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Chicken Saagwala

February 1, 2012 By Dan Toombs 40 Comments

I think you’re going to love this chicken saagwala!

chicken saagwala

This chicken saagwala  recipe just plain gets it!

Chicken saagwala is a lightly spiced curry that is as simple as it is appealing. I love it!

If you crave a bit more heat, a sprinkle of freshly chopped green chillies will do the job. The additional chilli also tastes great.

Just be a bit careful so that the chillies zing rather than zap your tongue!

HOW THIS CHICKEN SAAGWALA RECIPE CAME TO BE

When I started my curry blog, I did so with the goal of learning how to cook authentic Indian food.

After a while, however, I began to realise just how popular British Indian restaurant (BIR) style curries like this are.

This recipe is based on several different recipes that were sent to me by top curry chefs around the UK.

For best results, it is important to use fresh baby leaf spinach for this chicken saagwala.

Many curry houses use tinned spinach which simply isn’t as nice.

PLANNING AHEAD

As with all BIR meals, it will be much easier and faster if you prepare ahead of time. Be sure to cook your base curry sauce and pre-cook your chicken just like they do in curry house kitchens. If you do, this chicken saagwala will only take you ten minutes to cook and serve.

Curry Sauce
I have written a large and small version of my curry sauce recipe which will need to me made before cooking this recipe.

The large version is made just like they do in the best curry houses. Make a large batch for best results. It keeps in the fridge for three days and freezes well.

The small batch version works well too though it’s not as authentic.

PRE-COOKED CHICKEN
I pre-cook chicken in two ways. Most restaurants use this method to prepare their chicken for chicken saagwala.

You could also add tandoori style chicken tikka to this recipe if you’d like to create tandoori Chicken Saagwala.

If you are in a rush, you could also simply simmer your cubed chicken in the base sauce until cooked through.

This adds a really nice flavour to the base sauce. It’s another layer of flavour!

For best results when cooking chicken saagwala, please use fresh or frozen spinach. Tinned spinach just doesn’t get it!

If you love this recipe try these other similar ones:

PRE COOKED RESTAURANT STYLE CHICKEN
Cumin Chicken Curry
Chicken Curry with Paprika
Chicken Curry with Andhra Chicken Sauce
Chicken Curry with Coconut
Chicken Curry with Black Pepper
Kuzhambu Chicken Curry

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Yield: 3 - 4

How To Make British Indian Restaurant Style Chicken Saagwala

How To Make British Indian Restaurant Style Chicken Saagwala
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts - See link to pre-cooked chicken above
  • 750ml (3 cups) Curry sauce - See links to my recipes above
  • 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon garlic paste
  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon cumin powder
  • 1 tablespoon coriander powder
  • 1 tablespoon chilli powder
  • 200g (about two large handfuls of fresh spinach)
  • 2 fresh green chilies (or more to taste)
  • juice of one lemon
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala

Instructions

  1. Start with the spinach. In a food processor, blend the fresh spinach, green chillies and lemon juice together with just enough water or stock from your pre-cooked chicken so that it blends to a smooth paste. Set aside.
  2. Now heat the ghee or oil in a wok or large frying pan.
  3. Pour in the ginger and garlic pastes and fry for about 30 seconds.
  4. Add the cumin, coriander powder and chilli powder and stir to combine.
  5. When the spices begin to fill the room with their magnificent aroma, pour in the hot curry sauce and chicken pieces. Always add the curry sauce hot.
  6. Allow this to cook for about three to five minutes until the chicken is warmed through and the curry sauce is bubbling nicely.
  7. Now pour in the spinach mixture and stir it in. The red and bright green colours will look amazing together as the spinach and curry sauce blend.
  8. Cook for about another two minutes.
  9. Season with salt and pepper to taste and then check for seasoning. Sprinkle with the chopped coriander and garam masala and serve with white rice or naans.

Did you like this recipe?

