Indian-inspired Chicken with Almonds and Raisins

As I was craving for Indian food after a bad experience at the best Indian restaurant here in Munich, I decided to take things into my own hands and cook my own Indian meal a couple of nights ago. While at a local Indian restaurant about a month ago, I got really mad cos I paid €15 for my meal and all I got was a mountain of rice (horror of horrors!) and six small pieces of chicken. No vegetables, just two cashew nuts and maybe six raisins! And people pay for this! Okay, the quality of the ingredients used was good but prices here are getting ridiculous.

Last weekend, I found some time to cook a chicken dish from one of my favorite Indian cookbooks – Healthy Indian Cooking by Shehzad Husain – but not being prepared, I had to improvise with what I had in the refrigerator. Nevertheless, I must say, this was definitely much better than what they serve in some restaurants. And not only that, it was much lighter and therefore friendlier on the stomach.

The yoghurt with its tanginess contrasted well with the mellowness of the chicken breasts while the sweetness of the raisins and nutty almond slices rounded off the whole dish.  Yes, there are raisins in this dish – just don’t put in too many. The amount given below has been adjusted.

To accompany the chicken dish, I made cauliflower rice and a peas and carrots dish as a side.


Indian-inspired Chicken with Almonds and Raisins (serves 4)

4 large chicken breasts without skin, about 600 gr total
8 Tbsp/250 gr thick yoghurt eg. Greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp tomato purée
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground fennel seeds
3 cardamom seeds
2 tsp ground almonds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp saffron threads or tumeric
salt, pepper
1 Tbsp oil
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp raisins
2 Tbsp sliced almonds
Chopped coriander leaves

Make slashes in the chicken so that the marinade will get into the flesh. Lay the chicken in a layer in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Mix the yoghurt, tomato purée, garlic, garam masala, fennel, cardamom pods, ground almonds, chilli powder, lemon juice and saffron/tumeric with 4 Tbsp water. Add salt to taste.

In a saucepan, heat some oil and fry the bay leaf and cinnamon stick till fragrant – this takes about 1 minute or less. Add the yoghurt mixture and another 2/3 cup water and bring to a boil. Cool slightly and pour over the chicken. Cover and let marinate for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Sprinkle the raisins and almonds over the chicken before shoving into the oven. Bake uncovered about 20-25 min. Check doneness of chicken. Depending on how thick the chicken breasts are, you may need more baking time. Garnish with coriander and serve.

PS. I used Beta Sweet carrots in the carrot dish. They were really sweet and turned purplish on cooking.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 244.2 kcal; Fat – 4.8 gr; Carbs – 8.5 gr, Protein – 41.8 gr

Print this recipe – Chicken with Almonds and Raisins