This curry house quality chicken chasni from scratch requires no base sauce!
One of the questions I get asked most is if it's possible to make curry house style curries without the need for a base sauce. I've been working on my curry house recipes and can honestly say that this no base chicken chasni from scratch is just as good if not better than what you'll get at the takeaway!
So if you're a fan of the mild, sweet and sour chicken chasni, give this recipe a try. You will also find links to popular side dishes to enjoy your chicken chasni with.

But I thought you had to make a base sauce to get restaurant quality chicken chasni?
There's no doubt about it, curry house curries require a smooth sauce like those you get when you use base sauce.
The thing is, the base sauce was developed over time for speed and economy. It is much faster and cheaper for restaurants to use a base sauce in their curries. Here is the curry house version of my chicken chasni.
I usually use a base sauce in my curry house curries but have since developed this recipe for when I don't have any base sauce on hand. It works! I promise.
The idea behind this chicken chasni from scratch recipe...
The curry house base sauce is simmered low and slow. With this recipe you are essentially speeding up the process to make this one curry.
Although you could get away with simply frying the onions for about 5 minutes, you could cook them for longer on a low heat which will bring out their natural sweetness.
If you follow this recipe as written, however, you will not be disappointed.
What is the base sauce?
For those of you who don't have my cookbooks or are new to my blog, let me explain. The base sauce is essentially a watered down onion stock with a few spices and other veggies thrown in.
It's easy to make in small or large batches and freezes very well. Here is one of my base sauce recipes which includes links to many curry house curries you can make with it.
The sauce is bland. It's just a base like chicken or vegetable stocks are used as a base in other cuisines. The magic happens when that bland base sauce is used in the different curries. It's used in to make everything from the mildest korma to the spiciest phall.
To blend or not to blend...
In the recipe, I blend the sauce so that it is smooth like you get at restaurants and takeaways.
This is just an additional step you can do if you really want to get that takeaway style sauce. If you don't blend the sauce, you will still get great results.
What do you serve chicken chasni with?
If you'd like to make this curry into a feast, you've come to the right place. You could just go for a side of Basmati rice or mushroom fried rice.
If you'd like to make naans, why not try one of these? Instant naans, Peshwari naans, stove top naans, keema naans, garlic naans, tandoor naans (if you have a tandoor oven), or if you're cooking outdoors, karahi naans.
Want to start your chicken chasni meal off with a bang? How about fried shop bought poppadoms or if you're feeling ambitious, make your own poppadoms from scratch and serve them with coriander chutney, red onion chutney, and/or tamarind chutney.
Step by step photos...









Do I need to use food colouring?
Absolutely not! Chasni curries are known for their bright red colouring. This is all down to red food colouring which adds nothing to the flavour.
If you prefer not to use food colouring, just leave it out. Your curry may not look like a glowing red curry but it will taste the same.

Do I have to use pre-cooked chicken?
No but it does add another layer of flavour that will improve the curry. If in a rush, you could just stir in some raw chicken and allow it to simmer in the sauce until cooked through.
This time I used my stove top tandoori chicken recipe for this chasni.


