Recipe- Restaurant Style Chicken Pasanda

A rich creamy dish cooked in a spiced yoghurt that's flavoured with toasted almonds to give a gorgeously thick delicious sauce. Pasanda is a traditional and popular north Indian dish similar to Korma but a bit more fruity.

Ingredients

Marinade

4 chicken breasts, skinless
1 tbsp coriander seeds
6 peppercorns
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
5 tbsp yoghurt
1 tbsp gram flour (optional)

Sauce

1-2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
4cm stick of cassia bark
2-3 green cardamom pods
1 small onion, finely chopped
3cm piece fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tomato, blended to a purée
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp sliced almonds (plus 1 tsp to serve)
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
6 peppercorns

Method

- Place the chicken between cling film and using a rolling pin bash it out to flatten it. You can also just cut it into chunks if you prefer.

Marinade

- Add the coriander seeds and peppercorns to a pestle and mortar and crush the seeds. Then put them into a large bowl to mix the marinade in.

- To the bowl add turmeric, chilli powder,garam masala, salt and the yoghurt. Mix through and add the flattened chicken breasts. Massage the marinade into the meat andleave for 30 minutes.

Sauce

- Heat the ghee in a large heavy pan, add the cassia bark and cardamoms, stir until fragrant then add the chopped onion and cook for a few minutes.

- Add the ginger and garlic, stir and cook for another 5 minutes on low heat, stirring now and again to make sure nothing browns or burns.

- Add the tomato purée and stir through. Leave to cook on a gentle heat for about 5 minutes.

- In a small frying pan toast the almond slices until they just turna brown colour, (or you can use ground almonds). Once browned remove and blend them.

- Add a little water to make an almond paste, add this to the sauce and stir. Let this thicken for a few minutes.

- Then add the marinated chicken and leave it to simmer gently for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. If the sauce gets too thick just add a little hot water – you should end up with a thick, creamy sauce.

- To finish sprinkle with some fresh coriander and some sliced almonds, then serve.

Served with

- Serve garnished with chopped fresh coriander leaves.