Chicken Pasanda (Indian) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons canola oil (clarified butter) or 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 inches piece cinnamon sticks (dalchini)
2 -3 green cardamom pods
1 inch piece fresh ginger, very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
5 tablespoons full cream yoghurt
1 teaspoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon salt
2 skinless chicken breasts or 4 skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, prepared as in method
chopped fresh coriander, leaf (to garnish, cilantro)
2 cups water

Preparation

Heat the ghee in a large heavy pan then add the chopped onion and stir for a few minutes with the heat on high.
Add the cinnamon and cardamons, stir a little then turn the heat down to low and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the ginger and garlic, stir and cook for another 5 minutes on low heat stirring now and again to make sure nothing browns or burns.
Add the turmeric, coriander and chili powder and fry gently for a minute.
Add 1 tablespoon of yoghurt, stir round and turn the heat up so the yoghurt sizzles in the oil (don't worry, it won't split if you've used full cream yoghurt).
When the yoghurt has lost a lot of it's moisture add another tablespoon. Stir and fry as before.
Repeat until all the yoghurt is incorporated.
Add the tomato puree and stir.
Stir in hot water - enough to make the mixture very fluid.
Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes.
Add salt to taste.
While the sauce is cooking, heat a frying pan at low to moderate then add the flaked almonds. Move the almonds around the pan so they don't burn and heat until they have just taken on a brown colour. Remove from pan and blend in a mixi with a little water to make paste.
Heat a little oil in a separate frying pan and stir-fry the chicken pieces over a moderate heat until they are sealed and have turned whitish.
Add almond paste to the sauce and stir. Then add the chicken & simmer gently for another 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and soft. Stir from time to time. If the sauce gets too dry add a little hot water.
At the end of the cooking you should have a fairly thick, creamy sauce with little patches of oil appearing at the top. Remove the cinnamon and cardamons (if you can find them!).
Serve, garnished with chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves.