Chicken Pasanda

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5 from 1 vote

This chicken pasanda is an easy to make mild and creamy curry that is made in one pot. Tender pieces of chicken in a yoghurt and cream sauce that has been thickened with ground almonds. No base sauce and ready in less than half an hour!

Servings:

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Ingredients

500 g chicken thighs - 1
1 tbsp ghee or oil
1 onion
240 g yoghurt - 2
60 ml double / heavy cream
3 tbsp ground almonds

Spices

1 tsp ginger paste - 3
1 tsp garlic paste - 3
1 tsp turmeric - 4
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp chilli powder - optional
3 cardamon pods

To Serve

1 tbsp flaked almonds
fresh coriander / cilantro

Instructions

Chicken – If needed remove the skin and bone and then cut into bite sized pieces. I find a sharp pair of kitchen scissors is the easiest way to do this.
500 g chicken thighs
Onion – peel, top, tail and dice
Garlic/Ginger – if not using pastes then peel and finely chop the garlic, and grate the ginger (no need to peel) using a microplane type grater. The rest of the ginger root can be stored in a tub in the freezer and then grated from frozen the next time you need some.
1 onion, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste
Melt the ghee over a medium heat, or add the oil, to a heavy frying pan that has a lid (one that is 9–10 inches / 22-25cm is ideal).
1 tbsp ghee or oil
Add the onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes until the onion is starting to turn translucent, golden and is fragrant.
Add the chicken, stir in and cook for another few minutes until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink, and it is starting to get some colour.
Add the spices, garlic and ginger to the chicken and onion, stir and sauté for another few minutes. The chicken will be golden and fragrant.
1 tsp turmeric, ½ tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp garam masala, ¼ tsp chilli powder, 3 cardamon pods
Add the yoghurt, cream, and ground almonds, stir them in. Bring to a very gentle simmer and then turn the heat right down.
240 g yoghurt, 60 ml double / heavy cream, 3 tbsp ground almonds
Put the lid on and cook for 10 minutes stirring, and scraping the sides down from time to time.
Do not let the mixture boil as the yoghurt might split and curdle.
After 10 minutes check the sauce, it should have started to thicken. Cook for another 5-10 minutes with the lid slightly ajar to allow some of the steam to escape and to thicken the sauce more. When finished the sauce should have reduced by about a third.
Remove the cardamon pods which would have floated to the surface of the curry. Check the seasoning and add a little salt if needed.
Finish the chicken pasanda with some toasted almond flakes to give some crunch. Toast them in a small frying pan on a low heat on the stove top.
Shake the pan every 5 seconds and do not take your eyes off them as they can burn in a second. This is a full attention, no phones task.
As soon as they have toasted, turn them out onto a piece of kitchen paper on a plate to cool.
1 tbsp flaked almonds
Finally garnish the curry with the toasted almonds and a scattering of fresh coriander leaves.
Serve with with a traditional flatbread, such as roti, parathas or naan, or with pilau rice or turmeric rice. and a bowl of home made raita.
fresh coriander / cilantro

Notes

Ingredients

Chicken - Thighs are nearly always my first choice for chicken pieces. They have more flavour and more fat, so they will not dry out when cooking. They are also cheaper than chicken breast.
Yoghurt - a full fat thick Greek style natural yoghurt is ideal, the most important thing is that it is full fat.
Garlic & Ginger Paste - These are a staple for cooking BIR recipes at home. You can buy individual or a combined one. Once opened the jar will keep for several weeks in the fridge, or portion into ice cube trays and freeze. If you don’t have them you can finely chop fresh garlic and grate a ginger root.
Spices - Use a proper measuring spoon, a teaspoon that you use for your tea etc is not the same size and you won't get the same result.

Storage

This chicken pasanda recipe is ideal for making ahead of time and may actually benefit from it, as the flavours have longer to infuse the meat.

When reheating do this gently so that the sauce does not curdle or split.

Fridge – Allow to cool, and as soon as it is room temperature pack into an airtight container and transfer to the fridge. Keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezer – Cool and pack into an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To use, defrost in the fridge or on the worktop.

Reheat slowly in a pan on the stove top over a medium heat, or heat slowly on a low/reduced setting in the microwave, making sure it is properly hot before serving. Reheat slowly so that the sauce doesn't split.

Hints and tips

Take the time to fry the chicken and spices properly, so that it is golden but still moist.
Curries lend themselves very well to batch cooking and it is easy to double this recipe up – I find that when doubling a recipe less liquid is needed. Here, I would use 180% of the recipe quantities rather than 200%.
I don’t recommend halving this recipe – the spice quantities become fiddly and a smaller batch is more likely to dry out. It freezes and reheats so well it is the perfect dish to cook once and eat twice.
If you can rest the curry after cooking and reheat to serve it will taste so much better. This gives the flavours time to meld and soften. It is even better if left in the fridge overnight before reheating.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.