Hairy Bikers Lamb Pasanda Recipe

This Hairy Bikers lamb pasanda from their Great Curries book is a mild, creamy curry made with flattened leg meat in an almond and yoghurt sauce. It serves six at around 550 calories a portion, with at least an hour of marinating before it cooks.

The name says it all, since pasanda means “liked” or “favourite” in Urdu. It earns that with a gentle, rich sauce that suits anyone who finds most curries too hot, so it is a good one for feeding a mixed table.

Two steps make this dish what it is. The lamb is bashed thin to just 5mm so it cooks tender and soaks up the marinade, and the onions are blitzed smooth so the finished sauce is silky rather than chunky.

Hairy Bikers Lamb Pasanda Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Simmering Cuisine:British Indian Courses:Main Course

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time:1 hour 25 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time:1 hour 55 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:550 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Si and Dave’s mild lamb pasanda where flattened leg meat marinates in spiced yoghurt, then simmers in a blitzed onion sauce enriched with ground almonds and double cream. A gentle, creamy curry that is anything but fiery.

Ingredients

For the Marinade:

• 200g plain natural yoghurt
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp hot chilli powder
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 25g chunk of fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

For the Lamb:

• 1kg boneless lamb leg meat, trimmed and cut into 3cm chunks

For the Sauce:

• 2 tbsp ghee or sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 7 cardamom pods, crushed
• 1½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 500ml cold water
• 2 bay leaves or 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
• 5 to 6 tbsp double cream

Instructions

1. Make the marinade: Blitz the yoghurt, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, chilli powder, garlic and ginger in a processor until smooth, then scrape into a large bowl.
2. Flatten the lamb: Place a few chunks at a time between two sheets of cling film and bash with a rolling pin or meat mallet until about 5mm thick. Stir the flattened lamb into the marinade to coat, cover and chill for at least 1 hour, or all day if it suits you.
3. Brown and blitz the onions: Heat the ghee in a large flameproof casserole and fry the onions for about 10 minutes, starting low then raising the heat to brown them, stirring so they do not catch. Take off the heat and blitz smooth with a stick blender.
4. Toast the spices: Return the pan to the heat and add the cardamom, fenugreek seeds and garam masala. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
5. Add the lamb: Tip in the lamb with all its marinade and cook over a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Add the ground almonds, sugar, salt, cinnamon and water, drop the bay leaves on top and bring to a gentle simmer.
6. Simmer: Cover loosely and simmer for 1 hour until the lamb is tender, stirring now and then and removing the lid towards the end if it needs to reduce.
7. Finish with cream: Stir in the double cream and turn up the heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce is thick and glossy. Serve with rice or naan.

FAQs

What is lamb pasanda?

Lamb pasanda is a mild, creamy North Indian curry made with thin slices of lamb in an almond-enriched sauce. The word pasanda means “liked” or “favourite” in Urdu, and it traditionally uses meat that is flattened out before marinating and cooking.

The sauce is built on yoghurt, ground almonds and cream, which gives it a gentle, slightly sweet richness. It is one of the milder curries on most menus, closer to a korma than a vindaloo in heat.

Is lamb pasanda spicy?

No, pasanda is one of the mildest curries you can make. This recipe uses only a quarter teaspoon of chilli powder across the whole dish, so it carries warmth and fragrance from the spices rather than any real heat.

That makes it a good choice for children or anyone who finds most curries too fierce. If you do want a little more kick, add extra chilli powder to the marinade, but the point of a pasanda is its gentle, creamy character.

What does lamb pasanda taste like?

It tastes mild, creamy and slightly sweet, with a nutty depth from the ground almonds. The yoghurt marinade keeps the lamb tender and tangy, while the cream rounds everything off into a smooth, comforting sauce.

You get warmth from cardamom, fenugreek and garam masala, but no burn. The flattened lamb also gives it a softer, more delicate texture than the chunky lamb you find in most curries.

What is the difference between pasanda and badam pasanda?

There is no real difference, since badam simply means “almond” in Hindi and Urdu. A badam pasanda just puts the almonds in the name, but a classic pasanda like this one already relies on ground almonds to enrich and thicken the sauce.

So when you make this recipe you are making a badam pasanda by any other name. The almonds are not optional here, they are what give the dish its signature creamy, nutty body.

Is lamb pasanda gluten free, and can I make it lighter?

This pasanda is naturally gluten free, because the sauce is thickened with ground almonds and blitzed onions rather than any flour. Always check your garam masala if you use a shop blend, but the recipe as written contains no gluten.

To make it lighter, swap the double cream for a few extra spoonfuls of yoghurt stirred in at the end off the heat, which cuts the calories without losing the creaminess. For a richer but still mild curry from the same book, the lamb dopiaza is a good next step, while the lamb rogan josh brings more colour and spice if you want to build a varied curry night.