Palak Chicken (Spinach Chicken Curry)

Palak Chicken with step by step photos and a video recipe. Palak chicken (also known as spinach chicken or Palak Murgh) is made with fresh spinach leaves (palak), and chicken cooked in an onion-tomato-based gravy. Serve this easy Indian chicken curry with Roti or Naan (Indian flatbread). Perfect for busy weekends.

Similar to Garlic chicken curry, this palak chicken gravy is spiced up with a few Indian spices and tastes absolutely delicious. It is made with simple ingredients easily available in the Indian kitchen pantry.

This Palak chicken curry is one of the easy and healthy chicken recipes that I have shared on this website. This is an amazing chicken curry that can be made quickly within 30 minutes.

About this recipe

This palak chicken is an Indian chicken curry made with palak (spinach leaves) and chicken. It is also known as Palak Murgh. Palak is the Hindi name for Spinach leaves and Murgh means chicken.

This spinach chicken curry is so aromatic and flavorful. It can be made quickly if some meal prep is done. The only time-consuming task is to sort the spinach leaves. 

This is the best spinach chicken recipe. Even if you are a beginner you will not go wrong with this recipe.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these other amazing chicken recipes

• Garlic Chicken Curry
• Bhuna Chicken Masala
• Chicken curry in pressure cooker
• Dhaba style chicken curry
• Mangalorean chicken sukka
• Chicken 65

Why You Need This Recipe

• Quick and easy to make - All the ingredients are easily available in the kitchen pantry. You can check the possible substitutions in the Ingredient list below.
• Healthy - Spinach strengthens the immune system, stabilizes blood glucose levels, reduces the risk of developing cancer, good for the eyes, skin, and bones. Well, it has many benefits which are why it is called a superfood. Chicken is a good source of protein. So this combination of chicken and spinach is definitely healthy.
• Great for meal prep
• A great way to add greens to your diet.
• Gluten-free

Spinach chicken Ingredients & Substitutions

• Spinach - Use fresh spinach leaves (palak) for this recipe. You can substitute spinach for fresh fenugreek leaves. The flavors will be different but it tastes equally delicious. You can check out the recipe for Methi Chicken.
• Chicken - I prefer to add chicken with bones as it enhances the flavor of the curry. However, if not available you can use boneless chicken.
• Yogurt - Use thick curd/yogurt for this recipe. It is added while marinating the chicken. It makes the chicken soft and juicy.
• Lemon juice - It also acts as a tenderizer. You can substitute it with vinegar.
• Onion, ginger, and garlic.
• Tomato puree - I have used fresh tomatoes to make it. Grind 4 tomatoes to make the puree and add it to the recipe. You can substitute it with canned tomatoes or tomato paste.
• Whole spices - Cardamoms, cinnamon, cumin, and bay leaf.
• Flavoring - turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, black pepper, coriander powder, cumin powder, and garam masala powder.
• Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - It gives a nice aroma and flavor to the curry. You can skip it if not available.
• Oil - I have used sunflower oil for this recipe. You can use any cooking oil that you prefer. If you want to enhance the flavor add some clarified butter (ghee). Ghee makes the curry more flavorful.

For the detailed list of ingredients & their measurements, please check out the recipe card below.

Step by step instructions with photos

Preparations

Marinate the chicken - In a mixing bowl, combine chicken with salt, pepper, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, curd. Marinate the chicken for atleast 30-minutes.

Making the Palak chicken

• Heat oil in a deep bottom pan/pot over medium-high heat.
• Add cumin and whole spices. Let the cumin crackle.
• Next, add the sliced onions and cook until the onions start to become light golden.
• Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and garam masala powder.
• Stir, and cook for a minute or until masala starts to leave oil from sides.
• Add tomato puree, stir to combine, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Now cover and cook until the masala starts to leave oil from the sides.
• Add the marinated chicken, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the color of the chicken changes from pink to white.
• Now, cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
• Stir in the spinach leaves. Combine and cook until the leaves wilt.
• Add some water (refer to notes) and stir to combine. Taste and add salt.
• Add Kasuri methi, and green chilies. Stir, cover, and cook for 2 minutes on low heat.

For the Tempering (Optional)

• Heat 2 teaspoon of oil in a small pan over low-medium heat.
• Add chopped garlic and cook until it starts to become light golden.
• Immediately remove from heat, add Kashmiri red chili powder, stir and add this to the curry. Cover and keep it aside for 10 minutes.
• Palak chicken is ready to serve.

