Chicken Korma

Blimey, it has been a busy week.  Blogging has had to slip down the list of priorities.  Family members and several friends foolishly signed themselves up four months ago to take part in the local am-dram performance of Aladdin and this week is the week of the performances. So out of a sense of comradeship I foolishly signed up to help with doing the stage make-up.  This has been good fun and a lot of trial and error (poor old Widow Twanky) but it has meant snatched meals and quite a bit of forethought has been needed to make sure that the children and my husband haven’t felt neglected in the evening meal department.

Last night I prepared this Chicken Korma, it is an adaptation of several recipes that I read and I am not even sure if it qualifies for that name or if I should just call it Spicy Chicken.  I was really pleased with the way it turned out.  I have written before about how my curries are usually a bit disappointing and so I tend to rely on Patak’s pastes for my curries.  Whilst Patak’s do make delicious pastes, it has always frustated me that I can’t manage to make a tasty curry of my own.  Well, finally my goal has been achieved with this one.

It is great if you are busy because you can leave it to marinate, then spend a few minutes cooking the onion and tipping the marinated chicken into a pan and then leave it to cook gently until you are ready to eat.

Serves 2

4 chicken thighs, skinned and deboned
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp root ginger, finely chopped
1 red chilli, chopped finely (with seeds for heat)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
seeds from 6 cardamom pods
150g natural yoghurt

1 onion
25g ground almonds
5 fl oz (¼ pint) water

Flaked almonds, to serve

Method

Place the cumin, cardamom and coriander seeds into a saucepan and place over a medium heat for a minute or so until their scent is released.  Grind until fine in a pestle and mortar.

Slash the chicken thighs several times with a sharp knife to allow the marinade to penetrate into the meat and place in a non-metallic bowl. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, lemon juice, spices and the yoghurt and mix well so that all is combined and the chicken is well covered.  Leave to marinate at room temperature for one hour, or all day in the fridge.

Chop the onion finely and fry in a little oil until translucent.  Tip in the chicken and the marinade and cook for a minute or so, then add the ground almonds and the water.  Bring to a simmer and simmer gently for about 45 minutes until the chicken is tender.  If you have an Aga then place it in the simmering oven and you can leave it in there simmering away until you are ready to eat.  I left mine in for three hours and then placed it back onto the simmering plate to bubble away and thicken the sauce before serving with plain rice.

To toast the flaked almonds, place them in a dry pan and toast over a medium heat for a minute or so until lightly browned.  Sprinkle over the Korma just before serving.

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18 thoughts on “Chicken Korma”

  1. I totally understand what you mean about busy weeks and lettign the blog slip, I am in the same boat this week!! This korma looks fantastic, its my fave of all curries but I have never even thought of making it from scratch myself! Must fix this asap!!!

    1. I was amazed by my ability to make a tasty curry at last. I was feeling inadequate in the curry department. Although I don’t think the jar of Pataks will completely disappear from my cupboards I am going to try to make more from scratch.

  2. So you may not be the genie of the lamp, but perhaps the genie of the curry? Sounds delicious, just wondering what I could make the curry with – tofu doesn’t sound quite so good. Hope the show went well.

    1. Hi Choc, the panto was brilliant, really funny. Do you know my mum was the Genie of the Lamp and my Dad was the Junior Trainee Belly Dancer, they were both hilarious! I think veg would be really good in this sauce and you wouldn’t need to marinate. I am thinking aubergine – yummy.

  3. Great minds think a like! Yesterday, I made a curry sauce from scratch too!

    Your spiced chicken curry looks amazing! I can’t post mine because it was from one of my blogger’s friends. Next time, I will try yours!

  4. Can honestly say that I have never bought root ginger and it seems to be in sooo many recipes – what is wrong with me … I am just not adventurous enough! I will get some and give this one a go! thanks.

    1. Hi Catherine, many a time I have bought root ginger and it has festered in the cupboard unused and then eventually been thrown away. One of my things this year is to throw as little food away as possible so I bought a jar of Lazy Ginger. Problem solved and I always have ginger when I need it. I hope you try the curry, let me know if you do.

  5. Kath, I understand how hard it can be, keeping up with blogging, when life dictates otherwise—you do far better than I have of late, keeping up the posts.
    Looks like a terrific spice meld for the curry…hope you all had fun with the play!

  6. The sauce tasted fantastic with frozen prawns too. One korma sauce plus Cathy’s chocolate marmalade biscuits = one happy hubby and no burnt saucepans.

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