Many folks whom I know will tell me “Oh I just love Indian food but it is so complicated to cook it! “. My answer of course has always been – ‘that’s not true at all. Once you know the basic spices that make a curry, you can then really try and make it your own way!’. You don’t always need to follow the exact steps which in some recipes I must admit can make one feel intimidated. And as for easy cooking, I for one am a huge proponent for simplifying things and thereby making life simpler 🙂 For instance I am always trying to cook easy weeknight dinners where I try to use short cuts and experiment every once in a while. This Chicken curry is such a recipe where I really tried to make it easier on myself. I eliminated the sauteing/browning of the onion and tomatoes step so that saves a lot of time without much of a compromise in taste.
Typically an Indian meal at our house consists of a curry either a (vegetable/a bean or a lentil or chicken/fish) with either rice or chapati accompanied with a vegetable side dish. So in this chicken dish I decided to add the vegetable(spinach) also to the chicken – that way I saved time by not cooking it separately. In addition to saving time, this way, my youngest who is fussy about eating her vegetables also gets her veggie intake without any additional exertion(and consequently high stress) on my part.!
This recipe is similar to the Easy Kerala Chicken curry which is my dad’s recipe (There again I think dad was trying to keep it simple! 🙂 ) And of course, I also almost always add potatoes to my chicken curry because I love the potatoes in the gravy more than the chicken! Hence the name Saag (spinach) Aloo(potatoes) Chicken! 🙂
Update: You can also make this recipe in the Instant Pot. I have included directions for cooking in the Instant Pot in the recipe below. Plus I have tried this recipe with different combination of greens – my favorite these days is Swiss Chard and Kale! I also omit tomatoes now since they trigger pain and inflammation in my body. Even without tomatoes, the curry comes out fantastic!
Easy Indian Chicken Curry || Saag Aloo Chicken || Chicken Curry with spinach and potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken,cleaned and cut into bite size pieces(I prefer chicken with bones but you can use boneless)
- 2 onions,thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp garlic,finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger,finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, slit length wise(omit if want mild)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil/olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder(use 1 tsp for mild)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp kasoori methior fresh fenugreek leaves
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 4-6 black peppercorns
- 1 , 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 tomatoes,finely chopped
- 4-5 fresh curry leaves
- Spinach - 1/4 lb about 3 cups chopped (or any mix of leafy greens like swiss chard, kale etc)
- 2 medium size potatoes,cubed
- 1/2 cup water(optional if a thinner gravy is desired)
Instructions
- Take a large size cooking pot with a tight fitting lid and add all the ingredients except the tomatoes,curry leaves, potatoes and spinach. Use your hands to coat the chicken pieces well with the dry spices,onions and the oil. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes stirring half-way thru to make sure nothing was sticking to the pot.
- Next add the tomatoes and the curry leaves and again cover and cook for another 10 minutes on low to medium heat again stirring in the middle to avoid any scorching / burning of the meat or the spices.
- Although we have not added any water, the pot will now have liquid from the chicken and now to this curry add the potatoes and the spinach and again cover and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the potatoes are cooked through.(You can add 1/2 cup water in the last step if you want more gravy in this curry)
- Enjoy the chicken curry with some freshly cooked parboiled rice or chapatis or any kind of bread.
Instant Pot version:
- Follow the same steps as above except combine 1 and 2 steps above together and then pressure cook for 5 mins. Release steam and open the pot. Add the potatoes and spinach (and the water if needed) then again pressure cook for 3 more mins. Let steam release naturally.
- 2 lbs chicken,cleaned and cut into bite size pieces(I prefer chicken with bones but you can use boneless)
- 2 onions,thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp garlic,finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger,finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, slit length wise(omit if want mild)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil/olive oil
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder(use 1 tsp for mild)
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp kasoori methi or fresh fenugreek leaves(optional but adds a great flavor)
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 4-6 black peppercorns
- 1 , 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 tomatoes,finely chopped
- 4-5 fresh curry leaves
- Spinach - ¼ lb about 3 cups chopped (or any mix of leafy greens like swiss chard, kale etc)
- 2 medium size potatoes,cubed
- ½ cup water (for thinner gravy)
- Take a large size cooking pot with a tight fitting lid and add all the ingredients except the tomatoes,curry leaves, potatoes and spinach. Use your hands to coat the chicken pieces well with the dry spices,onions and the oil. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes stirring half-way thru to make sure nothing was sticking to the pot.
- Next add the tomatoes and the curry leaves and again cover and cook for another 10 minutes on low to medium heat again stirring in the middle to avoid any scorching / burning of the meat or the spices.
- Although we have not added any water, the pot will now have liquid from the chicken and now to this curry add the potatoes and the spinach (and the water if you want a thinner gravy) and again cover and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Enjoy the chicken curry with some freshly cooked parboiled rice or chapatis or any kind of bread.
- Add all the ingredients together in the insert pot along with the water and then pressure cook for 6 mins. Release steam manually and open the pot. If there is too much gravy, then put saute function on and let simmer for 3-4 mins more and turn heat off.
love This dish so easy to make
love it made it 4 times now
that’s awesome. And thanks so much for letting me know!
[…] with us all. Recent offerings from her kitchen include a stunning Fruity Tres Leches Cake and Saag Aloo Chicken, an Easy Chicken Curry. Double yum! One of the “rules” for acceptance of this award include me, as recipient, […]
[…] I also made Easy Indian Curry from Indu’s International Kitchen blog, which you can see the original here! […]
Good curry always is so tasty and packed with flavors! Yours looks great! 🙂
thanks so much! yes this one is indeed very flavorful with all the different spices.
This looks so delicious! I love curry!
I nominated you for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award! Check out my award page for more info: http://therapybread.com/awards/
thanks so much Jess! I appreciate your kindness greatly!
Yum i think i can try this, have put on my scrapbook as a to do definately looks great x
thanks. Let me know how you make out! 🙂
? will do x
Reblogged this on Justine's scrapbook and commented:
Indian chicken curry
I’ve just taken some chicken out of my freezer, in order to eat it tmw. Maybe this is could be the right occasion to prepare some curry??? I had just some chicken legs, do you think they can be ok for your recipe? should I keep the skin?
Hi Margerhita, yes chicken legs would be perfectly ok and you can also keep the skin on for additional flavor.
perfect! I’ll let you know!
So, I did it! It has been a great success, only problem, 4 chicken legs for 2 people weren’t enough! thank you again this recipe…
That’s great to know! Thanks for letting me know! I agree you needed more chicken! 🙂
This looks great, Indu! I love chicken curry!
thanks Patty. And this one is a quick and easy version! 🙂
Oh, Indu, your curry looks divine!! I am going to print this off immediately (since you put in the print screen – thanks for doing that!) I love Indian food – many of my friends are sure I was Indian in a past life 🙂
ha ha Julianna do try it and let me know how you make out. ! I sometimes think I must have been Mexican in my past life considering my love for Mexican food.! Yes thanks to Angie I have learnt how to put it in the print format.!
Indu, this looks so delicious – I too love potatoes in the gravy – when I make keema, it is always overloaded with potatoes! I love that this is so easy to make – will give it a go very soon – yum!!!
thanks Selma. yes potatoes r really yummy, isn’t it? And yes its really very easy! 🙂
Reblogged this on Kunstkitchen's Blog and commented:
This is the real deal curry recipe from Indu’s International Kitchen. Authentic recipes that are easy to make are exciting to make and even better to eat. If you are fan of curry, read this Easy Chicken Curry (Saag Aloo) recipe. I want to go shopping at the local Indian Grocery for curry leaves.
Really like curry dishes! I can see that your recipes will teach me more about ingredients and making good curry.
I am so happy you like the recipe. yes do try it and let me know how you make out 🙂
“Easy” means we can all make it. Your recipe looks delicious and I enjoy seeing new ingredients (for me) then I “google” the spices/herbs and get info on them 🙂
thanks Judi. Yes looking up new spices and ingredients is cool right? I like to do the same! Lmk if you have a question on any particular ingredient. I need to update my glossary too…
That is part of the fun in cooking – to research and get info on new and old recipes. I use the internet for a lot of questions and I always get an answer 🙂 I will certainly ask you for more info if I need it – thanks 🙂
🙂
Love it, thank you xx
Elaine I am thinking you are planning to make it for your family probably since I know you are a vegetarian. So nice of you! 🙂
Yes, for my boys 🙂 they love chicken curry of any kind x
so sweet of you. Hope they like it! 🙂
Indu, I love easy recipe and this curry is very tempting and much more with a chapati 🙂
Hi Linda I am sure you can make this one well considering you are such a fabulous cook! Yes it goes very well with chapatis! 🙂
I can smell the curry! Looks beautiful, Indu! I was one of those who always thought she could not make Indian curry…oh wait…I still haven’t. I’m clicking print and will report back as soon as I get some of these spices from the market. Have a lovely day!
Yes Ngan you can do it! yeah do report back on how you make out.!Would love to know your experience. Nowadays our regular Stop & Shop also carries a lot of these spices however it may be cheaper if you purchase from an Indian grocer.
This looks really good Indu! I’m a huge fan of one pot meals. I thought I didn’t like curry until I realized I just did like certain preparations with it….but this is right up my alley 🙂 Such a delicious blend of ingredients and seasonings!
I am glad you like it Nancy. I hope you do get a chance to try it sometime 🙂
I can smell the wonderful aroma just by reading the spice list! Sounds fabulous and indeed not too difficult to make. 🙂
thanks Ronit. Yes easy it is !:)
[…] Indu […]
Indu, that looks amazing, hon! I like this very much! I don’t have curry leaves and methi at the moment, but it’s not going to stop me from making this. Will do tomorrow. Will be such a treat, haven’t had a decent curry in a long time! Thanks!
thanks and You are welcome Angie! Yes you certainly can make it still without curry leaves and methi. Do let me know how you make out 🙂