What is a Chicken Passanda?
This Chicken Pasanda Recipe is typcially a milder, more creamy and richer curry. It is thought that it was traditionally made with a leg of goat or lamb. Traditionally the meat from the leg would be cut, trimmed and flattened into strips and then cooked with the rich, tasty, Pasanda sauce.
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In the present day, a pasanda curry can also be made using chicken (as per this recipe) or with king prawns or vegetables. In any case, the process and ingredients remain generally the same and are easy to follow, resulting in an amazing flavoursome curry.
Although this recipe is milder than I would normally make, you can add more chilli powder or fresh chillis to suit your taste, but don’t over do it as you may miss out on some of the more delicate flavours that are present within this recipe if you make it too hot…
Chicken Pasanda – It’s Origins
This super tasty curry recipe is thought to have originated in the north of India. In fact Wikipedia states that the Pasanda originates from the north of India and it’s border with Pakistan. It is based upon a dish that was supposedly served in the Court of the Moghul Emperors.
Pasanda is typically thought to mean “the favourite one” or “liked”, which is believed to refer to the cut of meat that was traditionally used.
Should I add Almonds to this Chicken Pasanda Recipe?
It’s entirely up to you as to whether you add almonds or not, but for this quick and easy Chicken Pasanda Recipe I’ve decided to leave almonds as part of recipe.
However, unlike some other recipes that use ground almonds and add them near the start of the cooking process, I normally use chopped almonds and add them at the end.
Even though I’ve included them here, I belive that this dish is as good with or without almonds, so you’ll have to make your own mind up…For a bit of a twist you can add unsalted chopped cashews instead of the almonds which gives a different flavour…
Is a Chicken Pasanda Hot?
Not usually. A Pasanda curry is typically quite mild but depending on your tastes and tolerance of spice you can always add more chilli to spice things up
What is a Pasanda Curry Made of?
A pasanda curry is typically made from:
- Lamb, goat, chicken, king prawns or vegetables
- Onions
- Cinnamon or Cassia Bark
- Cardamon seeds
- Cumin
- Tumeric
- Chilli powder
- Garlic
- Corriander
- Tomato Purée
- Yoghurt
- Almonds
How Many Calories does a Chicken Pasanda Recipe Have?
If you follow this recipe, an individual portion of Chicken Pasanda has approx 500-600 calories when served.
Is a Chicken Pasanda Hotter than a Korma or Milder than a Korma?
Typically a Chicken Pasanda is normally milder than a Korma although this is dependant on your taste and how much or little chilli you add whilst preparing the dish.
What Should I Serve with a Chicken Pasanda?
As it can be quite a rich dish, I normally serve this Chicken Pasanda Recipe with plain fluffy basmati rice or hot naan breads, but there’s nothing to stop you serving it with chapattis or even just poppadoms.
And although not necessarily the healthiest choice I really enjoy serving this rich Chicken Pasanda Recipe with chips!
Easy Chicken Pasanda Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 skinless chicken breasts (approx 125g) cut into bite size pieces
- 1 onion finely sliced
- ½ tbsp vegetable oil
- 2cm cinnamon stick left whole
- 3 pods cardamom pods remove outer husk and use seeds only
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground tumeric
- ½ tsp chilli powder add more if required
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- ½ tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp. tomato purée
- 500 g 0% fat Greek yogurt
- 15 g flaked almonds, toasted
- 1 Large handful fresh coriander roughly chopped
- 1-4 fresh green finger chillies chopped - optional as required
Instructions
- Finely slice the onion
- Chop the chicken into bite size pieces
- Heat the oil in a large pan add the cinnamon stick and onion and gently cook for approx 10min.
- Break off the outer husks of the cardamon pods and place all seeds into a mortar and crush with a pestle.
- Add cumin, turmeric, chilli powder, garlic, coriander seeds and plenty of seasoning to the mortar
- Grind to as fine a powder as you can.
- Once the onions have become translucent, stir in the spice mix and tomato putée and cook for one - two minutes
- Add chicken to the pan and fry for 8-10min until cooked through.
- Reduce the heat and stir in the yogurt - add a little water if sauce is too thick.
- Check the seasoning and add more if necc.
- Garnish with flaked almonds, fresh coriander and optional chopped finger chillies
Nutrition
I hope you and your family enjoy this Chicken Pasanda as much as myself and my family do and if you do, please take the time to tell us about it in the comments below.
Take a Look at some of my other Curry Recipes…
If you want a hotter curry, please take a look at the Best Chicken Madras Recipe online – I’m told that the recipe is so popular it has more comments than any other madras recipe online!
Looking for a another tasty Curry Recipe? Then take a peek at my authentic Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) Recipe hmmm nom nom 🙂