Palak Chicken / Chicken cooked with Spinach

Hello Dear Foodies,

I don’t know what’s wrong with me….as much as I try to keep my baby blog updated, I keep postponing it or get really busy or lazy some days. But I must confess blogging sure gives me a ME time and really stimulates  my mind.  Whether it’s the photography part or the writing part both are equally stimulating and really helps me to discover new things every time I make an attempt. So, lets get on with today’s episode ooops, recipe J  (impact of too much of TV serials I guess :P)

I had tried preparing Palak Paneer for the first time before trying this healthy chicken curry.  I love palak paneer and whenever I try to prepare it at home, my husband cribs about it saying, why do you make us eat that spoilt milk.  Yes, that’s what he calls paneer!!  And he goes on to explain how they do it commercially and fool people etc.,If you ever get to listen to him, you will never ever touch the paneer available in stores again.  But I still love that spongy and juicy thing and should try to make it at home and post the recipe soon!  So, on one such day when I was tempted to make Palak Paneer I decided to add chicken instead of Panneer!  It was a total hit and everyone loved it.  It tastes so good with some hot rice and roti ……you must try it. J

Ingredients:

Chicken – 500 ½ kg

Onions 2 finely chopped

Ginger/Garlic paste 2 tbsp

Red chilli powder 1 tsp

Turmeric powder ½ tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Yogurt ½ cup or Fresh cream 2 tbsp.

To grind:

Spinach/Palak 1 big bunch blanched

Green chillies 2-3

Cinnamon sticks 2

Cloves 4-5

Coriander/Cilantro a handful

 Method:

1.      Heat oil in a cooker ,  add onions and sauté till soft.  Add ginger garlic paste and sauté again. Add turmeric and chilli powder and give a stir. Then add the washed chicken pieces and a little salt and cook it for 2-3 whistles.

2.      In the meantime clean and wash Palak/spinach and blanch it in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Cool and grind it with other ingredients into a fine paste.

3.      Once the steam is out of the cooker, open the lid and add spinach puree and bring it to a boil.

4.      Check salt and finally add beaten yogurt or fresh cream.

5.      Serve hot with hot Rice or Roti.

Points to ponder:

Sometimes I wonder where we are heading to in this world.  Rich people get richer by the day and poor people are getting poorer.  Everyone wants to make money whether by hook or crook without bothering about the people and environment around them.  Just to make a few extra bucks, people are adapting unethical business practices without any moral obligation to anyone.  It is sad to see that they fail to understand, it’s hurting their own families indirectly and some even directly.  Some evil minds are even selling contaminated sump/tap water as pure drinking water!!!  All of this just to make a few bucks without even realizing how badly its hurting innocent people!! I wonder when there is going to be an end to all of this!!

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely; but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”       Proverbs 10:9  (NIV)

Yes, every evil man/woman will be exposed as this proverb says!! We can see so many of them being exposed every day for their evil deeds. 

Methi Chicken / Chicken cooked with Fenugreek leaves & my 2nd and 3rd Awards!

This post is long overdue though I was supposed to work on it few weeks ago.  As the famous saying goes, It is better late than never to have posted at all…isn’t it?

I sincerely want to Thank Preeti from Indian Kitchen for her sweet gesture in sharing with me the Liebster award.  She is such an enthusiastic girl that every day I see her posting so many recipes…I keep wondering where in the world does she have the time to do it?  Because I know it takes hard work and dedication to do so much and keep at it at the same time without getting bored or tired of it.  That shows how passionate she is about her blog! Please do check out her blog and see yourself!

Thanks Preeti  a.k.a PT for your wonderful recipes and your tireless attitude J

I am really honored and humbled by the kind gesture of my new blogger friend Tisa from Blessings from my Kitchen for showering me with my third award …i.e., AWSOME BLOGGER AWARD!  I know it takes a lot to deserve such an appreciation and am bowled over to receive this award for my little space.  In fact Tisa’s blog is such an inspiration to me that I adore her Blog from her title and her style of writing and her versatile recipes with amazing pictures.  Please do visit her blog and I am sure you will love all of it too!

Thank you Tisa Maam for sharing this award with me J

According to the blogging rules, I would like to share the awesome blogger award with five of my favorite bloggers who are doing an awesome job at their blogs! I know there are  too many out there but I will list five of them for now J

1.      Naughty Curry by Deepti - for her friendly spirit.

2.      Tasty Appetite by Jay – for her appetizing menus

3.      Foodelicious by Pari – for her amazing creativity in the kitchen

4.      Plateful by Nashi – for her awesome photography

5.      Good Food Ends with Good Talk by Faseela – for her purely Good Food blog

I absolutely love these bloggers for their enthusiasm and love for food!!

To celebrate the award ceremony I would like to present this delicious Methi-Chicken which is one of my favorite combinations.  I usually experiment with different combinations to make our mealtime enjoyable so that it does not get boring J. I love the taste of Methi leaves cooked with chicken. It makes a perfect combo with hot rotis/chapattis. So without much ado, here goes the recipe ………….

Ingredients required:

Chicken 500 grams

Methi / Fenungreek leaves ½ bunch – cleaned and chopped

Pudina/Mint leaves a handful – cleaned and chopped

Ginger / garlic paste 1 tbsp.

Onions 2 finely chopped

Tomatoes 2 finely chopped

Red chili powder 2 tsp – adjust according to your taste

Green chilis 2-3 slit (omit if you don’t like it too spicy)

Dhaniya/Coriander powder 2 tsp

Turmeric powder ½ tsp

Garam masala 1 tsp

Oil 1 tbsp

Cilantro/Coriander leaves a handful

Salt to taste

How to prepare Methi Chicken:

1.      Clean and wash the chicken pieces

2.      Heat a thick bottomed pan/Kadai, add oil. Once hot, add chopped Methi leaves and sauté for a minute to remove the bitterness.

3.      Then add onions and sauté again till they turn translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and stir and don’t let it burn.

4.      Now add Mint leaves, turmeric powder, chili powder and dhaniya powder and give a stir.

5.      Add washed chicken pieces and little salt and cook covered for 10 minutes. You can add a cup of water if you need more gravy.

6.      Add chopped tomatoes, garam masala powder and chopped Cilantro to the half cooked chicken and add little more salt if required, stir again and cook covered for another 10 minutes or till the chicken is cooked well.

7.      Garnish with Cilantro and serve hot with steamed rice or some hot rotis/chapattis.

So take good care of yourself and ponder over few lines given below! J

Points to Ponder:

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language;

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens, He has pitched a tent for the sun,

which is like a bridegroom, coming forth from his pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens, and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.
Psalm 19 : 1-6

This is the description of just one of God’s creations by the Psalmist. Look around; and see the beauty of his creations!! Each one of it, is so unique in its own kind. The plants, flowers, birds, sea creatures, our whole universe…all of them speak of his awesomeness.  But what are we human beings doing to proclaim the awesomeness our creator in spite of being created in His own image???