Chicken Korma: Authentic Mild Curry Recipe (No Cream)

Ingredients

Marinade

700g g bone-in chicken thighs (skin removed)
150g g full-fat plain yogurt
1 tbsp tbsp ginger-garlic paste
0.5 tsp tsp turmeric
0.5 tsp tsp salt

Sauce base

3 large onions (thinly sliced)
50g g raw cashews
25g g blanched almonds
3 tbsp tbsp ghee (or neutral oil)
150g g full-fat yogurt (for the sauce)
2 tbsp tbsp warm milk (with a pinch of saffron)

Whole & ground spices

4 green cardamom
2 black cardamom
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp tsp cumin seeds
1.5 tsp tsp ground coriander
0.5 tsp tsp garam masala (added at the end)

Instructions

Marinate the chicken

Combine chicken with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and salt in a bowl. Massage in and rest 30 minutes at room temperature (or up to 4 hours in the fridge).

Caramelise the onions

Melt ghee in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook 15 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes, until they're the colour of milk chocolate.

Make the nut paste

Soak cashews and blanched almonds in ½ cup hot water for 10 minutes. Blend to a smooth cream in a small blender.

Bloom the spices

Push the onions to one side. Add cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves to the ghee. Stir 30 seconds until fragrant, then mix everything together.

Add chicken, sear briefly

Tip the marinated chicken (with its yogurt) into the pan. Turn heat up to medium-high and stir for 5 minutes to seal the outside. Add ground coriander now, plus 100 ml water.

Whisk in yogurt off the heat

Cover and simmer 15 minutes on low. Then take the pan off the heat, wait one minute, whisk the second batch of yogurt into ¼ cup of the pan liquid separately, and pour it back in.

Finish with nut paste and saffron

Return to low heat. Stir in the nut paste, saffron milk and garam masala. Simmer 8 minutes uncovered until the sauce coats a spoon. Taste for salt. Rest 5 minutes off heat before serving.