Chicken Saag This recipe is adapted from one by Madhur Jaffrey. It serves 6. You can substitute cheese for chicken to make this a vegetarian meal. The red chiles give this dish a nice spicy kick—just make sure to remove them before serving.

INGREDIENTS: 2 medium onions, peeled ¾ c. peanut oil or 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2.5 cm piece of ginger, chopped 1 (14 oz. can) fire‐roasted tomatoes or 1 large tomato, peeled and chopped 4 small red dried chiles, optional 1 cinnamon stick 1½ tsp. ground cardamom or 4 pods whole green cardamom 1 tsp. ground cumin 2 tsp. ground coriander ½ tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp. salt 2 to 3 tablespoons Greek style yogurt 8 oz. spinach, chopped into large pieces 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into chunks) ¼ c. heavy cream or water

Make crispy onions. Cut 1 of the onions in half, then into thin slices. Pour the oil into a large frying pan and heat over a medium temperature. When hot, add the sliced onions let them sizzle for 1‐2 minutes then turn the temperature down to medium low. Sizzle gently stirring occasionally for 4‐5 minutes until they turn light brown. Turn the temperature down to low and let the onions sizzle for another 10‐ 12 minutes. The onions will turn an orange/brown color. Be careful not to let them burn as this will ruin the taste of your . Drain the onions (making sure to keep the oil!). Spread out the crispy onions on waiting paper towels and pat off any excess oil. Leave to cool.

Make garlic­ginger paste. Chop the remaining onion very coarsely and add them to a food processor with the garlic and ginger with 4 tablespoons of water and puree into a paste. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Cook spinach. Arrange the spinach in a medium pan. Cover with ¼ c. water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 2‐3 minutes until wilted. Drain and cool slightly,

www.kitchenbitchblog.com then add to the food processor. Blend into a rough paste, and spoon into a bowl. Set aside.

Make the saag. In a large pan, heat 4 tablespoons of the reserved onion oil over a moderate heat. Add the cardamom, cinnamon, and chiles if using, and fry briefly. Add the onion paste and fry for 4‐5 minutes until golden brown. Add the cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper and fry for 1 minute. Now add the chicken, season it with salt and pepper, then add the tomatoes and fry them together for 4 minutes. As you do this, gradually add the yogurt tablespoon by tablespoon. Add the spinach and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and stir well. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, add ¼ c. cream or water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium/low and gently simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Add more cream if necessary. The saag will be coffee‐colored when it’s ready. Remove the cinnamon sticks and the chiles. Stir in half of the crispy onions. Season the saag to taste with salt and pepper. Move the saag to a serving dish, top with the rest of the crispy onions, and serve with and bread. Jaffrey suggests sprinkling the saag with fresh coriander and fresh chopped tomatoes.

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