The quest to make something new landed me with this. A sure treat for chicken lovers! Having done a little browsing about this, I understand this dish originates from North Pakistan and getting very popular in the west. The term “Balti” refers to the cooking vessel in which the food is both cooked and served. It is a round cast iron heavy bottom pan, looking more like a wok. The word pasanda is an urdu word meaning “the favourite one”. The bust of flavours is incredible. It’s a must try. There are a couple of recipes online and this one especially look quite appetizing http://shabscuisine.blogspot.sg/. Since I have used 1 kilo chicken I have changed the quantity of the ingredients accordingly.
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| Balti chicken pasanda |
You will need –
Chicken – 1 Kg cut into pieces
Onion –1 cup finely chopped
Vegetable oil – 2 tablespoon
Chopped coriander – 2 tablespoon
Chili – 1 slit
Light cream – 1 cup
For the Marinade:
- Greek yogurt – 6 tablespoon
- chilli powder – 1.5 teaspoon
- Minced garlic – 2 teaspoon
- Minced ginger – 2 teaspoon
- Garam masala – 2 teaspoon
- Ground almonds – 2 tablespoon
- Cardamoms – 5
- Cinnamon – 1 medium sticks
- Paper corns – ½ teaspoon
- Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon
- Salt to taste
How to –
- In a large mixing bowl combine all the indigents as above for marinating. Add chicken pieces and leave to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours (more the best). Cover and refrigerate.
- Heat oil in a large shallow pan. Add the onions and sauté until it is golden.
- Add the marinated chicken along with the marinade and stir well until it is well blended with the onions. You can add little water if the chicken looks dry but I did not.
- Cook over medium heat for about 20-25 minutes or, until chicken is cooked.
- Add green chilies and chopped coriander leaves. Pour in the cream and bring to boil.
Garnish with coriander leaves. Perfect with naan, roti and pulao.
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| Balti chicken pasanda |
Please note – Alter the cream quantity as required if there is more gravy since the chicken does release water as it cooks if you have not drained it completely before cooking. Your gravy should not be runny.
Foodolicious Pictured 