Palak Chicken
Green soul, bold heart
Get directions ↗ · 2 min walk from Grand Mercure
Last orders 30 minutes before closing
Dine-in · takeaway · delivery via GrabFood and LINE MAN
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the spinach flavor very strong?
The spinach is blanched and blended with spices, creating a mild, earthy, and highly palatable flavor.
Is this dish healthy?
Yes, it is packed with nutrients and iron from the thick amount of fresh spinach used.
How spicy is it?
Mild. The spinach gravy is the dominant note, with green chilli for warmth rather than red chilli for heat.
Does it contain dairy?
Yes, it usually contains a touch of cream or butter to smoothen the spinach puree.
What does it taste best with?
It pairs well with garlic naan or plain steamed rice.
About Palak Chicken
Palak chicken is the chicken cousin of palak paneer, a North Indian dish that pairs meat with a gravy of pureed spinach. Palak means spinach, and the green is the centre of the dish rather than a garnish, which makes it lighter and fresher than the cream- and tomato-based curries it sits alongside.
At BHARAT the spinach is blanched and then dropped into ice water to fix its colour before it is pureed, so the gravy stays a bright green rather than turning dull. It is folded together with ginger and garlic and a little cream, then finished with a tempering of cumin, and the boneless chicken simmers in it until the meat takes on the green. The masalas are ground fresh in the kitchen daily, the chicken is halal-marked and bought from Makro each morning, and no pork or alcohol is used in the food.
The flavour is earthy and slightly bitter in the way spinach is, lifted by the cumin tempering and softened just enough by the cream, and it is markedly less rich than butter chicken. The heat is mild and comes from green chilli rather than red, so the dish reads as fresh and warm rather than hot, with the spinach as the dominant note throughout. The chef from Uttarakhand can adjust the spice if you ask.
It carries a touch of dairy to smooth the puree but stays on the lighter side of the menu. Garlic naan suits it well, and plain steamed rice is the simpler match for the green gravy.
Two minutes from Grand Mercure Bangkok Atrium and Lancaster Hotel; free parking at the Bangchak gas station right next door. Visit BHARAT →
See also: the Main Course - Non Veg menu · Indian vegetarian food in Bangkok · our fresh paneer dishes · halal-friendly kitchen.