A rich, mild, and creamy chicken pasanda curry recipe to make at home. This delicious and flavourful Indian dish is perfect for any occasion, and best of all, it's ready in under 30 minutes, making it ideal for busy weeknights!
It's also freezer-friendly and a great recipe for batch cooking!
My whole family (I'm talking adults, teenagers, and little kids) love this delicious chicken pasanda recipe, where tender chunks of chicken breast are encased in a luxurious and creamy pasanda curry sauce made with tangy natural yogurt, double cream, ground almonds, as well as lots of warming spices.
It's not at all spicy, but so full of flavour, that even my spice-loving husband loves it!
👩🍳 Love chicken curry? Try my chicken tikka masala or easy chicken korma too!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
Here's why this is the best chicken pasanda curry recipe!
- A mild curry perfect for the whole family.
- Quick and easy to make.
- Delicious with rice and naan bread.
- Freezer-friendly.
- Great for batch cooking.
🛒 Ingredients
- Oil - use sunflower oil, vegetable oil, or ghee.
- Chicken Breasts - 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts chopped into bitesize pieces. You could also use boneless chicken thigh pieces.
- Onion - a brown onion chopped finely.
- Garlic - 3 cloves peeled and chopped finely.
- Fresh Ginger - peeled and grated or chopped finely
- Spices - a mixture of fragrant spices including cardamom, ground coriander, cumin, garam masala, cinnamon, turmeric, and mild chili powder (optional).
- Caster Sugar - helps balance the creaminess of the sauce and gives the curry its characteristic sweetness.
- Yogurt - use full-fat thick natural yogurt to prevent the curry sauce from splitting.
- Double Cream - provides that rich, creamy taste to the sauce.
- Ground Almonds - helps to thicken the curry, although traditionally a cashew nut paste was used instead.
- Fresh Coriander & Flaked Almonds - for garnish.
- Salt & Pepper - for seasoning.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Heat one tablespoon of sunflower oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, garlic, ginger, and cardamom pods for 5 minutes until soft.
Two: Add the chicken breast pieces to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes until they have changed colour.
Three: Stir in the spices, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Four: Mix thoroughly so the chicken pieces are coated in the spices.
Five: Stir through plain yogurt, double cream, and ground almonds.
Six: Simmer for 10 minutes, then serve with chopped coriander and flaked almonds.
💭 Top tips
- Now the kids are older I add ½ teaspoon of mild chili powder for background warmth. If you prefer, you can leave this out.
- Bruise the cardamom pods with the back of a spoon before adding them to the curry. This will help release their flavour. Make sure you take them out of the curry before serving it to the kids.
- Swap the caster sugar for brown sugar for a more caramelised flavour.
- If you have time, you could marinate the chicken in the yogurt and spices for up to 24 hours beforehand in the fridge.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the creamy chicken pasanda with pilau rice or cauliflower rice, naan bread, chapatis, mango chutney, and raita!
If I'm serving this at one of our family curry nights, I'll make a vegetarian curry to serve alongside it, such as chickpea and spinach curry, or halloumi curry!
📖 Variations
- Traditionally lamb was used in pasanda, so why not try using diced lamb instead of chicken breasts to make lamb pasanda? Beef would also work.
- Make it a healthy chicken pasanda by skipping the double cream! It will have a tangier taste, so you may want to increase the sugar or stir through a spoonful of mango chutney at the end of cooking.
- Swap the double cream for coconut milk or coconut cream.
- Make a vegetarian pasanda with Quorn pieces or use mushrooms for mushroom pasanda.
- Make slow cooker chicken pasanda by placing all of the ingredients in your slow cooker and cooking on low for 6 hours. You may need to thicken the sauce at the end of cooking with some thickening granules or a cornflour slurry.
🥡 Storage
Store - Place leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat - Microwave until piping hot, or reheat in a saucepan on the hob.
