This vibrant, fragrant chicken saag curry takesย less than 30 minutesย to make with no need to marinate chicken in advance, so it’s perfect for busy weeknights. A smooth, super green sauce loaded with garlic, ginger and spices plus juicy chicken thighs? A perfect bowl of comfort that’s good for you too.
There are many different versions of saag. Some keep the leaves whole, with more of a chunky consistency, but this smooth version is the one I love best. It’s the one I grew up enjoying from Indian restaurants in New Zealand so I have a bit of a soft spot for it.
A smooth, thick, SUPER green curry sauce, mildly flavoured with lots of garlic, ginger, spices and juicy chicken thighs makes what I think is one of the most delicious warming bowls of food around. It’s also PACKED with greens, so it’s a wonderful way to get your veg in.
It’s also seriously quick to make. There’s no need to marinate the chicken for hours, here we do it directly in the pan to save time and washing up. It comes together in less than half an hour and you’d truly never know. That means it’s perfect for weeknights and for a better-than-takeout weekend feast. I love serving it with garlic naan and steamed rice.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs. Go for skinless and boneless thighs here, and free-range. Thighs are best because they’re a cut that stays juicy so there’s no risk of them drying out in the pan. But if you prefer, you can use chicken breasts.
- Greens. You can really use any leafy green here! Spinach is easy to find, so I like to use that most of the time. But you could use Swiss chard, kale or cavalo nero. Just make sure you strip the leaves from their tough stalks before using them. The cooking time on the greens will be different – spinach takes much less time to cook than tougher leaves like kale, so you’ll want to add a couple of minutes onto the cooking time if you use it.
- Aromatics and spices. You’ll need an onion (red, white, brown or use a shallot), garlic (either fresh cloves or you can use jarred) and ginger (I’m using pre-crushed ginger, but you can use fresh and just grate it yourself). We’ll also use ground cumin, coriander, garam masala and chili flakes. The curry is mild, so there’s not a lot of chilli in it – feel free to add a little more if you like your curries hot. Cumin and coriander are pretty common and you might well already have them in your cupboard, but if you struggle to find garam masala you can leave it out.
How to make it
Start by cooking the chicken. To save time (and washing up) we’re simply seasoning the chopped thighs in the pan with a little salt. Let them sit undisturbed for a few minutes so they develop a lovely golden crust. Then flip them over and cook for another couple of minutes. Transfer them to a plate lightly covered with foil while you make the rest of the curry.
Add the diced onion to the same pan (keep all that lovely chicken fat in there – just scrape out any burnt bits) and cook it for a couple of minutes with salt and lemon juice until it starts to soften. At this point, add the remaining aromatics and cook for another few minutes until a fragrant paste forms.
PRO TIP: Adding the lemon juice with the onion will deglaze the pan after the chicken, loosening up all the lovely flavor from the bottom of the pan so it mixes with the onion and spices in your paste.
Blanch the greens in a large pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes, then, if you like, transfer them into a bowl of ice water before adding them to the blender with your paste. Plunging them in the ice water will shock the leaves and lock that lovely green colour in, but you can skip it if you like, your sauce just won’t be quite as bright!
Blitz your sauce until it’s super smooth – add a little of the blanching water if your blender gets stuck. Taste, then add more salt and lemon juice if you think it needs something. Pour the saag sauce back into the pan you cooked the chicken in, and add the chicken back in. Stir it through the sauce over low heat, then you’re ready to serve.
I love serving this curry with steamed rice and garlic naan for a proper better-than-takeout experience.
Got a question?
Yes! I like chicken thighs best here because they’re a juicier cut, but chicken breast or tenders will be perfectly fine.
It’s made up of loads of leafy greens, like spinach, kale, cavalo nero or Swiss chard, sautรฉed onion, garlic, ginger and spices like cumin, coriander and garam masala. It’s a lovely mild sauce that’s very nutrient-dense, but still absolutely delicious.
This saag – like most curries – will develop even MORE flavor over time. It’s perfect for making in advance. The only thing to keep in mind is that the colour of the sauce will dull a little the longer you keep it, so it won’t be quite as bright and vibrant as it was when you made it. It will keep well for five days, stored in the fridge in an airtight container. If you find the sauce thickens up a little too much for your liking after chilling, just add a tablespoon of water as you heat it either in the microwave or on the stovetop.
It freezes really well – I’ve made this for my family to stock their freezers with and it defrosts really easily in the microwave, or you can let it defrost in the fridge overnight.
