Chicken Pasanda

For my last recipe celebrating National Curry Week, and also to use up a little more of the Total Greek Yoghurt I’ve been sent, I’m treating you to a Chicken Pasanda.

This is the curry that I always used to order when eating out at a restaurant. I just love the creaminess and nutty flavour of the sauce – the Total yoghurt is thick, tasty and full fat, so ideal for this.

There are a lot of ingredients and the method is long, but as they say no pain no gain! Give it a go, I think you’ll like it!

Chicken Pasanda

Serves 2-3

2 tbsp ghee or clarified butter (or a mix of 1 tbsp vegetable oil and a knob of butter)
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 inch stick of cinnamon (or 2 tsp ground cinnamon)
3 green cardamom pods
1 inch piece ginger, finely grated skin on
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
1 red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp tomato puree
6 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tbsp ground almonds
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp dessicated coconut

Place a large thick bottomed frying pan on a medium heat and melt the ghee or butter. Add the onion and gently fry until golden. Add the cinnamon and cardamom pods and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.

Add the ginger, garlic, chilli, turmeric and coriander. Fry for another 2-3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan, before adding the tomato puree.

Add two tablespoons of the natural yoghurt, stir and allow to reduce. Add another tablespoon of yoghurt and once all the moisture’s evaporated add another tablespoon. Repeat this until you’ve added all 6 tablespoons.

Pour in enough boiling water to cover all the sauce. Give everything a stir, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place another pan (preferably non stick) on a medium-low heat and gently dry fry the almonds. Keep an eye on them as they’ll easily burn. Once a golden colour and smelling good remove from the pan.

Add a little vegetable oil or ghee to the same pan and fry the chicken until white with golden patches. Remove from the pan.

Add the almonds, chicken, raisins and dessicated coconut to the curry sauce and simmer for 25 minutes. Add a little more water or yoghurt if the sauce gets too dry. Scrape the bottom of the pan if it starts to stick.

Once the chicken’s cooked and you have a nice thick sauce you could add another tablespoon of yoghurt. Taste and season with a little salt before service with plain rice.

Oh, and don’t forget to fish out the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods!

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