Chicken Korma Curry

This is a wonderfully simple but spectacular dish in which the chicken is cooked with spiced yogurt and crushed crispy fried onions.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Chicken
• 4 medium onions
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• ½ tbsp garlic paste
• ½ tsp paprika or red chili powder
• ½ packet Korma Curry Mix (available in Indian Grocery Store)
• ¾ cup cooking oil
• 4-5 drops Kewra Essence

Method:

• Cut the chicken into serving pieces.
• Marinate chicken in yogurt, red chili powder (or paprika) and salt (1/2 tsp) mixture and keep aside for at least one hour.
• Heat the oil in a large, wide pan or a large, deep frying pan (preferably non-stick) over a medium flame. When hot, put in the sliced onions. Stir and fry the onions until they are golden brown color. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon, squeezing out and leaving behind as much of the oil as possible. Spread the fried onions on an absorbent paper in a plate and set aside. When fried onions are cool, crush them coarsely with a rolling pin. Do not grind to fine powder or paste.
• In the same oil first add paprika or red chili powder, and then immediately add ginger garlic paste, before chili powder gets burnt (this gives aroma and deep red color to curry). Fry for about 30 seconds on medium heat.
• Now stir in marinated chicken without its marinade and sear it for 3-4 minutes. Add marinade and Korma curry mix to it and fry again for 3-4 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of water. Cover and cook on low heat until the chicken is fork tender.
• Add crushed fried onions and again cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes or until the ghee separates from the gravy. Mix in Kewra essence and take out in a serving dish. Taste and adjust the salt in gravy.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with Tandoori Roti.

Do You Know?

The flavor of a korma is based on a mixture of spices, including ground coriander and cumin, combined with yoghurt kept below curdling temperature and incorporated slowly and carefully with the meat juices.

Traditionally, this would have been carried out in a pot set over a very low fire, with charcoal on the lid to provide all-round heat.

A korma can be mildly spiced or fiery and may use lamb, chicken, beef, game or more rarely pork; some kormas combine meat and vegetables such as spinach and turnip. The Dopiaza, featuring a large quantity of onions, is a form of korma, as is the Kashmiri dish Rogan Josh or Rogan Gosht.