Like this recipe? Here are some more better-than-takeout ideas to try
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Easy Chicken Saag Curry (Saagwala)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
This vibrant, fragrant chicken saag curry takes less than 30 minutes to make with no need to marinate chicken in advance, so it’s perfect for busy weeknights. A smooth, super green sauce loaded with garlic, ginger and spices plus juicy chicken thighs? A perfect bowl of comfort that’s good for you too.
You’ll need aย blenderย orย food processor for this recipe.
Ingredients
For the saag curry –ย
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1lb/500g chicken thighs, skinless, boneless and free-range
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon crushed ginger
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and grated or crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1lb/500g baby spinach leaves (or use cavalo nero, silverbeet or kale)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
To serve (optional) –
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice (like basmati)
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 4 pieces garlic naan (try my easy 2-ingredient dough garlic naan)
Instructions
- Make the rice (optional, to serve). Add 1 ยฝ cups of rice to a small pot and pour in 2 ยผ cups of cold water. Set the pot over medium heat. Once the top of the water looks a little foamy and starts to bubble, turn the heat to low and put the lid on your pot. If your pot doesnโt have a lid, use a wooden board or a plate. Leave it there with the lid on, undisturbed, for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, turn the heat off and remove the pan from the stovetop. Let it sit for another 10 minutes, then fluff up the rice with a fork and get ready to serve. PRO TIP: You can make the rice and the saag at the same time, cutting the cooking time right down.
- Cook the chicken. Chop your chicken thighs into bite-sized chunks, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large frying pan or skillet over high heat and add the chicken pieces. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let cook in the pan for 5 minutes undisturbed to get some lovely charred bits (colour = flavour). Turn the chicken over, then cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken onto a plate, then cover lightly with foil.
- Cook the onion, garlic, ginger and spices. Scrape any burnt bits out of the pan, but keep as much chicken fat in there as you can for the best flavor. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then add the diced onion, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula for about five minutes, until the onion starts to soften (itโll change color and look more transparent). At this point, add the ginger, garlic, chilli flakes, garam masala, cumin and coriander. Cook for another minute, stirring until the garlic and ginger soften and the spices smell beautiful and fragrant. Transfer everything into a blender.
- Blanch the greens. Add the spinach leaves to a large heatproof bowl. Boil your kettle and pour the boiling water over the spinach so it’s covered. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to push the leaves down into the water. Leave in there for about three minutes, until bright green. PRO TIP: You can transfer them straight from the bowl to your blender along with the spices, garlic, ginger and onion OR transfer them to a bowl full of ice water first. Putting them into ice water will ‘shock’ the leaves and preserve their vibrant green color, so if you can do this extra step, I recommend it for the best color at the end.
- Blitz the saag sauce. Transfer the greens to the blender too, then blitz into a super smooth sauce, adding a little more of the blanching water if needed. Taste, and season with a little more salt and lemon juice if you think itโs missing something.
- Garnish and serve. Pour the sauce back into the pan you cooked the chicken and spices in, then add the chicken back in with the sauce. Turn the heat to low, then stir the chicken through the sauce so itโs completely coated. Serve with steamed rice and garlic naan for the best better-than-takeout experience.
Notes
SUBSTITUTIONS:ย You can really use any leafy green here – I often use silverbeet (Swiss chard), cavalo nero or kale. If you use these tougher leaves, you’ll need to blanch them for longer than baby spinach (about 5 minutes). Leave out the garam masala if you can’t find it, and you can reduce or increase the amount of chilli flakes, based on your preferences for a hot curry. Use skinless, boneless chicken breast or tenders if you like, they’ll work perfectly well.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS:ย Store any leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for 4 days. The vibrant green colour will dull over time, but the flavor will still be there. You can also freeze the saag. I like doing this either in zip-lock bags or in sealed glass storage containers. You can then defrost them overnight in the fridge or in the microwave on a low heat.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:ย The saag is wonderful served with steamed rice and garlic naan as I’ve suggested in the recipe card, and it’s great served alongside a bit of a spread for a takeaway night. Try serving it with my easy New Zealand-style butter chicken.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: fakeaways
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 250g
- Calories: 261
- Sugar: 1.6g
- Sodium: 530.4mg
- Fat: 12.9g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 8.4g
- Fiber: 3.4g
- Protein: 28.8g
- Cholesterol: 117.5mg
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