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Posted on Last updated: Categories 30 Minutes or Less, Chicken & Other Bird Recipes, Curry Corner, FakeAways

By: Author Brian Jones

Mild Indian Chicken Pasanda Curry

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A chicken pasanda is a relatively mild curry loaded with yoghurt and almond and it has become one of my absolute favourite curry recipes.

Commonly made with lamb this chicken variant of one of the curries that are a permanent feature on the menus of the British Indian curry houses that inspired my love of Indian food.

This is the perfect place to start for those new to cooking curries at home.

Tall close up image of a chicken pasanda curry with a pile of basmati rice and flaked almonds on a black plate with a beer in the background

Mild, Creamy & Delicious.

This recipe was born out of a rather disappointing visit to an Indian restaurant in Budapest. A trip of all things, to get a broken tooth fixed.

My reward for being a brave little soldier was a belly full of beer and a curry. This is a true British treat!

I went for a Vindaloo, which to be honest was a little disappointing. I’d much rather have either my beef vindaloo or pork vindaloo.

My wife ordered a chicken pasanda, sometimes called a passanda and it was fantastic. Yes, we share, don’t you?

Creamy and with a tart edge from the yoghurt but fragrant with spice and just a hint of heat.

It must have been good because I pulled over on the way home to buy the ingredients to begin work on this recipe. 

Tall overhead image of a chicken pasanda curry with a pile of basmati rice and flaked almonds on a black plate

What is a Pasanda Curry?

It is a triumph of a dish, loaded with fragrant spices and a lovely mellow hint of almond and punches of fresh coriander.

It is much more commonly associated with lamb and that is a glorious dish. But lamb is expensive and chicken much more frugal.

As a result, the flavours have been scaled back a little and not work perfectly with the much gentler flavour of chicken.

We have cumin and coriander leading the way on the flavour stakes. This is supported by turmeric and cinnamon.

Then coriander and it is by no means a garnish on this dish, it is integral to the recipe.

So if coriander isn’t your thing then maybe consider something like a chicken korma, another curry at the milder end of the heat spectrum.

This is very much one of the mildest curries that I make.

Square extreme close up of a chicken pasanda curry with flaked almonds and coriander

Serving Suggestions.

As ever with a curry, I very much favour a plain boiled rice as a side dish.

Then I typically add some Indian flatbread.

I usually refrain from my love of naan bread and go with chapati instead.

This is because this is not a particularly “saucy” curry and I much prefer chapati in dishes like this.

But if you wanted something different, Bombay potatoes work wonderfully. Or how about some “real” vegetables in the form of this green bean poriyal?

Square overhead image of a chicken pasanda curry with a pile of basmati rice and flaked almonds on a black plate
Yield: 2 Servings

Chicken Pasanda Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

This chicken pasanda curry is creamy and tart from yoghurt and fragrant with cumin and coriander. It is one of the milder and more simple Indian chicken curry recipes and a real treat for all the family!

Ingredients

  • 400g (14oz) Chicken Breast
  • 1 Tbsp Cooking oil
  • 3 Green Cardamom Pods
  • 100 g (2/3 Cup) Onion
  • 2 Tbsp Grated Ginger
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 1/4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 Tsp Ground Coriander
  • 1/2 Tsp Ground Kashmiri Chili Powder
  • 1 Tsp Ground Turmeric
  • 1 Tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1 Tbsp Ground Almonds
  • 100 g (1/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp) Full Fat Natural Yoghurt
  • 1/4 -1/2 Tsp Salt
  • 50 ml (3 Tbsp + 1 Tsp) Water
  • 10 g (2-3 Tbsp) Flaked Almonds
  • Fresh Coriander

Instructions

  1. Finely dice the onion, mash the garlic and grate the ginger.
  2. Bash the cardamom with the side of a knife to open them up.
  3. Begin by toasting your almond flakes in a dry pan and set aside for the end of the dish, keep an eye on them it is very easy to burn nuts.
  4. Now add the cooking oil to the pan over a medium high heat and fry off the cardamom pods for 30 seconds before adding in the onions and cooking until they just start to brown which should take around 5 minutes.
  5. Add the garlic and ginger and cook on for a further 2 minutes.
  6. It is now spice time, throw in all of the spice powders, cumin, chili, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon and cook out for 30 seconds, stirring continuously.
  7. Add the chicken and stir to coat in the spicy mix.
  8. Now finally add the yoghurt, ground almonds, salt and water then reduce the heat to medium and cook out for 15-20 minutes.
  9. The sauce should thicken nicely and cling to the chicken.
  10. Finish the dish with the flaked almonds and the coriander

Notes

Using low fat or no-fat yoghurt in this recipe increases the risk of the sauce curdling.

I favour serving this dish with a plain boiled rice, the subtle fragrant flavours in this dish are easily masked, however a chapati or a naan bread would also work a treat.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 530Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 173mgSodium: 546mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 68g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

© Brian Jones
Cuisine: Anglo Indian / Category: Curry Corner

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