
- Spinach: I use frozen, chopped spinach for convenience, but you may use fresh spinach leaves as well. If using fresh spinach leaves, blanch them first and blend before adding to the curry. If you can't find frozen chopped spinach, then you can use frozen spinach leaves. Just let them thaw completely, and then puree in the blender or with a hand blender. You could also add in other greens to make this a chicken saag recipe.
- Dried fenugreek leaves: these are optional, but I think they add a really nice finishing touch to the overall flavour of the palak chicken.
- Butter: I always liked to finish off my curries with butter, because it adds a delicious flavor!
How to Make Palak Chicken
- Saute the onion: Heat oil in a pot, then saute the onions for 3-4 minutes until light golden.
- Cook the chicken: Now add the chicken and ginger garlic paste. Saute for 4-5 minutes until the chicken has changed color to white, but isn't yet fully cooked.
- Spices: Add the spices, stir, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Tomato: Add the fresh tomato puree, and mix well. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are cooked.
- Spinach: Add the thawed spinach, stir, and cover. Cook on medium-low for 10-12 minutes, or until the spinach is cooked. The curry will be thickened and bubbly.
- Finishing touches: Add the dried frenugreek leaves and butter. Remove from heat, cover for 2-3 minutes, and then serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- Use a chopper: My least favorite thing in the kitchen is to chop and prep ingredients for whatever I'm making. One way I've learned to come around this is to use a small chopper or blender. I chop everything in my trusty chopper including onions, tomatoes, and even ginger & garlic if I'm making it fresh.
- Bhunofying: To make Pakistani dishes super flavorful, you have to be patient and have to really let the curries cook until the oil separates from the curry and is visible on the sides and top of the curry. It takes time, but it's worth it. You never quite get the same flavor if you skip the bhunofying part.
Recipe FAQs
Chicken palak can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days in the fridge. You can also freeze it up to a month.
Yes, this chicken palak Pakistani recipe is healthy! You can make it even healthier by reducing the amount of oil and skipping the butter in the end. Learn more about the benefits of spinach here.
No, palak chicken is not particularly spicy. It is a mild curry and can be enjoyed with white rice or naan.
Note: This recipe was first published on Oct 14, 2019. It has now been edited for newer pictures, step-by-step photos of the recipe, and a video!
Palak Chicken
Equipment
- Chopper
- Pot
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup oil or ghee
- 2 small onions chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 kg chicken bone-in pieces cut into 12 or 14 pieces by the butcher
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri lal mirch powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder haldi
- 1/2 teaspoon dhania powder coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon zeera powder cumin powder
- 3-4 black peppercorns sabut kali mirch
- 2 whole cloves sabut lavang
- Salt to taste
- 2 medium tomatoes pureed
- 450 grams Frozen spinach
- Water as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot and add the chopped onion. Fry for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
- Now add in the chicken pieces and ginger garlic paste. Cook for a 4-5 minutes until the chicken changes color.
- Add in the spices, and cook for another 3-4 minutes on medium high flame until you can see the oil coming to surface. You may add a splash of water to prevent the spices from burning.
- Now add the pureed tomatoes and cook for a 1-2 minutes on high flame, while stirring constantly.
- Lower the heat, add a little bit of water and cover the pot with a lid. Cook until the tomato puree is cooked, about 15 minutes, the chicken is almost cooked through, and the oil has separated from the curry.
- Add the spinach and about 1/2 cup of water (you can adjust the quantity of water as needed). Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium heat until the spinach is cooked and the chicken is fully cooked too.
- Crush dried fenugreek leaves with your hands, and sprinkle on top of the palak chicken. Add butter. Mix well, and take off heat.
- Serve with steamed rice or naan.
Notes
- Oil: You can decrease the amount of oil to about 1/4 cup if you want to make this recipe even healthier.
- Onion: I chop the onion finely in a chopper, but you can do it by hand as well.
- Chicken: I highly recommend using bone-in chicken as it yields the most flavor. However, you can use boneless chicken too. Breast is fine, but can dry out quickly, so the best option is boneless chicken thighs.
- Whole spices: Whole black peppercorns and cloves add a delicious subtle flavor to the recipe. However, you can skip these if you don't have them. The recipe will still be delicious.
- Tomatoes: I like to puree the tomatoes in my chopper because I find it the easiest. You can use chop the tomatoes by hand or even use canned crushed tomatoes.
- Spinach:
- Frozen chopped spinach: It's the most convenient and quickest to use. I let it thaw completely while cooking the curry, and then add it.
- Fresh spinach: Blanch it first, drain excess water, and then blend it. Then use as written in the recipe.
- Frozen Spinach Whole Leaves: Sometimes you can get frozen spinach whole leaves in the freezer section. To use these, thaw the spinach completely first, then blend it, and then use it in the recipe.
I'm trying this chicken recipe! Its so flavorful, thanks for sharing this!
Spinach and chicken are a great combination, and this dish looks delicious. Thank youf for introducing me to a new Pakastani recipe. I love all the flavors in this dish.
I absolutely love chicken and can eat it any day! Being married to an Indian I cook many curries and when I tried this out it did not disappoint, as it is very tasty and gets even better the day after!
I've got to try more of the Pakistani cuisine. There seems to be so many delicious recipes to explore!
Wow nice ---I would prefer it with Chapati