My Child-Friendly Chicken Saag (Saagwala)

Traditionally a South Asian recipe eaten in the Pakistani and Indian regions of Punjab, saag (or saagwala) is a green leafy based dish, usually made from spinach (the preferred option in this recipe), collard greens, mustard leaves, etcetera. It can be eaten on its own or made with various meats (gosht) of choice, potatoes (aloo), or cheese (paneer). I have used chicken in this recipe and to make it that little bit more filling we are eating our chicken saag in accompaniment with a choice of plain boiled basmati rice or boiled baby potatoes.

For the chicken saag, you will need:

• 3 filleted chicken breasts (without skin), diced into small child-friendly pieces
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 cardamom pods, cracked to release flavour
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground fenugreek
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons of garam masala
• a thumb sized piece of freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 a cup of plain yoghurt
• 700g of fresh spinach leaves, chopped (or 1kg of frozen spinach can also work just fine)
• 330g of baby plum tomatoes, halved as in this recipe or 2 large ripe tomatoes, quartered lengthwise and core removed
• 2 medium sized white onions, roughly chopped into large chunks
• sea salt (to taste), for seasoning
• pinch of black pepper for seasoning
• coriander and sliced lemon for garnishing

*Remember, You will want to pick out the four cloves and cardamom pods at the end. There is nothing pleasant in biting into one of those, trust me.

This recipe is not made the 'traditional' way as I do not use oil for frying/browning the meat. The fun in cooking and creating your own takes on various cuisines is that you get to experiment and discover your own takes on different dishes. Often, you will find that you've created something far superior to the 'traditional' original. I prefer my variation as it feels lighter whilst filling and not greasy.

Here's how to make my chicken saag:

Once you have your ingredients and portions prepared to one side, begin by placing you diced chicken into a non-stick wok along with the yoghurt, garlic, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, fenugreek,cumin, ginger and garam masala. Mix these together well with a wooden spoon, making sure to coat the chicken well.

Turn on the heat and cook the chicken until the the yoghurt starts to cook off; it will leave behind enough liquid to help wilt the spinach, which you should add to the pan at this point. Mix well on a generous heat for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and onions. Stir, lower the heat and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes, checking halfway through cooking.

Your chicken saag should be ready to serve with basmati rice, potatoes, roti or even eaten on its own. Either way, it won't last long.