1Start by making a ginger garlic paste: blend garlic, ginger, and 1 green chili (optional) with about 4 tablespoons of water to a smooth paste.
2Coarsely grind green cardamoms, cloves, and black peppercorns.
3Heat a pan on medium heat and add a dried bay leaf and a cinnamon stick.
4Add onions along with a sprinkle of salt and fry them on medium-high heat until they soften and get some color along the edges.
5Add the ground spices followed by the ginger garlic paste.
6Stir for about 2 minutes on medium heat until the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away.
7Reduce heat to as low as possible and add kashmiri red chilli powder (or paprika), turmeric powder, ground coriander, and a little bit of ground cumin.
8Stir for just 2 seconds to prevent the spices from burning.
9Add the boneless skinless chicken thighs and stir them along with the spices on high heat for 3-4 minutes.
10Add the tomatoes and salt, then stir until the tomatoes turn mushy.
11Add a sprinkle of sugar to balance the flavor.
12Cover the pan and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
13Add about a cup of hot water and again cover on medium-low heat for 5 more minutes.
14Lift off the cover; the chicken should be tender.
15Add 2 tablespoons of sour cream (optional, or use cooking cream or yogurt).
16Add garam masala powder and a pinch of ground nutmeg (or jefer).
17Add the chopped spinach.
18Cover on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
19Lift off the cover.
20Add a teaspoon of butter and a few mint leaves (optional).
21Discard the bay leaf and cinnamon stick before serving.
22Taste test and adjust the seasonings if required.
23Serve with hot steamed rice, roti, or naan.
Ingredients
615 gm boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into chunky pieces
265 gm spinach (only the leaves)
1 large onion
5 large garlic cloves
2.5 inch length ginger
1 green chilli
6 mint leaves
0.5 tsp whole black peppercorns
4 green cardamoms
4 cloves
1 dried bay leaf
1 inch length cinnamon stick
2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder or paprika
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp heaped ground coriander
0.5 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala powder
0.25 tsp ground nutmeg or jaifal powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp sour cream or heavy cream or plain unflavored yogurt
1 tsp butter
1 cup hot water
3 tbsp oil
Equipment
blenderpan
Tips
If you want to avoid chili heat, add 4 tablespoons of water when blending the ginger garlic paste.
Grind whole spices coarsely as some people may not like them in their meal.
Stir ground spices for only 2 seconds to prevent burning.
Boneless chicken is best for a quick recipe.
A sprinkle of sugar balances the flavor of the tomatoes.
Adding sour cream, cooking cream, or yogurt is optional.
Discard the bay leaf and cinnamon stick before serving.
Do a taste test and adjust seasonings if required.
If using yogurt, stir it well with 2 tablespoons of water before adding.
If you don't like mint, you can add chopped coriander for flavor.