Chicken Pasanda (indian)

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 3 tablespoons canola oil (clarified butter) or 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 inches piece cinnamon sticks (dalchini)
• 2 -3 green cardamom pods
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, very finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 5 tablespoons full cream yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 skinless chicken breasts or 4 skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, prepared as in method
• chopped fresh coriander, leaf (to garnish, cilantro)
• 2 cups water

Recipe

• 1 heat the ghee in a large heavy pan then add the chopped onion and stir for a few minutes with the heat on high.
• 2 add the cinnamon and cardamons, stir a little then turn the heat down to low and cook for 5 minutes.
• 3 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.
• 4 add the turmeric, coriander and chili powder and fry gently for a minute.
• 5 add 1 tablespoon of yoghurt, stir round and turn the heat up so the yoghurt sizzles in the oil (don't worry, it won't split if you've used full cream yoghurt).
• 6 when the yoghurt has lost a lot of it's moisture add another tablespoon. stir and fry as before.
• 7 repeat until all the yoghurt is incorporated.
• 8 add the tomato purée and stir.
• 9 stir in hot water - enough to make the mixture very fluid.
• 10 bring to the boil and simmer, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes.
• 11 add salt to taste.
• 12 while the sauce is cooking, heat a frying pan at low to moderate then add the flaked almonds. move the almonds around the pan so they don't burn and heat until they have just taken on a brown colour. remove from pan and blend in a mixi with a little water to make paste.
• 13 heat a little oil in a separate frying pan and stir-fry the chicken pieces over a moderate heat until they are sealed and have turned whitish.
• 14 add almond paste to the sauce and stir. then add the chicken & simmer gently for another 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and soft. stir from time to time. if the sauce gets too dry add a little hot water.
• 15 at the end of the cooking you should have a fairly thick, creamy sauce with little patches of oil appearing at the top. remove the cinnamon and cardamons (if you can find them!).
• 16 serve, garnished with chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves.