Chicken Korma

I am pretty sure that most of the people would have tried this dish with either chicken, lamb, or veggies. This particular dish or recipe is quite popular in parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. This recipe is varied as per the place, availability of the ingredients, or cooking style.

Before digging in the recipe let's get to know about the dish. Korma means braising, where meat is first seared or browned at a high temperature and then simmered after adding the rest of the ingredients. The version that we are going to discuss today is pretty simple and a perfect treat for your Sundays.

The Indian recipe we have listed below serves up to 2 people with a 5-6 min preparation time and a 15-20 minutes cooking time.

The key ingredients for this dish are patience and commitment. The rest can be bought online or from your nearest supermarket.

Ingredients

1. Chicken Leg quarters - 1 kg

2. Mustard oil or Ghee - 2-3 tbsps( since both go well along with this recipe you can use either)

3. Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tbsp (70-30 ratio)

4. Onions - 3-4 medium size

5. Roasted Cashew - 1/4 cup (blend into a paste)

6. Zeera (Cumin) - 1 tsp

7. Laung (cloves) - 4-5

8. Green Cardamom pods (elaichi) - 5-6

9. Tej Patta (Bay Leaves) - 2

10. Dahi (curd) - 4 tbsp whisked

11. Lal Mirch or Peeli Mirch powder(preferred) ( Red or Yellow chili powder) - 2 tbsp

12. Haldi (Tumeric) powder - 1/2 tbsp

13. Dhaniya (coriander) powder - 1 tbsp

14. Salt - as per taste

15. Cilantro/Corriander leaves - a handful

For Korma masala

1. Shahi Zeera - 1 tbsp

2. Dry Red or Yellow Chili - 15

3. Saunf (Fennel seeds)- 1.5 tbsp

4. Dhaniya beej (coriander seeds) - 1 tbsp

5. Laung (cloves) - 8-9

6. Dal cheeni (Cinnamon) - 1 inch

7. Kali Mirch (peppercorns) - 1 tbsp

8. Badi Elaichi (Black cardamom - 3

9. Javitri(mace) - 3 strands

10. Jaiphal (nutmeg) - 1/4

Procedure

1. Slice the onions thinly, and slowly caramelize them in a pan.

2. Let the caramelized onions cool down, blend into a fine paste and set aside.

3. In a pot add mustard oil, smoke it, and add crushed Zeera, Laung, Elaichi, and Tej Patta.

4. On high heat add the quarters to get a good nice sear on each side. Make sure that you have made slits on the leg quarters near the knuckle and thigh for even cooking.

5. Add ginger-garlic paste and mix well.

6. Once the chicken is brown lower the flame to medium add the caramelized onion and cashew paste, mix well, and scrape out anything sticking to the bottom of the pan.

7. Add the Lal or Yellow Mirch, Haldi, Dhaniya powder, salt and mix it well with the protein.

8. Saute for a couple of minutes, and then add about 1/3 glass of water to mix everything and scrape the bottom again if needed.

9. Get you whisked Dahi and add it. Keep mixing it till it boils so that it does not curdle up. Keep it on a medium flame and cover it.

10. Meanwhile, add the whole spices of the korma masala to a pan along with a pinch of salt and dry roast it. Cool it down and blend into a coarse powder.

11. Add the korma masala to the chicken and let it simmer for another 15 mins. Add water as per your need and serve with parantha or rice.

12. Garnish with Cilantro.