I grew up on extraordinarily good tasting food thanks to parents who just didn’t patronize finger licking-ly delicious food, but also passionately reproduced the magic at home! Whenever my parents sampled a new dish at a restaurant or at someone’s place, they invariably recreated the experience, and with a touch of their own class! Breathing the air at home, laden with intoxicating concoction of spices, I guess it was only a matter of time that I acquired the same passion.
One of my all time favorites is – dad’s very own, Chicken Korma. This hot and spicy delicacy is an inseparable element of my memories of Sunday afternoons.
Ingredients – for the marinade
- 1 medium sized pod of garlic; cloves peeled and chopped
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 8-10 peppercorns
- 4-6 cloves
- 1 inch long cinnamon stick
- A small piece of mace (javitri)
- A pinch of powdered nutmeg (jaiphal)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
- 4-5 almonds (blanched and peeled)
- 2 tbsp hung curd
- 750 gms chicken pieces
Ingredients – for the gravy
- 4 tbsp oil
- 3 medium sized onions; 2 of them coarsely chopped and 1 finely chopped
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
- 2 tsp chilli powder
- 3 tsp coriander (dhania) powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- Salt, to taste
Steps
- Grind the marinade ingredients in a blender, and marinade the chicken for about 1/2 an hour (prick the chicken pieces with a fork to allow for better absorption)
- Heat the oil in a wok and fry the two roughly chopped onions; once browned, take the onions out and set aside
- Sauté the grated ginger in the remaining oil; once done, add one finely chopped onion
- Roast till the ginger-onion mix till turns medium brown
- Add the marinated chicken and keep frying (bhuno-ing) until the chicken turns reddish-brown (this step is very crucial – be patient and don’t rush)
- Add the spices to the chicken and cook for another minute
- Meanwhile, grind the fried onions with ½ a cup of curd, into a paste
- Add the paste to the chicken and fry for another 10-15 minutes on medium flame (you can taste a piece of chicken or two at this stage – I can never resist digging in!)
- Add 1-1 ½ cups of water, depending on how you thick you like the gravy (the korma is usually thick); cover and cook for another 5-7 minutes till the chicken is tender
- Garnish the Chicken Korma with finely chopped coriander
Savor the delicious and spicy korma with Sheermal (meethi roti) – I will be posting the recipe very soon!!
