Chicken Saagwala is a light curry dish common in Northern Indian cooking. The sauce is made with a mix of flavorful spices, sauteed onion, fresh mustard greens, and spinach. Saagwala curry is such a popular dish, this recipe is easy to create at home and delicious! Whether you are cooking for a crowd or whipping up a weekend dinner for two, it won't disappoint. I think you are going to love this chicken saagwala!
Watch my short video on how to make Chicken Sagwala below:
What is Saag in Indian Food?
Saag or Saagwala typically refers to a combination of spinach mustard greens, and fenugreek leaves that are cooked down to a thick gravy. You can make this dish completely vegan, or cook it with chicken (see Notes below on "How to cook Saagwala") or lamb.
Saag is also a great source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin K, manganese, calcium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and many more nutrients. So it's pretty safe to say that Saag is not only a very good, tasty Indian dish, but it is also healthy. Low in calories, contains healthy fats, and is filling.
HOW TO COOK CHICKEN SAAGWALA
- Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add your onion slices and saute until glossy and slightly caramelized. Remove about ΒΎ of the onions to a plate. We are going to add them back later to the finished sauce. Lower the heat to medium/low, then add the garlic, ginger paste, and all spices. Warm them for about 1 minute. No longer- spices burn quickly.
- Add your chopped mustard greens. Work in batches. You can raise the heat back to medium. Then add the spinach leaves. Add some chicken stock, or water to help cook the greens down and to de-glace the pan.
- Once the greens are cooked down, turn off the heat and move all the greens to a blender. Blend until smooth. Then add back to the same pan. Scrape out as much as possible. Turn on the heat to medium and then pour in the coconut cream. Stir and cook for another minute. Add back your sauteed onions from earlier. Add Β½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to make a mild saagwala. The sauce is done at this point. Check to see if it needs a little more salt. Depending on how spicy you like your food raise your cayenne pepper in Β½ teaspoon increments. Taste in between. You can also add the finely minced fresh chili to the sauce, or add it on top of the dish for extra garnish if you like.
- Serve with myΒ Tandoori chickenΒ on the side, or if you rather want to cook the chicken with the sauce together then use chicken breast, cut into big chunks. Marinate the chicken in my Tandoori marinade for at least 30 minutes (without the red food coloring). Then cook the chicken in a little olive oil first in the skillet until ΒΎ done. Remove the chicken onto a plate and use the same pan to start with the onion just as described above in Step 1. When the sauce is done you can add then your chicken, and the sauteed onion back, and cook in the sauce for about 2 more minutes until your chicken is cooked through.
Ingredients for Saagwala:
- fresh mustard greens, and fresh spinach. Frozen will not work well for this dish.
- onion, minced garlic, and ginger paste
- spices: garam masala, turmeric, curry, cumin, coriander, kashmiri chili powder, cardamom, and a good season of salt and pepper. If you find fenugreek leaves you can add 1 teaspoon to the seasoning mix.
- the sauce is finished with coconut cream for a beautiful creamy texture.
How to store leftover Saagwala?
Leftovers can be frozen or placed covered in the refrigerator overnight. Chilling the sauce overnight and then reheating the next day will intensify the flavor, making it even more delicious!
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Recipe
Chicken Saagwala
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, cut in thick slices
- 1 tablespoon garlic finely minced (2-3 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- Β½ curry
- Β½ turmeric
- Β½ teaspoon cumin
- Β½ teaspoon chili powder
- Β½ cardamom
- Β½ salt
- ΒΌ pepper
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek leaves (optional)
- 11 oz (1) bunch of fresh mustard greens
- 12 oz fresh spinach leaves (1 container)
- 1 Tandoori Chicken recipe
- Β½ cup low sodium chicken stock, or water
- Β½ cup coconut cream
- 2 small chilies (Thai or Arbol) See Notes below*
- Β½ teaspoon cayenne pepper - See Notes below*
Instructions
- Preparation:Slice onion into thick (about ΒΌ-inch) slices. Wash, dry, and roughly chop fresh mustard greens.Mince garlic, and prepare all spices in a small bowl.Cooking:1. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add your onion slices and saute until glossy and slightly caramelized. Remove about ΒΎ of the onions to a plate. We are going to add them back later to the finished sauce. Lower the heat to medium/low, then add the garlic, ginger paste, and all spices. Warm them for about 1 minute. No longer- spices burn quickly.Add your chopped mustard greens. Work in batches. You can raise the heat back to medium. Then add the spinach leaves. Add some chicken stock, or water to help cook the greens down and to de-glace the pan. Once the greens are cooked down, turn off the heat and move all the greens to a blender. Blend until smooth. Then add back to the same pan. Scrape out as much as possible. Turn on the heat to medium and then pour in the coconut cream. Stir and cook for another minute. Add back your sauteed onions from earlier. Add Β½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to make a mild saagwala. The sauce is done at this point. Check to see if it needs a little more salt. Depending on how spicy you like your food raise your cayenne pepper in Β½ teaspoon increments. Taste in between. You can also add the finely minced fresh chili to the sauce, or add it on top of the dish for extra garnish if you like.Serve with my Tandoori chicken on the side, or if you rather want to cook the chicken with the sauce together then use chicken breast, cut into big chunks. Marinate the chicken in my Tandoori marinade for at least 30 minutes (without the red food coloring). Then cook the chicken in a little olive oil first in the skillet until ΒΎ done. Remove the chicken onto a plate and use the same pan to start with the onion just as described above in Step 1. When the sauce is done you can add then your chicken, and the sauteed onion back, and cook in the sauce for about 2 more minutes until your chicken is cooked through.
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