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Ishrat Aunties Chicken Korma … simple finger licking good curry

Deeba @ PAB

Chicken korma 2Proust had his madeleines, I am devastated by the smell of onions frying in butter!

Chicken Korma … simple, flavourful and just the kind of thing I’ve missed sharing here for a bit. It’s been some time since I blogged a curry on PAB. Feels like a wonderful new beginning. My sis in Houston shared the recipe with me a few years ago. It comes from an old family friend’s repertoire. Everyone who digs into it requests her for the recipe, as my sis did too. We’ve shared it,  swapped it, minimally adapted it to suit our palette.

Like all cooking, use this as a springboard. Make it just as is and enjoy it. Then play around and customise it if you like. Kormas are gently spiced and slightly rich. With roots in the Mughlai cuisine, this meat based curry dish often has yogurt, maybe a seed and nut paste, and a few gentle spices. Oh yes some red chili too.

The yogurt is traditionally slow cooked so that it doesn’t curdle. It acts as a tenderiser as well as contributing to a nice thick slightly piquant gravy. The colour of the curry comes from the fried red onions … the star of the show IMHO. They lift this korma to new delicious levels, giving it a rich colour and moorish flavour.

Another tip that the aunt uses is to sift the coriander powder instead of just throwing it in. Maybe it lightens the powder for better distribution or something. I also like that the recipe uses staple pantry ingredients. Try this very simple traditional Chicken Korma, mopping it up with some yeasted whole wheat rotis/flatbread or over basmati rice. If parathas are your calling, go right ahead!

You could also try a similar korma with lamb. The cooking time will wary of course but the basic recipe will be quite the same. For lamb, you could consider marinating the mutton in yogurt paste for a few hours, then cooking on dum/simmer until done. Kormas like these are integral parts on Lucknowi cuisine, the city of my mothers birth. Kebabs, curries, kormas, biryanis all form part of their rich Awadhi cuisine.

This particular one is as simple as it gets. It’s one I make often. Today I made a Chicken Ishtoo, Al-Jawahar style {an eatery in Old Delhi} from a recipe on Sangeeta’s blog. That turned out finger licking good too. So many curries, so little time, but will share that one day soon!

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Recipe: Ishrat Aunties Chicken Korma

Summary: Almost every Indian household has there own recipe, and this chicken korma / curry recipe comes from my mother’s childhood friend from Meerut. It’s simple, uses staple pantry ingredients…and leaves you wanting for more!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:

  • 800gm chicken on the bone, cut into pieces
  • 1/3 cup ghee {or oil}
  • 3 onions, finely sliced {about 200gms}
  • 5-6 choti elaichi / green cardamom {slightly crushed}
  • 5-6 long / whole cloves
  • 1 1/2 tbsp ginger paste
  • 1 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
  • 200g yogurt, whipped
  • 4 tsp coriander powder, sifted
  • 1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  1. Heat ghee / oil in a wok and fry the onions in it till golden brown. {Take care not to let the onions turn too dark, else the korma will be slightly bitter}.  Drain the onions from the oil and cool. Then grind to a paste using 1-2 tbsp of the yogurt. Whisk the paste into the yogurt. Reserve.
  2. In the same wok with the remaining oil, add the choti elaichi / green cardamoms and long / cloves and saute till they smell fragrant, 1-2 minutes. {Add a little more oil if required}
  3. Now add the chicken pieces and roast on high heat till nicely seared and golden. Remove from oil and reserve in bowl.
  4. To the hot oil add the sifted coriander powder, the red chili powder, the ginger and garlic paste and mix well so that it all comes together, 1-2 minutes. Now add the chicken back to the wok and give it a good stir for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Now add the fried onion-yogurt mixture, stir well, season with salt, and cook covered on simmer for about 20 minutes. Now the gravy should be fragrant and beautifully coloured. Add a little water if you need to increase the gravy, taste and adjust salt if required. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to mature. Sprinkle a little garam masala if you like and serve with whole wheat rotis, parathas or basmati rice.

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