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
1½ Teaspoon salt or to your taste
3   Cups of water

  Cooking measurement conversion
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Boneless chicken thighs

Onions, tomatoes, Ginger, Garlic, Bay leaves, Coriander leaves, Green chili & Yogurt

Ingredients for korma sauce:

1/8     Cup of raw cashew halves (1 oz)
1/8    Cup of skinned almonds (1 oz) or substitute with skin almonds
1        Tablespoon poppy seeds (Optional)
½      Cup of plain yogurt
½       Cup of heavy cream (substitute with whole milk or 2% milk)

Almonds, Cashews & Poppy seeds

Cream and 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)

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.

Wash the chicken pieces

Keep the Chicken in strainer

Pat dry Chicken thighs

Trim the fat and cut the chicken

3. Mince the onions and garlic in the chopper or grind them in the blender.
Mixture should be coarse.

Chicken pieces

Add onion & Garlic in a chopper

4. 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 8 to 10 minutes keep the heat
    high so that all the onion water evaporates quickly.

Mince onion and garlic

Add oil, minced onion & Garlic & fry

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

Stir and fry onion & Garlic

In the chopper add tomatoes

6. 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.

Puree tomatoes

Onion become light brown

7. 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 & fry

Mix spices with fried onions & fry

8. 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

9. 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.

Add Yogurt

Mix Yogurt and cook

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

Onion masala is done

Add water, salt & Bay leaves & mix

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

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

Cover the Pan and cook gravy

Gravy is cooked

13. 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

Mix Chicken pieces with gravy

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

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

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

Cover the pan and cook

Check if Chicken become tender

16. 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 & mix & cook

17. 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 well with Chicken

Chicken korma is ready

18. 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 blender 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 the nuts & Poppy seeds

Add all the ingredients in 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:

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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