Chicken Korma
Korma is a North Indian curry built around yoghurt, whole spices, and a long, slow simmer. The chicken is marinated overnight in yoghurt, turmeric, and garlic, so the meat becomes tender and the flavour penetrates all the way through. The yoghurt acts both as a marinade and as the sauce base when the dish simmers.
The flavour comes from cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, briefly fried in ghee together with onion, ginger, and ground coriander. Desiccated coconut is added at the end and gives the sauce a mild, slightly sweet character that balances the chilli and cumin. It is a good dish for a dinner party or a relaxed weekend cook — simple in principle, but it wants its time, both for marinating and for the 45 minutes the chicken simmers under a lid.
Serve with basmati rice or a piece of naan to soak up the sauce. A few toasted almonds and fresh coriander leaves on top add crunch and freshness to an otherwise soft dish.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 150 ml natural yoghurt
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 3 garlic cloves, puréed
- 1½ kg chicken, skinless, jointed into 8 pieces
- 125 g ghee (or 4 tbsp vegetable oil)
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 5 cm cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 5 cardamom pods
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ tbsp desiccated coconut
- 2 tsp toasted almonds, to garnish
- coriander leaves, to garnish
Directions
Marinade
Put the yoghurt, turmeric, and one of the garlic cloves in a blender or food processor and blend to a smooth purée.
Place the chicken pieces in a shallow dish and pour the yoghurt mixture over. Turn the chicken so all the pieces are coated.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Frying and simmering
Heat the ghee or oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and the remaining two garlic cloves. Fry over low heat for 4–5 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent without colouring.
Add the ground ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, ground coriander, cumin, chilli powder, and salt. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, so the spices release their aroma.
Place the chicken pieces in the pan together with all the yoghurt marinade. Sprinkle over the desiccated coconut and turn everything together so the chicken is coated in the sauce.
Put a tight-fitting lid on the pan and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Turn the chicken a couple of times during cooking. The chicken is done when the meat is cooked through and tender and the sauce has thickened.
Arrange on a warm serving dish and garnish with toasted almonds and fresh coriander leaves.
Notes
Active time about 15 minutes plus overnight marinating. Total cooking time about 55 minutes.
The cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamom pods are served in the dish — they are not meant to be eaten, only to release flavour. Fish them out before serving if you want to avoid surprises at the table.
If you use oil instead of ghee, the dish is lighter but also a little less rich in flavour. Ghee gives the characteristic, slightly nutty background that belongs to korma.
The dish can be made the day before and warmed gently — the flavour only improves after a night in the refrigerator.
See Also
Cucumber Raita (Kheera Raita)
Mint Raita
Green Chutney
