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BAKED CHICKEN

Succulent chicken pieces in Bachamel sauce on a bed of puréed spinach
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Equipment

  • Knife
  • Chopping board
  • mixing bowls
  • grater
  • oven proof baking dish
  • Pot with a lid

Ingredients
  

For chicken 

  • 500 g boneless chicken (thigh fillets) cut into 2” pieces
  • 150 g sweet corn ( pre boiled or if using frozen or tinned no need to boil them)
  • 1 tbsp diced onion
  • 3-4 cloves chopped/crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp Salt 
  • 1 tsp Black pepper powder
  • 1 tsp crushed green chilli (for moderate spice level)
  • 1 tsp cooking oil

For spinach

  • 250 g spinach leaves (roughly chopped)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp chopped onion
  • 1 tsp butter

For Bachamel sauce

  • 80 g butter
  • 80 g plain flour
  • 80 ml milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 onion halved
  • ½ tsp nutmeg powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper powder
  • 1 tsp green chilli sauce ( if not available use crushed green chilli. Also adjust the quantity according to your taste buds. This quantity will give you moderate spice level)

For garnishing

  • 1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)

Instructions
 

For chicken

  • In a pot heat oil and saute diced onion and garlic until transparent. Add chicken pieces with salt, green chillies and fry for few minutes on high heat.
  • Once the water released from the chicken dries add 1 cup water and cover cook on low medium heat. Make sure there’s enough steam inside the pot to cook chicken and keep it moist and juicy.
  • After about 15 mins or so the chicken pieces would have now become tender. Add sweet corn and black pepper powder.
  • Dry out the excess water by cooking on high heat. We don’t want the chicken pieces to break and fall apart. Set aside.

For spinach

  • Use the leafy frozen spinach cubes available in the supermarket.
  • OR
  • Finely chop and wash fresh spinach leaves. Add them to boiling water for about 4-5 minutes (until they wilt). Take them out of the boiling water and dip them straight into ice cold water. After couple of minutes drain the water. Boiled spinach leaves are ready to use.
  • Melt butter in a pan and sauté onions till transparent.
  • Add spinach leaves sprinkle salt and chilli flakes. Add about 3tbsp water to provide moisture.
  • Cover and simmer cook for about 10-15 mins on low medium flame in steam. This will give a mushy yet little grainy texture to the spinach.

For Bachamel sauce

  • In a pot boil milk with onion, bay leaf and nutmeg powder. Let it simmer for about 10-15 mins to be able to absorb the flavours. Let it cool down.
  • In a separate pan, melt butter and Sauté plain flour.
  • Keep the heat really low and constantly keep stirring. When the colour of the flour becomes slightly yellowish switch off the flame. It will become doughy. Let it cool down for couple of minutes.
  • Switch on the cooker on a very low flame and slowly add the cooled down milk to the pan. Keep stirring with a whisk. This is to avoid any lumps in the sauce. Once it’s thickened enough switch off the flame, add salt, pepper powder and green chilli sauce.
  • Mix in the prepared chicken mixture. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
  • Finally, in an ovenproof dish, layer the spinach puree followed by the Bachamel sauce chicken mixture. Top it up with grated cheese. Bake it in a preheated oven at 200 degree Celsius for about 20 minutes. Everything in the dish is cooked this is just to finish off with a crisp golden top of the dish.

Notes

  • Serve with toasted garlic bread !