cooking > chicken korma

chicken korma

Created by hww3. Last updated by hww3, 12 years ago. Version #7.

Korma is a fairly mild, creamy curry.

Notes

This recipe uses the basic curry sauce recipe as a base. You can make the base sauce separately ahead of time, or in one big process. I've added notes to help choreograph this process.

An important part of the technique is that the ground spices get fried with some oil or ghee in order to allow them to "bloom" or enhance their flavor. It's important that you take care not to burn them while doing this. Also, If you're adjusting the amounts of spices, it's okay to do that toward the end of the cooking process, as long as at least some of each spice has gone through the "blooming" process.

Ingredients

In order of appearance

• 2 chicken breasts, skinned and cut into approx. 1 inch pieces. You can also use paneer or another meat such as pork or shrimp.
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (adjust to suit)
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (adjust to suit, I like closer to 1/8)
• 1 batch of basic curry sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon hot chilli powder (cayenne, not the stuff you'd use to make chili con carne, adjusted to suit)
• 1/2 teaspoon concentrated tomato paste (again, I recommend Contadina brand)
• salt to taste
• 4 tablespoons sour cream or plain yoghurt (I prefer sour cream, as it's a little more "luxurious")
• Freshly chopped cilantro for garnish

Method

• Heat a little of the oil in a large heavy frying pan, then fry the chicken pieces over moderate heat until they are sealed and have turned white. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
• Heat the rest of the oil in a heavy pan over medium heat, then put in the cinnamon and cardamom and stir constantly for 15 - 20 seconds, being careful to keep it from burning. Pour it onto the chicken you've set aside.
• If making the basic sauce at the same time, complete the steps there before continuing here. The idea is that you add the spice components from this recipe close to the end of the simmering process, so that they're more prominent over the background of the curry sauce.
• Turn the heat to low then add the Basic Curry Sauce, chilli powder, tomato purée and salt. You can add a little more tomato purée if the colour isn't rich enough but don't add more than another 1/2 teaspoon or you'll end up with too much tomato saucy type flavor.
• Add the chicken pieces and simmer on a low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring from time to time (the sauce will tend to settle, so you want to stir so that it doesn't stick to the pan and burn. Add hot water if the sauce gets too dry.
• Finally, turn off the heat stir in the sour cream or yoghurt and heat through until warmed (adding a little low heat if necessary). By the end of the cooking the sauce should be silky and not too thick.
• Serve with basmati rice or naan and top with chopped cilantro.

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