Freeze - Allow the curry to cool then spoon the chicken pasanda into a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating in the microwave.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Originating in north India, the hindu-urde word ‘pasande’ means favourite, which refers to the use of lamb or goat, the meat once typically used in this curry. The dish is traditionally served with rice or naan bread and is a staple of Indian cuisine.
Pasanda is very similar to korma in that it also contains ground almonds and cream, but is typically even milder in flavour than a traditional korma sauce.
Yes, you can make pasanda with other types of meat such as lamb, beef, or even paneer for a vegetarian option. The cooking process will remain the same, but the cooking time may vary depending on the type of meat used.
Yes, just swap the chicken for cauliflower florets.
😋 More curry recipes to try!
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Recipe
Easy Chicken Pasanda
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil
- 1 Onion peeled and chopped
- 3 Garlic Cloves peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Ginger grated
- 4 Cardamom Pods bruised
- 4 Chicken Breasts cut into bite size pieces
- 2 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Mild Chilli Powder
- ½ teaspoon Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- 250 ml Natural Yogurt full-fat
- 50 ml Double Cream
- 4 tablespoon Ground Almonds
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Coriander chopped
- 2 tablespoon Flaked Almonds
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon of sunflower oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, garlic, ginger, and cardamom pods for 5 minutes until soft.1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil, 1 Onion, 3 Garlic Cloves, 2 tablespoon Fresh Ginger, 4 Cardamom Pods
- Add in the chicken breast pieces and cook for 5-6 minutes until they have changed colour.4 Chicken Breasts
- Stir in the spices, sugar, salt and pepper.2 teaspoon Ground Coriander, 2 teaspoon Ground Cumin, 1 teaspoon Garam Masala, ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon, 1 teaspoon Turmeric, ½ teaspoon Mild Chilli Powder, ½ teaspoon Sugar, ¼ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- Mix in the plain yogurt, double cream, and ground almonds.250 ml Natural Yogurt, 50 ml Double Cream, 4 tablespoon Ground Almonds
- Simmer for 10 minutes, then serve with the chopped coriander and flaked almonds.2 tablespoon Fresh Coriander, 2 tablespoon Flaked Almonds
Notes
- Now that my kids are older I add ½ teaspoon of mild chilli powder for background warmth. If you prefer, you can leave this out.
- Bruise the cardamom pods with the back of a spoon before adding them to the curry. This will help release their flavours
- Swap the caster sugar for brown sugar for a more caramelised flavour.
- Traditionally lamb was used in pasanda, so why not use diced lamb instead of chicken breasts to make lamb pasanda? You could also try beef.
- Make it a healthy chicken pasanda by skipping the double cream! It will have a tangier taste, so you may want to increase the sugar or stir through a spoonful of mango chutney at the end of cooking.
- Make it a vegetarian pasanda by using Quorn pieces. Or how about mushrooms for a mushroom pasanda.
- If some of your guests like their food hot, simply serve some chilli sauce on the side!
- Make slow cooker chicken pasanda by placing all of the ingredients in your slow cooker and cooking on low for 6 hours. You may need to thicken the sauce at the end of cooking with some thickening granules or a cornflour slurry.
- Store - Place leftovers in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Curry always tastes better the next day!
- Reheat - Microwave until piping hot.
- Freeze - Allow to cool then place the chicken pasanda in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating until piping hot in the microwave.
Dannii
You can't beat homemade curry and chicken pasanda is one of my favourites. So much flavour.
Mandy Applegate
Chicken passanda is my Dad's favorite dish so I will make it for him this weekend.
Tavo
Looks like the perfect Friday night dinner! Can't wait to try it!
Claudia Lamascolo
We love chicken this looks so good and that addition of almonds sounds tasty!
Gina
Made this without the cream and it still turned out amazingly delicious. So much flavor packed into this meal, it's our new favorite chicken dish in the house!
Mark Tomkinson
Chicken passanda is my favourite curry and to find a recipe which was simple and easy to make made my day.
Will definitely make again.
Thank you
Beth Sachs
That's great to hear Mark!