Lucknow Shahi Chicken Shahi Pasanda Flat Kebab

Method

1. 1

   Pound the chicken flat: Place chicken slices between two sheets of plastic. Pound gently with a meat mallet or rolling pin to 1 cm even thickness. Pounding tenderises and ensures the marinade penetrates completely.

2. 2

   Marinate: Mix all marinade ingredients. Coat each flattened piece thoroughly. Marinate 2 hours minimum.

3. 3

   Shallow fry: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a flat pan on medium-high. Fry the marinated flat chicken pieces for 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden with slight char spots. The flat shape ensures fast, even cooking. Remove.

4. 4

   Make the sauce: Heat 2 tbsp butter. Cook onion 8 minutes until soft.

5. 5

   Add ginger paste: Cook 1 minute.

6. 6

   Add almond paste: Add the smooth almond paste. Cook stirring 3 minutes until the almond cooks and the raw nut smell disappears.

7. 7

   Add cream: Add cream on low heat. Stir gently.

8. 8

   Add the fried chicken: Add the pan-fried flat chicken pieces to the light almond-cream sauce. Spoon sauce over each piece.

9. 9

   Simmer 5 minutes: Cook on low heat 5 minutes — just to heat through and allow the chicken to absorb the sauce. The pasanda should not be overcooked at this stage.

10. 10

    Finish: Add kewra water and garam masala. Serve with roomali roti.

11. 11

    Note: Pasanda (from the Persian word meaning pleased or chosen — the best cuts) is a specific Mughal-Awadhi preparation where the best pieces of meat are flattened and cooked quickly — as opposed to slow-cooked whole pieces. The technique of flattening (tenderising with a mallet) was used specifically to enable faster cooking without toughening — a technique that the Nawabi kitchen applied to both lamb and chicken. The kewra water (screwpine flower essence) is the floral finishing element that is specifically Awadhi.