Saag Chicken with Spicy Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry

Credit: Catherine Roscoe Barr

This saag chicken with spicy chickpea and cauliflower curry is easy to make at home

Add a little Indian flare to your dinner tonight with these curry recipes from Madhur Jaffrey’s latest cookbook

I love Indian food, I could eat it for practically every meal. But I have my favourites that I generally stick to, like my mom’s chicken curry, my dad’s vegetarian curries, or the meat thali sampler plate from my new favourite Indian Restaurant Jolly’s Indian Bistro, so I thought I would challenge myself to try a couple of recipes from my new Madhur Jaffrey cookbook, At Home With Madhur Jaffrey.

They turned out really well and were a great way to inject more veggies into our diet. Jaffrey’s spicy chickpea recipe calls for potatoes but I opted for cauliflower instead.

I also found a great new lager from a local brewery called Hell’s Gate which was less than $8 for a six-pack at BC Liquor, and paired beautifully with the curries.

Saag Chicken (Chicken with Spinach)

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 2-inch piece ginger, grated
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1 large carton fresh baby spinach
• 1 whole chicken, quartered
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
2. In food processor or with hand blender, finely blend onion, ginger, garlic, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon and cardamom to just short of making a puree.
3. Heat half the oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
4. Brown chicken on both sides, cooking in batches if necessary, and remove to plate.
5. Add remaining oil, turn heat down to medium, and cook onion mixture, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes.
6. Add spinach and cook, stirring, for another 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Add chicken and gently simmer, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, turning halfway through.

Spicy Chickpeas with Cauliflower

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp coriander
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lrg can diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 1 can chickpeas, with liquid only if organic
• 1 cup water (if not using chickpea liquid)
• 1 cauliflower, chopped
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. In small bowl, mix coriander, cumin, cayenne and 3 tbsp water.
2. In medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.
3. Cook onion, ginger and garlic for 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Add spice mixture, stirring well, then add tomatoes, cooking for 3 minutes.
5. Add chickpeas (and water, if needed), salt and cauliflower.
6. Bring to boil, cover, turn heat to low, and gently simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.