Easy Palak Chicken Recipe (2024)

Pakistani Palak Chicken is an easy and delicious Pakistani chicken curry made with spinach. Over the years, I've learned plenty of tips and tricks to make this recipe easy enough for beginners, yet not compromising on the flavor!

Love authentic yet easy Pakistani recipes? Try this Keema, Mutton Karahi, and Palak Paneer.

About this Recipe

This palak chicken recipe is an everyday, hearty meal with unique flavors. It’s made with simple ingredients and pantry spices, and it only takes about 40 minutes to prepare. Another favorite one pot recipe is this Keema Matar.

Palak chicken goes by many names: murgh palak, saag chicken, or saag murgh. Palak means spinach, and murgh refers to chicken. Saag refers to a number of leafy greens including spinach and mustard greens that are eaten in Pakistan and India.

Chicken palak vs chicken saag - they are basically the same thing, though technically a chicken palak recipe is made with only spinach.

I didn't like palak when growing up, classifying it as a boring green. But as an adult, I've come to love it for its earthy flavor. It's also healthy!

If you’re interested in a vegetarian option for palak, then try these Palak Paneer and Palak Aloo recipes too! You'll love them. 🙂

Why this Recipe Works

Frozen spinach: Most palak chicken recipes call for fresh spinach, which is blanched and then either chopped or pureed. I don't like doing extra work so I'm always looking for shortcuts.

My solution for skipping these steps is to use chopped frozen spinach. All you have to do is thaw it, and then plonk it in directly into the chicken palak. This saves a ton of time without sacrificing on flavor!

Use a blender or chopper to do all your chopping for you: My least favorite kitchen task is to chop and prep the ingredients. If you're anything like me, consider investing in a chopper. I chop everything in it! Onions, tomatoes, ginger & garlic, you name it. This saves a TON of time!

Minimal spices: This recipe for palak chicken requires only a few basic spices. However, I highly recommend using the magical ingredient dried fenugreek leaves to finish off the recipe. It's perfect for saag/palak based recipes as it rounds off the flavors of any curry brilliantly.

Easy and one pot: With my trick for using frozen spinach, this murgh palak becomes a one pot recipe that's fast and easy to make.

Ingredients You'll Need

• Oil or Ghee
• Onion: Red or purple onions are most commonly used for Pakistani curries, but I have also used white onion with success.
• Tomatoes: Use fresh, ripe and juicy tomatoes for this palak chicken curry. If in a pinch, you can also substitute with canned crushed tomatoes.
• Chicken: Bone-in chicken yields the most flavor, so I highly recommend using it. But you can use boneless chicken, although breast can dry out quickly so I would recommend using boneless chicken thighs.
• Ginger Garlic Paste: this is an essential for Pakistani and Indian recipes, and I always have some on hand. Here's the ginger garlic paste recipe.
• Spices: Pretty basic spices such as kashmiri lal mirch powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. I also add whole garam masala: black peppercorns (sabut kali mirch) and whole cloves (sabut laung).
• Spinach: I use frozen, chopped spinach for convenience, but you may use fresh spinach leaves as well. If using fresh spinach leaves, blanch them first and blend before adding to the curry. If you can't find frozen chopped spinach, then you can use frozen spinach leaves. Just let them thaw completely, and then puree in the blender or with a hand blender. You could also add in other greens to make this a chicken saag recipe.
• Dried fenugreek leaves: these are optional, but I think they add a really nice finishing touch to the overall flavour of the palak chicken.
• Butter: I always liked to finish off my curries with butter, because it adds a delicious flavor!

How to Make Palak Chicken

• Saute the onion: Heat oil in a pot, then saute the onions for 3-4 minutes until light golden.
• Cook the chicken: Now add the chicken and ginger garlic paste. Saute for 4-5 minutes until the chicken has changed color to white, but isn't yet fully cooked.

• Spices: Add the spices, stir, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Tomato: Add the fresh tomato puree, and mix well. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are cooked.

• Spinach: Add the thawed spinach, stir, and cover. Cook on medium-low for 10-12 minutes, or until the spinach is cooked. The curry will be thickened and bubbly.
• Finishing touches: Add the dried frenugreek leaves and butter. Remove from heat, cover for 2-3 minutes, and then serve immediately.

Recipe Tips

• Use a chopper: My least favorite thing in the kitchen is to chop and prep ingredients for whatever I'm making. One way I've learned to come around this is to use a small chopper or blender. I chop everything in my trusty chopper including onions, tomatoes, and even ginger & garlic if I'm making it fresh.
• Bhunofying: To make Pakistani dishes super flavorful, you have to be patient and have to really let the curries cook until the oil separates from the curry and is visible on the sides and top of the curry. It takes time, but it's worth it. You never quite get the same flavor if you skip the bhunofying part.

Recipe FAQs

Note: This recipe was first published on Oct 14, 2019. It has now been edited for newer pictures, step-by-step photos of the recipe, and a video!

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• Kadhi Pakora Recipe
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• Punjabi Chole Masala
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• Chicken Korma
• Beef Yakhni Pulao
• Easy Chicken Karahi Recipe