Paneer and Chicken Curry with tomato / spinach / rice
Paneer is a firm Indian cheese that is often used as a vegetarian protein and adds flavor to simple vegetable-packed curries like this one.
Smarts: A version of this curry was featured way back in 2013. We've updated the recipe so that it includes chicken along with paneer. We also reduced the prep time by using canned tomatoes instead of fresh.
Ingredients
- Rice, uncooked white or brown - 3/4 cup
- Onions, medium and red - 1/2, diced
- Garlic - 4 cloves, chopped
- Ginger - 2 tsp, grated
- Jalapenos - 1, diced
- Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless - 1 lb, cubed
- Cheese, paneer - 8 oz, cubed (sub firm tofu)
- Oil, cooking - 2 Tbsp
- Tomatoes, diced (28 oz / 794 g) - 1 can
- Curry powder, mild - 1 Tbsp
- Spinach, baby - 2 cups
- Peas, frozen or canned - 1 cup
- Cilantro leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Rice - For white rice, rinse until clear. Fill a saucepan or Dutch oven (or rice cooker) with rice, water (use 2:1 ratio for water to rice), and some salt. Cover with lid and bring to a boil. Once water boils, stir, lower heat to a low-medium, and cover. Check white rice after ~20 min; brown at ~45 min. Rice is done when it's absorbed all the water. If it's not done, leave the cover on until all water has been absorbed. Take cover off to release steam and fluff with a wooden spoon after 5 minutes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Onions / Garlic / Ginger / Jalapenos - Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Chicken - Cube chicken. Tenderize with a fork and season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Paneer - Cube.
Make
- Heat a skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and then onions, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno to heated oil with a pinch of salt. Saute until softened, ~3 minutes.
- Add chicken and saute in aromatics until cooked on the outside, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add in tomatoes (including liquid) and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until sauce reduces slightly.
- Stir in curry powder and spinach leaves. Saute until spinach is wilted, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add paneer (or tofu) and peas, and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until everything is warmed through and chicken is fully cooked.
- While curry simmers, chop cilantro.
- Reheat rice if made ahead.
- Stir lemon juice into curry and season to taste with some salt and pepper or more curry powder. Garnish with cilantro, and enjoy over rice!
Reviews
This meal has 29 reviews
Very full of flavor! Make this. Its a keeper!
This was ok, and made a lot so good for leftovers. I made it with tofu, not paneer. A little dry for my liking but good flavors, especially with some butter at the time of serving.
Not enough flavor.
This was great! I replaced the diced tomatoes with 2/3 cup tomato sauce & a small can coconut cream. Added some red curry paste, too. My bf loved the paneer, which was new for him.
We used tofu instead of paneer but everything was delicious!
This didn't have as much flavor as I hoped, but it still rated 3 stars for me because paneer makes everything better! I actually think this would have been fine without the chicken, which is rare for me! Leftovers reheated well for work lunches too.