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© Dan Toombs
Cuisine: British Indian Restaurant (BIR) / Category: Main

Filed Under: Chicken Curry Recipes, Restaurant Style Curries Tagged With: BIR curries, British Indian Restaurant curries, Indian food recipes, Saag, Spinach curries

« How To Make Chicken Tikka Masala
Monkfish Curry »

Comments

  1. Dance says

    February 11, 2012 at 11:22 pm

    This curry sounds good I will try it soon.

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      February 12, 2012 at 6:43 pm

      Thanks. Please let me know what you think. I’ll be checking the recipes out on your site.

      Dan

      Reply
    • Andrea Cook says

      November 17, 2016 at 5:26 am

      Just made it tonight, with Prawns instead of chicken – very authentic taste, I probably should have reduced the sauce a bit more – or squeezed out the spinach more – always a trial run when making a dish for the first time.

      Love it!! Highly recommend πŸ™‚

      Five Stars !!!! * * * * *

      Reply
      • Dan Toombs says

        November 18, 2016 at 9:06 am

        Thank you so much Andrea! I’m really glad you liked the recipe. Practice makes perfect. I made quite a few of my recipes numerous times before I finally got them just right.

        Cheers,
        Dan

        Reply
  2. Keith says

    February 20, 2012 at 11:17 am

    I shall be trying this out for my birthday bash on Wednesday. Let you know how I get on

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      February 20, 2012 at 10:01 pm

      Great to hear Keith. Please let me know if you have any questions.

      Dan

      Reply
  3. colin says

    February 29, 2012 at 9:58 pm

    Im not a great fan of spinnach, but I made this dish for my wife today…I tasted it and it has amazing flavours! Well done again Dan!

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      March 1, 2012 at 10:37 am

      Thank you Colin. I’m really glad you liked the recipe!

      Reply
  4. Denise Conroy says

    April 4, 2012 at 8:14 pm

    A-maze-ing! I have to have a reason NOT to use fresh spinach I love it and now I know why they call it “perpetual” as it’s there all year round. Great recipe.

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      April 5, 2012 at 5:14 am

      Thanks Denise

      I love this recipe. Hope you enjoy it too. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  5. karen Miles says

    April 18, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    I have spent a lovely afternoon making Your curry gravy, and then I made the saagwala. I have never had it before but it is my hubbies fav when we go out, so I didnt really know what it was supposed to taste like. Anyway he loved it (me too), He said that perhaps i could make it a little less hot/spicy, and add a bit extra spinach, but that is down to me and not your recipe.. But it was certainly a hit… a few modifications to suit our own personal tastes is all i need to do. Cant wait to try more of your recipes,, THANKS !

    Reply
  6. Mike Anthony says

    May 1, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    Hi Dan made the chickin saagwala at weekend.the blender wouldent blend the spinach leaves so i just chopped them up and added last 10 min of cooking the dish was FAB everyone loved it. Thanks

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      May 1, 2012 at 8:33 pm

      Good to hear. Really glad you liked the recipe Mike. I don’t always blend the spinach. It’s nice just finely chopped. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

      Dan

      Reply
  7. Art says

    May 16, 2012 at 5:01 am

    I have been making the same curry for about a year or two (chandran chicken curry). My family loves it. I have experimented with several other curries, some they have liked and some that didn’t go over quite so well. This past week I made your base curry sauce and the base chicken as well. The first recipe I decided to try was the Chicken Saagwala. I didn’t think it would go over so well simply because of the look of the curry, but I have been on something of a spinach kick lately. I am serving it tomorrow night for a family dinner, roughly 10 people. My wife and oldest son have already tried the curry this evening as I prepared it a day ahead of the dinner. My wife, after a couple of tastes has said that this may be her new favorite curry! That is high praise indeed! The only changes I made were using extra hot chili powder and substituting jalapeΓ±o peppers for the green chilies. It is without a doubt the hottest curry I have made for my family. I love to break a sweat while eating my curry, and apparently the heat is growing on my family as well. You are making me look very good Dan! Love the web site and I will let you know what my family thinks of the other recipes I decide to try out. Any suggestions for curries that have similar heat levels to what I have described?

