Chicken Saag

This is one of my favorite indian dishes. It's full of flavor and has a beautiful green color. I like to kick up the spice a bit and add an extra chili pepper with the seeds. I would serve this with basmati rice and naan bread. This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, "Best-Ever Curry," by Mridula Baljekar. I have made a few minor changes.

Chicken Saag

10 Ounces Spinach Leaves, washed
1 Inch piece Fresh Ginger Root, grated
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 Jalapeno, top removed, do not remove seeds
1 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 Bay Leaves
¼ Teaspoon Black Peppercorns
1 Onion, finely chopped
1-14 Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
2 Teaspoons Curry Powder (I like to use yellow curry powder)
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
3 Tablespoons Plain Yogurt, plus extra to serve
6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into 2 inch cubes

Cook the spinach, without water in a tightly covered pan for 5 minutes. Put the spinach, ginger, garlic and chili with ¼ cup of the water into food processor and process to a puree.

Heat the oil, add the bay leaves and peppercorns and fry for 2 minutes. Add the onion and fry for 6-8 minutes more.

Add the canned tomatoes to the pan and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Add the curry powder, salt and chili powder and stir well to mix. Allow to cook for 2 minutes.

Add the spinach puree and the remaining water to the pan, and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in the yogurt 1 Tablespoon at a time and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken. Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Serve with warm naan bread. Serve with plain yogurt.