Chicken Korma

Chicken korma is one of the special Mughal dishes prepared for the kings and royalties during Mughal period. It is a creamy and spicy and very tempting North Indian dish. Chicken korma is yellowish in color and a great blend of lots of Indian herbs and spices. It is cooked with onion, garlic, tomatoes, yogurt and spices and to enhance the flavor of the dish it is simmered in a creamy fragrant korma sauce which is made with cashew nuts, almonds, poppy seeds and yogurt. Chicken korma is a delicious dish which can be enjoyed with many varieties of Indian breads.

Ingredients:

2    Pounds chicken thighs or boneless breast
   or boneless thighs (any preferred cut)
2   Medium size onions
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 Medium size Tomatoes
3    Tablespoons of plain yogurt
2    Teaspoons coriander powder
½   Teaspoon red chili powder or to your taste
½   Teaspoon turmeric powder
½   Teaspoon garam masala
2 Small Bay leaves
1   Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1   Medium green chili- fine chopped-
      (Remove the seeds & membrane to reduce the heat)
¼ Cup chopped coriander leaves
3   Tablespoons vegetable oil
1   Teaspoon salt or to your taste
3   Cups of water

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Boneless chicken thighs

Onions, tomatoes, Ginger, Garlic, Bay leaves, Coriander leaves and Green chili

Coriander powder

Garam masala

Ginger-grated

Oil

Red chili powder

Bay leaves

Green chili-chopped

Salt

Turmeric powder

Yogurt

Coriander leaves-chopped

Water

Ingredients for korma sauce:

10 Raw cashew
10 Almonds (or skinned Almonds)
1        Tablespoon poppy seeds (Optional)
½      Cup of plain yogurt
½       Cup of heavy cream (substitute with whole milk or 2% milk)

Almonds

Poppy seeds (optional)

Milk (or cream)

Cashews

Yogurt

Directions to cook chicken:

1. Wash the chicken well and keep in strainer so that all the water drains out.
(If you prefer not to wash the chicken then you may skip this step)

Wash chicken

Keep the Chicken in strainer

2. With a paper towel pat dry Chicken pieces.

3. Trim the fat out of the chicken and cut Chicken thighs into piece. (I find it
easier to cut Chicken with scissors then knife) If you prefer to cook chicken
with bones then just clean and take the skin out.

Pat dry Chicken thighs

Trim the fat and cut the chicken

Chicken pieces

4. In a food processer or a blender add chopped onion and garlic and mince.
Mixture should be coarse.

In a food processer add Chopped onion & garlic

Mince onion and garlic

5. On high heat add the oil in a nonstick frying pan or heavy bottom stainless steel
    pan, and add minced onions and garlic and sauté, while periodically stirring.
    Onions will have a lot of water so for the first few minutes keep the heat
    high so that all the onion water evaporates quickly.

Add oil, minced onion and garlic

Mix onion garlic mixture with oil and fry

6. While onion mixture cooks add the tomato to the same food chopper or blender
and puree.

In the chopper add tomatoes

Puree tomatoes

7. Once all the water evaporated from the onions reduce the heat to medium and
cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until onions become brown.

Onion become light brown

8. Add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder and mix with fried
onions and fry for few seconds.

Add Coriander powder, Red chili powder & Turmeric powder in fried onions

Mix spices with fried onions and fry

9. Add tomato puree and yogurt. With the tomato puree and yogurt onion masala
become watery turn the heat to high for 2 to 3 minutes, so that water
evaporates quickly and then turn the heat down.

Add tomato puree

Mix Tomato puree with fried onions & spices

Add yogurt

Mix yogurt well

10. Frequently keep stirring the onion masala, once all the water evaporated and
you see the oil in the pan that means onion masala is done.

Onion masala is cooked

11. Add 3 cups of water, salt and bay leaves in the onion masala and mix.

Add water and bay leaves

Add salt and mix

12. First, we are going to cook the gravy because chicken pieces cook quickly
and you do not want to over cook chicken.

13. Cover the pan and let the gravy cook for about 15 minutes, stir periodically.

Cover the pan and let the gravy cook

Gravy is cooked

14. Once the gravy is cooked add chicken pieces and with the spatula mix with
gravy well. Chicken leaves water so don’t add any water.

Add chicken pieces in the gravy

Mix Chicken with gravy

15. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes or until chicken become tender.

16. While cooking Periodically stir the chicken and keep turning upside down so
that all the onion masala coats the chicken well.

17. Cook for 15 minutes or longer until chicken become tender.

Cover the pan and let the chicken cook

18. With a fork check if the chicken become tender.

Check if Chicken become tender

19. If gravy seems to be thick then add some water.

20. Add grated ginger, chopped green chilies, garam masala, and mix and cook
for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add grated ginger, chopped green chilies & mix

Add garam masala and mix

21. Now add korma sauce mix and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the stove off.
(see below for korma sauce)

Chicken is cooked

Add Korma sauce in cooked chicken

Mix Korma sauce with gravy well

Chicken korma is ready

21. When ready to serve remove bay leaves and transfer chicken into serving
dish and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Chicken korma

Directions for making korma sauce mix:

1. Soak the almonds, cashew nuts, and poppy seeds in warm water for at least
     half an hour.

2. Once almonds are soaked remove the skin.

2. In a grinder add soaked cashew nuts, peeled almonds, Poppy seeds, yogurt
     and heavy cream and grind them to a smooth sauce.

3. If you have a coffee grinder or nut grinder then instead of soaking the nuts
   you can dry grind the nuts and make the powder, then mix the powder with
yogurt and heavy cream and make a smooth sauce.

Soak Almonds, Cashews & Poppy seeds in water

Skinned Almonds

Add soak nuts, yogurt & cream in the grinder

Grind nuts to make smooth sauce

Korma sauce

Tips:

1. If cooking chicken with bones it might take 20 minutes or longer to become
     tender and you need to add more water.

2. If you are watching your calories then substitute heavy cream with 2% or
    whole milk

3.    If you have time and wish to marinate the chicken then follow the directions.

4. For variation if you wish you can Barbecue chicken or bake chicken before
   adding in the gravy then cook.

5. You can cook chicken with the bones or without bones. I prefer to cook chicken
thighs

Ingredient for marinade:

½   Cup thick plain yogurt (Hung yogurt or Greek yogurt)
1    Teaspoon minced garlic
½   Tablespoon minced ginger
½    Teaspoon salt or to your taste
½    Teaspoon red chili powder or to your taste
¼   Teaspoon turmeric powder

Direction to marinate the chicken:

1. Wash and clean the chicken take all the access fat out.

2. Cut the chicken breast or boneless thighs into pieces, or if you prefer to cook
    chicken with bones then just clean the chicken and take the skin out.

3.  Place the chicken in the bowl, tilt the bowl and keep a support under the bowl
      to keep it tilted for a while so that all the water from chicken drains out,
     otherwise marinade gets watery.

4.  In a bowl add yogurt and all the above ingredient and mix.

5. Add the chicken in yogurt paste and mix every together, cover the bowl and
     place it in refrigerator and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Add marinade ingredient in yogurt

Marinade paste

Add chicken in marinade

Mix chicken in marinade

Please take the time to let me know what you think about my recipe. Your comments would be helpful to me to improve the recipe.

Thank you

Geeta Seth

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