    Reply
  8. Leigh says

    August 25, 2012 at 11:51 am

    Hi Dan, all of your curries have been great and I really appreciate this website. I would like to say though that when making your saagwala i would be careful about how big the lemon is that you juice. Unfortunately for me I ruined a very good sauce and was gutted. You can put it in but you cant take it back out.
    Regards.

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      August 25, 2012 at 2:35 pm

      Thanks Leigh. Sorry that recipe didn’t work out for you. At least you’ll know for next time. I hope you get a chance to try it again. It’s one of my favourites.

      Dan

      Reply
  9. Elliot H says

    April 27, 2013 at 7:12 pm

    I made this last Thursday and it was lovely, even had plenty left to have some today for dinner.

    I made a quick Jalfrezi tonight too and have now ran out of frozen base sauce so will be making another batch shortly.

    Thanks for the recipes Dan.

    Reply
  10. Wayne says

    October 28, 2015 at 5:15 am

    Hi Dan, I love all the recipes and I’ve just got your book too, really looking forward to using up my big batch of your curry sauce!
    I know you prefer not to use tinned spinach, but I’d like to know your thoughts on the bags of frozen spinach you can get in supermarkets now?
    I have used them in curries before but not tried with fresh, maybe I’ll try this recipe both ways, with fresh then with frozen, and compare the results!

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      October 28, 2015 at 7:11 am

      Hi Wayne

      thank you very much. Really glad you like my recipes. I’ve tried frozen spinach and had really good results. Still prefer fresh but spinach does freeze well so please give it a go.

      Dan

      Reply
  11. Capt says

    December 10, 2015 at 5:47 am

    Oh my gosh this was so good thank you so much for providing this recipe HOWEVER 1 tablespoon of chili powder ? I eat hot Mexican stuff but seriously a whole tablespoon? How would you taste anything else? I can’t imagine i’m using Kashmiri chili powder maybe it hotter and I only used a heaping teaspoon and it was plenty enough hot. I also used 3 chilies removing the seeds, and used the 3 cups of your curry base. You might want to caution people! with your curry base you’re right make the full one half just leaves you wanting more. I used 2 double Breasts cut up and added all the juice. I have plenty left over. I also made nan which is a must and jasmine rice. I used the yeast method (someone else’s no egg) and added salt to the ghee that I dribbled on top after they were done.iron skillet to cook kept in a toaster oven to stay warm and melted ghee with the salt on top. it turned out perfect! A few I added cut up garlic and cilantro (coriander) and folded it over before the last roll. Thanks again for posting and no one should hesitate trying this! It is spot on and I can’t wait to make it for a guest dinner they will be so impressed- and satisfied!

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      December 11, 2015 at 9:58 am

      Hi There!

      Thank you so much. I’m really glad you liked it. The chilli powder I use is quite mild. Kashmiri powder can be quite hot but I love that too. I’m glad you were able to change the recipe to your own tastes and really happy it worked for you.

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Dan

      Reply
  12. Andy says

    December 17, 2015 at 8:14 am

    Hi
    Thanks for this great recipe. I wish if you make it in a video.

    Thanks again πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      December 29, 2015 at 9:03 pm

      Hi Andy

      Thank you. That is the plan. I’m hoping to post quite a few new videos in future. πŸ™‚

      Dan

      Reply
  13. Paul says

    January 12, 2016 at 7:44 am

    Hi Dan, Made your chicken saagwala for the family tonight and it was amazing. Even my little guy who does not like too much heat cleaned his plate. I had added quite a bit more chilli which worked out great. Many thanks from New Zealand. Cheers Paul

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      January 15, 2016 at 7:58 am

      Hi Paul

      Thank you. I’m really glad you liked the recipe. I usually add more chillies too. Love them.

      Dan

      Reply
  14. Jack says

    April 17, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    Hi dan,

    Where stated to use 1 tbsp of each garlic and ginger paste, if I have a mixture of the two in equal amounts should I use 2tbsp?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      July 8, 2016 at 12:07 pm

      Hi Jack

      Correct. You could do that or just add garlic and ginger to taste.