  

Tips to make the Best Palak Chicken

• While adding water, make sure the consistency of the gravy is thick. Do not add too much water.
• Use only spinach leaves for this recipe. You can use the stalks in other curries.
• Cook the spinach leaves in the masala until it wilts. It will remove the raw smell of spinach.
• You can skip the tempering part but it gives an amazing aroma to the chicken curry. This is my twist on this palak murgh recipe.
• Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) adds a very nice aroma to the dish. But if not available you can skip it.
• Skip adding green chilies, if you do not prefer spicy or making it for kids.
• Cooking carefully at each stage is important to develop the flavor. Cook until the masala starts to leave oil from the sides before adding chicken. This is an indication that the masala is cooked well.
• Add Kashmiri red chili powder to the tempering only after you remove the tempering pan from heat. It ensures that the chili powder is not burnt. Kashmiri red chili powder gives a bright red color to the dish and is not spicy.

FAQs

Serving suggestions

• You can serve spinach chicken curry with Roti/Chapathi or Naan (Indian flatbread).
• Or pair it up with Jeera rice or Pulao.

Storing suggestions

• You can store the leftover spinach chicken curry in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2-3 days.
• For longer shelf life, you can freeze spinach chicken curry. Stays good for 15-20 days.
• While storing the curry make sure to refrigerate or freeze it within 2 hours of cooking.

Variations that you can try

• You can substitute palak with methi. It tastes equally delicious.
• If you want to make this chicken curry creamy, add some cream while adding Kasuri methi and green chilies. Or add cashew paste.

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and a starred review below.

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5 from 2 votes

Palak Chicken (Spinach Chicken Curry)

Palak chicken (spinach chicken) recipe made with fresh spinach leaves (palak), and chicken cooked in onion-tomato based gravy. It is also known as Palak Murgh. This Indian chicken curry is so aromatic and flavorful. Perfect for busy weekends.

Course Main

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 37 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 215kcal

Author Preeti

Equipment

• Heavy bottom pan or pot

Ingredients

To marinate the chicken

• 500 gram chicken
• salt to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2-3 tablespoon curd/yogurt

To make the spinach chicken curry

• 100 gram spinach
• 2 cardamoms
• 1- inch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon jeera
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 onions sliced
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 cup fresh tomato puree
• 2 cups fresh spinach finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Kasuri methi roughly crushed

For tempering

• 2 teaspoon oil
• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic cloves finely chopped

Instructions

Marinate the chicken

• In a mixing bowl, combine chicken with salt, pepper, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, curd. Marinate the chicken for atleast 30-minutes.

Making the chicken curry

• Heat oil in a deep bottom pan/pot over medium high heat.
• Add cumin and whole spices. Let the cumin crackle.
• Next, add the sliced onions and cook until the onions starts to become light golden.
• Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder.
• Stir, cook for a minute or until masala starts to leave oil from sides.
• Add tomato puree, stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Now cover and cook until the masala starts to leave oil from the sides.
• Add the marinated chicken, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the color of chicken changes from pink to white.
• Now, cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
• Stir in the spinach leaves. Combine and cook until the leaves wilt.
• Add some water (refer notes) and stir to combine. Taste and add salt.
• Add kasuri methi, and green chilies. Stir, cover and cook for 2 minute on low heat.

For the tempering

• Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoon oil in a small pan over low-medium heat.
• Add chopped garlic and cook until it starts to become light golden.
• Immediately remove from heat, add kashmiri red chili powder, stir and add this to the curry. Cover and keep it aside for 10 minutes.
• Palak chicken is ready to serve.

Video

Notes

• While adding water, make sure the consistency of the gravy is thick. Do not add too much water.
• Use only spinach leaves for this recipe. You can use the stalks in other curries.
• Cook the spinach leaves in the masala until it wilts. It will remove the raw smell of spinach.
• You can skip the tempering part but it gives an amazing aroma to the chicken curry. This is my twist on this spinach chicken recipe.
• Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) adds a very nice aroma to the dish. But if not available you can skip it.
• Skip adding green chilies, if you do not prefer spicy or making it for kids.
• Cooking carefully at each stage is important to develop the flavor. Cook until the masala starts to leave oil from the sides before adding chicken. This is an indication that the masala is cooked well.
• Add Kashmiri red chili powder to the tempering only after you remove the tempering pan from heat. It ensures that the chili powder is not burnt. 
• Kashmiri red chili powder gives a bright red color to the dish and is not spicy.