INDIAN & SRI LANKAN
CHICKEN PASANDA WITH ALMOND YOGHURT
One of the great Mughal dishes, Pasanda in Urdu means ‘Favourite One’, referring to its propensity to be made with special cuts of meat. The name is apt as this beautiful curry is certain to become a favourite to whomever you serve it.
Rich and creamy with almond, gently spiced with coriander and black pepper and perfumed with cinnamon and cardamom. It’s wonderfully comforting.
We have replaced the usual yoghurt with almond yoghurt to help boost the almond flavours chicken pasanda is known for whilst keeping the dish dairy-free as well.
Ingredients
THE CHICKEN
4 Small Chicken Breasts, each cut into 4 equal-sized chunks
1 Garlic Clove,
½ Thumb Sized Piece of Ginger,
100g Almond Yoghurt,
½ tsp. Kashmiri Chili Powder, or regular chili powder
½ tsp. Ground Turmeric,
1 tsp. Garam Masala,
Generous Pinch of Salt & Pepper
THE PASANDA
1 Small Onion, finely diced
½ Thumb Sized Piece of Ginger,
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
100g Almond Yoghurt,
100ml Water,
1–2 Small Dried Kashmiri Chillies,
2 tbsp Ground Almonds,
3 Cardamom Pods, bruised
1 Cinnamon Stick, broken in half
1 tsp. Ground Turmeric,
1 tsp. Coriander Seeds,
1 tsp. Black Peppercorns,
Generous Pinch of Salt
TO COOK
Groundnut Oil or Coconut Oil
TO GARNISH
Green Chili, julienned
Coriander, a few leaves roughly chopped
Flaked Almonds, toasted
TO SERVE
Steamed Rice
Naan Bread or Roti
METHOD
MARINATING THE CHICKEN
- Start by seasoning the chicken generously with salt, pepper and the ground spices, making sure that the chicken is evenly coated in seasoning.
- Next, place the almond yoghurt, garlic, ginger into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Add the yoghurt mixture to the chicken, ensuring the chicken is evenly and entirely coated in the marinade.
- Leave the chicken to marinate for between 1-24 hours. The longer the better.
TIP – Re-sealable zip-lock bags work extremely well for this and will allow the chicken to be more easily manipulated and coated in the marinade.
THE PASANDA
- Place a large pan over a medium heat and lightly toast the coriander seeds and black peppercorns for a minute or two until fragrant. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind until broken down but not to a fine powder.
- Pour a lug of groundnut oil or spoonful of coconut oil to the pan over a medium heat. Add cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, onion, ginger and garlic into the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened and fragrant.
- Add the turmeric and half of the coriander and black peppercorn mixture to the pan and cook off for 1-2 minutes.
- Now, add the marinated chicken into the pan along with all of the marinade and the dried chilli. Cook for 2-3 minutes, turning the chicken pieces over halfway through.
- Combine the water and ground almonds and blend together using a hand blender or food processor. Add the remaining almond yoghurt and the ground almond mixture to the pan, mixing everything together.
- Leave to gently simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened, lightly coating the pieces of chicken. Season to taste.
FINISHING THE CURRY
- Finish the chicken pasanda with a few julienned green chillies, toasted flaked almonds and the remainder of the coriander and black pepper mixture.
- Finally, top with a few coriander leaves and serve your chicken pasanda immediately with boiled rice and naan.
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