Chicken Korma

David · Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 32

Chicken Korma
by: News Canada

(NC)?he Royal chefs of the great Moghul Emperors made an enormous contribution to the richness of the celebrated Northern Indian cuisine, using cooking techniques which were mainly similar to those of the western world but raising them to new heights with their exquisite blends of spices and herbs.

Kormas were created for festive occasions and are considered by many experts top be the greatest expression of the master chef's skills. A korma is mildly spiced and enriched by cream and ground almonds.

The korma technique can be applied to meats or to vegetables and calls for a thicker braising sauce than that normally used in western cooking. The use of butter and cream in the preparation results in a thick, savoury sauce that clings generously to meats and vegetables.

Chicken Korma, reduced to simple terms, is nothing more than braised chicken but the judicious blending of spices that are used to create the braising sauce makes it one of India's most popular dishes. There are many great and complicated recipes but this one is simple, quick to prepare and will have your tastebuds dancing:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cubed

1/3 jar of Sharwood's Curry Stir Fry Sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp ground almonds

3 tbsp light cream

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a wok or deep-sided frying pan, add the chicken and stir for 5 minutes until almost cooked. Add the curry sauce, chicken stock, ground almonds and cream. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately with plain boiled Basmati rice, garnished with the cilantro. Delicious with spoonfuls of Sharwood's Major Gray Chutney. Preparation time: 5 minutes; cooking time: 10 minutes. Serves 3-4.

- News Canada

squirrel · Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Posts: 96 Location: Bucharest, Romania

sounds delicious... thinking of giving it a try...

sagitta · Joined: 10 Jun 2004 Posts: 16

That curry sauce probably has a load of crap in it. :(

Speaking of Indian cooking and quick cooking, a technique that I use is marinate beforehand. That way when you are cooking you require minimal time for the meat to absorb flavors. Also precut as many ingredients and keep in bulk. I have crushed ginger, lemon juice that I have squeezed myself, crushed garlic, finely chopped hot peppers, chopped up cilantro, and a chopper to quickly chop up onions and tomatoes. That makes prep time minimal. This way I don't really spend more then 20 minutes near the stove and most of the time is spent allowing the food to do it's thing. My mom does what I do, and her cooking is many times better then mine so I can attest to the success of this cooking strategy.

cocodrilo · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 193 Location: Kurashiki, Japan

Sagitta, you crack me up! I don't use stuff out of a jar either, but for some folks, it's better than rounding up the dozens of spices and trying their hand at getting a good flavor balance. (I am still chuckling now!)

When in London last week, I made a special trip out to Brixton market to stock up on spices- cardamon pods, cinnamon, coconut cream, Madras curry powder, nasi goren spices, etc. Got about 10 pouds of the stuff! MUCH cheaper than over here in Japan!!!

Made curry tonight using that Madras curry powder, some garam masala, cloves, cardamon, a tad of chicken, garlic, eggplant and a TON o' mushrooms! Fabulous!