Chicken Korma

Ingredients

Chicken marinade

• 1 ½ lbs. chicken. Prefer boneless thighs
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• ½ to 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp kasuri methi
• 1 Tbsp ginger garlic paste or ¾ Tbsp grated ginger and ¾ Tbsp grated garlic
• 1 Tbsp oil

Korma

• 1/2 lb diced red onions
• 1/2 lb chopped Tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp garlic paste
• 50g cashews
• ¼ Cup Yogurt or curd
• 1 tsp Salt
• Fresh Coriander leaves
• Green chili (serrano)
• Whole Spices
  • 1 inch Cassia stick
  • ½ tsp Cumin Seeds/Jeera
  • 2 Tejpatta Indian bay leaves
  • 1 Black Cardamom
  • 3 Green Cardamoms
• Ground Spices
  • 2 tsp Coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala
  • 2 Tbsp Fenugrek Leaves

Directions

Preparing the unspiced curry base

• Slice 150 grams each of onion, Tomato coarsely
• Chop ginger and garlic coarsely to get 1 Tbsp each
• Heat 1 Tbsp of oil or ghee in a pan that is on low heat
• Add onion, ginger , garlic and cashew nuts and sauté for around 5 minutes. The onions will turn glossy and translucent.
• Add the chopped tomatoes , mix and cook for 1 minute. Raise the heat and add 1/3 cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5 minutes
• Once the onions and tomatoes have cooked , cool the contents in the pan before blending it into a coarse paste

Spicing up the curry base

• Cook the chicken in a separate skillet on both sides and set aside
• Heat 1 Tbsp of Ghee or oil in the same pan
• Add the whole spices Cumin Seeds, Indian Bay leaf, Cassia, Black cardamom, Green Cardamom and bloom these for 1/2 a minute on low flame
• When the oil turns aromatic , add the paste we had prepared earlier
• Add the ground spices , Coriander powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, Turmeric and Garam Masala
• Mix and cook for 1 minute
• Add Salt and 1/3 cup of water, to bring the temperature of the sauce down because we will add yogurt now
• Add 1/4 cup of yogurt and stir gently and continously so that lumps are not formed.
• Cook for 3 minutes
• Add green chili
• Add 2 Tbsp of Kasuri Methi
• Mix and cook for 2 minutes
• Add another 1/3 a cup of water. Water is added gradually in nut based sauces because the curry thickens as we cook. Adding too much water at once will ruin both the taste and consistency.
• Add around 2 Tbsp of chopped Coriander
• Add the chicken now and 1/3 cup of water. Mix and cover the pot. Simmer the contents of the pan for around 5 minutes, turn off the heat and let it set for atlest 30 minutes before serving it warm