Slow Cooker Chicken Saag

Use your slow cooker or Instant Pot to make an incredibly easy Chicken Saag recipe! It's a lovely recipe that's also low-carb friendly!

What is Chicken Saag?

• Saag. Saag simply means anything made with greens. So this lovely chicken curry made with yogurt and spinach is literally a Chicken Saag recipe - chicken made with greens.
• Palak. Palak means spinach. So Palak Paneer is sometimes referred to as Saag Paneer.
• Tikka. You will also sometimes see this Chicken Saag recipe called Chicken Tikka Saag. Tikka just means a piece of chicken, like nuggets.

Is the Instant Pot a Good Slow Cooker?

I see a lot of discussion around this issue. Personally I have NO issues with it as a slow cooker--but only once you understand that Low, Medium, and High don't mean the same thing on an Instant Pot as they do in a regular slow cooker, like this one which is one of my favorite slow cookers.

Instead, on an Instant pot, low means KEEP WARM! I don't know why they did this, because it's really confusing and not helpful. But here's the translation:

• Instant pot Low = Keep Warm
• IP Medium = Low setting on other slow cookers
• IP High = High setting on other slow cookers.

Why? I do not know. Terrible design in my opinion, but hey, they didn't ask me before they did that.

How Do You Make Chicken Saag Using the Instant Pot Slow Cooker Function?

Note that the instructions for the cooking in the Instant Pot with the slow cooker function is the same process you would use if cooking in a traditional slow cooker. Just use low and high functions on your crockpot in place of the medium and high functions listed below.

• Sauce. In a food processor or blender, blend together everything except the chicken and the spinach and one teaspoon of garam masala.

• Chicken. Place chicken in large pieces in the Instant Pot, and pour in the yummy-smelling sauce you just made.

• Cook. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours, or MEDIUM for 6 hours.
• Saute. Open up and remove the chicken. Meanwhile, turn the pot on to Sauté on MEDIUM.

• Spinach. 30 minutes before the cook time is up, chop up the spinach and add it in.

• Spices. Add 1 teaspoon garam masala at this point to add fragrance and flavor to the dish.
• Finish. Serve this Chicken Saag with rice, cauliflower rice, naan, or with mashed potatoes for an unusual combination.

How Do You Make Chicken Saag in the Instant Pot?

• Sauce. In a food processor or blender, blend together everything except the chicken and the spinach and one teaspoon of garam masala.
• Chicken. Place chicken in large pieces in the Instant Pot, and pour over the yummy-smelling sauce you just made.
• Pressure Cook. Set your Instant Pot to SOUP for 8 minutes, and allow it to release pressure naturally, about 10 minutes.
• Saute. Open up and remove the chicken. Meanwhile, turn the pot on to Sauté on MEDIUM.
• Spinach. Chop up the spinach and add it to the sauce. Chop the chicken into smaller pieces, and add back in. Allow the sauce to simmer and thicken with the lid off, and the spinach to cook down.
• Seasoning. Add 1 teaspoon garam masala at this point to add fragrance and flavor to the dish.
• Finish. Serve this Chicken Saag with rice, cauliflower rice, naan, or with mashed potatoes for an unusual combination.

Won't Yogurt Separate at High Pressure?

Every time I've tried to pressure cook this Chicken Saag in the Instant Pot, the yogurt separates and curdles and you get a greasy layer and clumps. Not very appetizing.

I know I can add the yogurt later, but I can taste the difference between yogurt added later, vs. things cooked in yogurt, which now has spices and flavor infused into it. So I wanted to come up with a way to make this work at high pressure in the Instant Pot.

Typically when we cook with yogurt in India it's not unusual for us to put in a little chickpea flour into the yogurt, or add a little flour.

Tips to Reduce Separation While Pressure Cooking

1. Whip. Beat/whip the yogurt well to ensure it doesn't separate.
2. Full-Fat. Use full-fat yogurt to lessen the chances of separation.
3. Corn Starch. Use at least 1 tablespoon of corn starch to 1 cup of yogurt.
4. Soup Function. Use the SOUP button on your Instant pot which heats slowly at first, allowing the cornstarch to thicken the yogurt.
5. Add Later. The easiest way? Just add the yogurt when it's done pressure cooking. The flavor difference is slight and this method is foolproof.
6. Burn Notice. Please note that a few readers who used 8 quart Instant Pots had the BURN message with a single batch of this, but not a double batch. The same readers were able to make this without the BURN message. If you have an 8 quart, either double this recipe, or use 1/2 to 1/4 cup of water to add to the chicken and vegetables.

Can I Make This With Lamb?

If you want to make a Lamb Saag instead of a Chicken Saag, simply replace the chicken with lamb (preferable pieces of leg of lamb) and cook the same.

Want More Indian Recipes?

• Fish Saag - delicious variation to this Chicken Saag!
• Palak Paneer - a lovely vegetarian dish.
• Butter Chicken - my famous Instant Pot Butter Chicken!
• Frankies - my favorite Indian street food you have to try!
• 75+ Indian Instant Pot Recipes - or you can see ALL my Instant Pot Indian recipes in one place here!
• 23+ Instant Pot Curry Recipes - all the best curries you'll ever have!!!

All in all, I'm sure you're going to love this simple Chicken Saag recipe. It's a beautiful dish that's also low-carb and is a family favorite! Don't forget to pin this on Pinterest or share it on Facebook so you don't lose it.

Originally published on June 4, 2017, at 12:56 PM.

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