Chicken Chasni From Scratch

Ingredients
- 800g chicken breasts – skinned and cut into bite sized pieces
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 onions – finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic and ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika or Kashmiri chilli powder
- A pinch of turmeric
- 200ml chopped tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons mango chutney
- 2 tablespoons mint sauce
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 200ml water or chicken stock
- 200ml double cream
- Juice of two limes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a balti pan or wok over medium high heat.
- When the oil begins to bubble, throw in the chopped onions and fry for about five minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger paste and allow to fry for a further minutes.
- Stir in the cumin, turmeric chilli powder or paprika and fry for a further minute followed by the tomatoes.
- Now place the onion mixture in a blender with the mango chutney, mint sauce, ketchup, two tablespoons of the chopped coriander and the water/stock.
- Blend for two minutes until very smooth. You don’t want any chunks in this sauce.
- Wipe the pan clean and add a drop more oil into it if needed.
- Add the chicken pieces and brown them for a couple of minutes and the top with the smooth sauce.
- Simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Then add the double cream and simmer for a further few minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, squeeze the lime juice over the top and garnish with the remaining coriander.
Sue Tyler says
Tried this today and it's fab! Very tasty..thanks Dan.
Steve says
Hi Dan,
Made this for my New Years Eve dinner,unusual ingredients but come together beautifully,a fabulous dish.
Small point,you dont mention what to do with the toms so I just tossed them into the blender with the other stuff.
Dan Toombs says
Hi Steve
Thanks for trying my recipe and for letting me know I forgot to add the toms. I'll get that fixed. You did the right thing by the way.
Dan
Simon Hutson says
As an avid follower I made the chicken Chasni at the week end OMG its great and really easy thanks very much .
Dan Toombs says
Thank you very much Simon. I really appreciate the great feedback. Glad you liked the recipe! Keep in touch.
Dan
Juliet says
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Dan Toombs says
Thank you Juliet. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Dan
Joanne says
Fabulous - best curry I've made in ages. Didn't need the stock though it made too much sauce. Just missed it out the second time of making it.
Eric says
I,share a house with two other people and my day to cook is on Tuesday which was also my birthday. So I got great reviews from the peanut gallery. I will make this again after trying your other entrees that you have posted on yummly. Thanx Dan.
Dan Toombs says
Thanks Eric. Really glad the recipe was a hit.
Cheers
Dan
Jimmy says
Just giving it a go now, so far so good ! Jimmy, perth Australia
Dan Toombs says
Great to hear Jimmy. How'd it go?
Dan
Christine Miller says
This is always a winner in our house!
Beautiful recipe, the only problem is it is so moreish so we double up all the ingredients to make a mega pot of this. It never lasts long!
Thanks, Dan; wishing you continued success with the book, it’s a gem.
Dan Toombs says
Hi Christine
Thank you so much. I'm really happy you are enjoying the recipes. Much appreciated.
Dan
Tony says
Loved the recipe Dan, one of my favourite curries! I bought your book and liked the base curry sauce recipe and was wondering if that could be incorporated into the Chasni somehow? Thanks!
Dan Toombs says
Hi Tony - Chicken chasni is usually made with base sauce. In my red book I have a chasni recipe that uses it. Think of the base sauce as you would an authentic Indian base masala of fried onions and spices. It is the liquid that cooks the curry. Just follow the recipe and use base sauce instead of frying the onions etc.
Thanks,
Dan
Graham Gledhill says
A few things missing from the ingredients, like paprika and what to do with the tomatoes?
Many thanks
Dan Toombs says
Thanks for noticing, I have added paprika or chilli to the ingredient list and method. The tomatoes are added in step 4
Dan
Mike Miller says
First time I've tried this recipe from scratch and have to be honest made with a base curry is still my favourite but still a beautiful curry, thanks Dan
Dan Toombs says
Yes but this is a good compromise if you are out of base sauce.
Thanks
Dan
Ian Harris says
I cooked this last week. I didn't have any mint sauce so substituted with red wine vinegar. It was an amazing curry. I have two of your books and they are my inspiration for making curries. Thanks for all your hard work that makes our curries easier.
Ian
Dan Toombs says
Thank you very much for your support and I’m glad the red wine vinegar worked.
Dan
Dean says
What a stunning Curry , Made it with Lamb with you’re tikka marinated instrumentation what a curry fella ❤️
Dan Toombs says
Sounds delicious, thanks very much.
Dan
Stephen says
A bit late to the party but cooked this tonight for supper and it was lovely, made a couple of tweaks adding a1/4 teaspoon of garam masala, 2 teaspoon of mild madras curry powder and some kashuri methi
Dan Toombs says
It’s one of my favourites and your tweaks to the recipe sound good.
Thanks
Dan