      Dan

      Reply
  15. Tim says

    July 12, 2016 at 3:17 am

    This was a big hit with me and the kids, and only took a matter of minutes to make! Used frozen spinach and just added it towards the end. Delicious..Lamb Rogan Josh tonight…

    Cheers, Tim.

    Reply
  16. Leigh says

    September 20, 2016 at 6:35 pm

    Hi I’ll be making this tonight so excited to try it! The recipe says 4 chicken breasts but I made your recipe for pre-cooked chicken cut into bite size pieces. So how many cups of the chicken should I use in this and do I need to separate the chicken pieces from their cooking sauce or do I scoop it sauce and all into this recipe? If we like this recipe I will buy your ebook bc we love Indian food!

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      September 21, 2016 at 10:17 am

      Hi Leigh

      Pre-cooked chicken is fine as is the sauce. The cooking sauce adds a lovely flavour. To be honest, I only use measures for these written recipes. When I cook at home, I simply throw in as much as I want depending on how hungry we all are. πŸ™‚ I’ve got a printed cookbook coming out in May 2017 which will be far better than the ebook.

      Thanks
      Dan

      Reply
  17. Lee Cooper says

    December 14, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    One of your best Dan!

    Spinach is seasonal here in Egypt and at the moment it’s abundant. I was going to make a Pawn Jalfrezi tonight but remembered that we have a kilo of sebanach (spinach) to use up before Christmas, so I suggested a Saag and off we went.

    No meat eaten by my wife, so I replaced the chicken breasts with 250g medium shrimp and 2 catfish fillets fried in butter and garlic powder, with 2 dozen clams that had been steamed over wine.

    The look on my wife’s face said it all, absolutely stunning. Had it with Basmati rice and Naan that I’d impregnated with garlic and chilli.

    A seriously gorgeous meal.

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      December 16, 2016 at 12:15 pm

      Hi Lee

      Great to hear you liked the recipe and that you were able to tailor it so your wife could enjoy it too. I like the catfish idea. Think I might just try that one.

      Thanks,
      Dan

      Reply
  18. Warren says

    August 5, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    I love your recipes. I cooked this for a family dinner, they loved it. I will definitely be cooking it again.

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      October 17, 2017 at 10:49 pm

      Great to hear Warren. Thank you very much.

      Dan

      Reply
  19. Saket says

    September 27, 2017 at 10:48 pm

    Hello I just used your precooked chicken base recipe and came out excellent

    I like things a little spicy so I added just a little paprika but other than that all the same ingredients.

    Would you have a restaurant style SAAG GRAVY Large batch recipe handy by any chance??

    I appreciate all your recipes and also just bought your book

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      October 17, 2017 at 9:55 pm

      Hi Saket

      Thank you very much. I don’t have a large batch saag recipe. That’s a great idea though. I’m thinking about providing more large batches of different sauces on my site.

      Cheers,
      Dan

      Reply
  20. Jeremy West says

    February 22, 2019 at 9:52 pm

    I found this to be excellent. If anyone has the capability of grinding the spices, I highly suggest that.
    I find using a traditional Saag with more variants of greens, but heavier on spinach and with the lemon juice, makes this better.
    Making this dish with some heat (blend some Thai Chile peppers into the sauce) really makes the tastebuds sing.

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      February 26, 2019 at 8:47 am

      Thank you very much Jeremy. I’m really glad you liked it. πŸ™‚

      Dan

      Reply
  21. Wayne Thiim says

    August 26, 2020 at 3:45 pm

    got all your books but i cannot find Chicken Sagwala in the red book ?? what page [please

    Reply
    • Dan Toombs says

      August 27, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      Hi Wayne
      There is only a lamb saagwala on p72 in the red book so just replace the lamb with cooked chicken. Otherwise here is a chicken saagwala recipe:
      https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2012/02/01/chicken-saagwala/
      Thanks very much
      Dan

      Reply

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