Cooking lunch at home is a luxury I hardly get to enjoy but on the rare occasion I find myself at home at midday, I do my best to eat anything homemade. After pulling a couple of chicken breasts out to defrost, I browsed through hundreds of chicken recipes online to settle on the mildly flavoured chicken korma from Taste.com.au. Though I deviated slightly from the original recipe, my korma still had the “mouth-watering creaminess” that comes from the mixture of spices, yoghurt and almond paste. This dish, which is essentially a curry, has its roots in Mughal cuisine and should not be too difficult for those who want a quick lunch option that tastes like something on the menu of a posh Indian restaurant.

CHICKEN KORMA

Ingredients:

2 cm-piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tbs Sarjua masala powder

2 fresh green  chillies, chopped

1/2 cup whole almonds, blanched

600 g chicken fillet, cleaned and cut into 3cm pieces

500 g potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3 cm cubes

1 cup plain unsweetened yogurt

2 tbs tomato puree or ketchup

5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed

1/2 tsp kitchen salt, to taste

1/4 cup pure vegetable oil

1 tbs unsalted butter or ghee

1 large red onion, halved, thinly sliced

3 tbs cooking cream or whipping cream

1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

Mint leaves, for decoration

Method:

  • Place ginger, garlic, masala, green chilies and blanched almonds along with 1/4 cup water in the bowl of a food processor.

  • Process until it forms a thick paste and transfer to a large bowl. Add chicken, potatoes, yogurt, tomato paste, cardamom and salt.

  • Stir until chicken is well coated with marinade. Cover bowl with cling film and place in refrigerator for 1 hour to marinate.

  • Heat oil and butter in a non-stick frying pan until butter melts. Stir fry onions over medium heat until golden for 2 minutes.

  • Add chicken mixture and 1/2 cup water. Cook, stirring often, for 30 minutes until chicken is tender. Stir in cream and cilantro.

  • Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with extra cream and mint. Serve warm with rice or faratas; 5 servings.

Creamy Chicken Korma

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