Chicken Korma

In the last 10 years, we have moved 4 cities and 8 houses. One of the great things about moving is the forced spring cleaning that happens - every single time, we are aghast at the clutter (particularly paper clutter) that we accumulate, vowing each time to be more careful 'this' time!

But there was this one box that moved with us from Bombay to Calcutta, then back to Bombay, and from there to Dubai - unopened. We knew what was in the box - some scraps of very precious memories - and therefore, never needed to de-clutter it. Every successive packer would simply add another cover layer of cardboard on the box, write our names and the new destination and the box would be on its way.

When we were moving out of Dubai, the urge to leaf through those scraps of memory was irrestible - afterall, there is something delightfully exciting and amusing as well to look at yourself many years later!

Somewhere amongst things such as my class X autograph book, Terradaze's annual class photograph, greeting cards and a dried rose (testimony to the first flush of love), summer training project reports, our first salary slips, I found this recipe.

A colleague at work would bring this chicken korma for lunch; everytime she brought it, we would descend on her lunch box...like, well, greedy crows. Somehow, I had completely forgotten that on my last day at work, she had scribbled this recipe on the back of my final settlement statement!

This is now my to-go chicken curry recipe. It requires absolutely no marination, no grinding of any masala and yet, it tastes like I have sweated in the kitchen to make it. Creamy(without the cream!) and flavourful, every spoonful will be licked off the plate!




Chicken Korma

Ingredients:

Chicken - 500 gms, boneless
Onions - 3, chopped
Ginger paste - 1.5 tsp
Garlic paste - 2.5 tsp
Whole garam masala: Bay Leaf - 1, Cinnamon - 1" stick, Green cardamom - 3
Cashewnut powder - 2.5 tbsps
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Masala powders: Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp, Garam masala powder, chicken curry masala - 1 tsp
Low Fat Milk - 1 cup
Saffron - a pinch, soaked in a tbsp of milk
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped

Method:

Heat oil and add the whole garam masala. After a minute, add the ginger garlic paste, stir till fragrant. Next add the chopped onions and fry till lightly browned.

Now, add the chicken and fry on high flame till the chicken is half done. Lower the flame.

Mix the masala powders, salt and the cashewnut powder into the yoghurt and add this mixture in 2 batches to the chicken. Fry till the chicken blends well with the yoghurt and the oil separates.

Now, add the milk, the saffron milk and 1 tbsp of coriander leaves to the chicken, cover and cook on a low flame till the chicken is done. Lastly, add the remaining coriander leaves and the sugar and simmer another 5 minutes.

Serve with rotis or jeera rice.

Sending this to Viki's Potluck - Chicken. And though I normally don't send in archived posts to events, these - Chicken in Oyster Sauce and Slow Roast Chicken - are my favourites and so these go to the potluck as well.