Traditional Madrasi Chicken Khorma

This is a delicious preparation of traditional madrasi chicken korma using my mom’s authentic recipe with a sensational taste and flavour that leaves an impact on your taste buds.  Whenever she made it the aroma filled the air and everyone knew that she was making korma. The neighbours across our house would talk about it. Eating  her chicken korma with “bagara khana” (aromatic ghee rice) which she made from a special kind of rice called “zeerak sambha” was like a feast. Though we do get zeerak sambha here in Canada in the indian stores the quality is not the same. Her chicken korma was made from chickens hand slaughtered at home. She would hold the chicken over the flames and turn it around rapidly in order to char the skin and quickly burn the small stubs of feathers still stuck on it even after plucking. This gave a smoky flavour to the chicken when the korma was made. Every tiny little thing that went into its preparation added to its taste which made a great difference. I could get the exact taste of my mom’s recipe only after many trials.

In this recipe though I have made it without the skin still it turned out as delicious as her’s. After many trials I noticed that cooking the chicken pieces in the prepared yoghurt-tomato based masala adds more flavour and texture to the chicken than adding the tomato and yoghurt later. Sautéing the chicken first hardens it therefore affecting its texture which is not suitable for this korma. I always wondered why my chicken korma never tasted the same. Then when I pondered over it I recalled her telling me to make the yoghurt tomato masala first, then cook the chicken in it on a low flame. This not only gives a soft, silky texture to the chicken but also infuses more flavour into it. So I finally did it and now I can proudly say that I can make korma exactly like my mom. Yaaaay!!

Ingredients:
1 small whole chicken (2 lbs)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 cloves
4 green cardamoms
1 x 2″ cinnamon stick
2 medium onions sliced
2 medium roma tomatoes
4 small green chillies
1 heaped tbs ginger garlic paste
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 – 1tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup slightly sour yoghurt
2 tbs ground fresh coconut or 1/4 cup coconut milk.
a few fresh mint leaves
2 sprigs of chopped cilantro
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice.
2 – 4 tbs coconut milk
pink himalayan salt as required.

Instructions:
1. Clean the chicken, cut into 12 pieces at the joints, wash and drain them in a colander. Slice the onions, remove the stems from the green chillies, dice the roma tomatoes and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pot. Add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon immediately followed by sliced onions.
3. Sauté onions till they caramelize and turn golden brown.
4. Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli and coriander powders and fry the masala well.
5. Now add the diced tomatoes and sauté them well in the masala till they soften.  Add whole green chillies followed by whisked yoghurt, ground coconut.
6. Let the yoghurt masala cook on simmer for a couple of minutes. Now toss in the chicken pieces and some pink himalayan salt. Turn them over quickly to coat them well in the masala without browning them. Do not add any water. There is enough moisture in the yoghurt and tomatoes plus the chicken oozes out water on cooking. So it is best to let the chicken cook in its own juices.
7. Now add the fresh mint and chopped cilantro and then close the lid and let the chicken cook on medium low heat for around 10 minutes. Then open to check and give it a stir gently then taste and adjust the seasoning.
8. Add some coconut milk to balance the flavours and sprinkle some lemon juice if your yoghurt is sweet and not tangy. Close the lid and simmer on low till the curry thickens and the oil rises on top around 10 minutes.
9. Garnish with a few more mint leaves and chopped cilantro. Your chicken korma is now ready.
10. Serve hot and enjoy with Naan and Basmati rice.

Notes: 
1. If you like to cook the chicken with the skin you could do so.
2. There is no need to add any water to the chicken while cooking, coz its texture changes and its flavour is lost.
3. Adding coconut milk and lemon juice towards the end is a finishing touch to balance the flavours. It depends on how tangy the yoghurt is. I prefer using home made yoghurt as it makes a lot of difference in taste. This is because home made yoghurt does not contain any guar gum or preservatives. All it contains is active bacterial culture which has been passed on through the ages. As an alternative you could use greek yoghurt.
4. Another alternative is to use coconut milk instead of freshly ground coconut paste. I always prefer using good quality coconut milk such as “Aroy-D” or “A taste of Thai”. These two brands I find, do not have any preservatives or guar gum and contain 60% – 85% coconut extract and the rest water.
5. Do not use spearmint for this korma. Use only peppermint which is the mint used in Indian cooking.

Recipe

Traditional Madrasi Chicken Korma

Author: Fouzia Husainy

This is a delicious preparation of traditional madrasi chicken korma using my mom's authentic recipe. Its flavour and taste are sensational and it is sure to leave a lasting imprint on your memory.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine indian cuisine, South indian Cuisine

Ingredients

  

• 1 small whole chicken 2 lbs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 cloves
• 4 green cardamoms
• 1 x 2" cinnamom stick
• 2 medium onions sliced
• 2 medium roma tomatoes
• 4 small green chillies
• 1 heaped tbs ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 - 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 cup slightly sour yoghurt
• 2 tbs ground fresh coconut or 1/4 cup coconut milk.
• a few fresh mint leaves
• 2 sprigs of chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• 2 - 4 tbs coconut milk
• pink himalayan salt as required.

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

 

• Clean the chicken, cut into 12 pieces at the joints, wash and drain them in a colander. Slice the onions, remove the stems from the green chillies, dice the roma tomatoes and set aside.
• Heat oil in a pot. Add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon immediately followed by sliced onions.
• Sauté onions until golden brown. 
• Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli and coriander powders and fry the masala well.
• Now add the diced tomatoes and sauté them well in the masala till they soften. Add whole green chillies followed by whisked yoghurt, ground coconut, fresh mint and half of the chopped cilantro.
• Let the yoghurt masala cook on simmer for a couple of minutes. Now toss in the chicken pieces and some pink himalayan salt. Turn them over quickly to coat them well in the masala without browning them. 
• Do not add any water. There is enough moisture in the yoghurt and tomatoes plus the chicken oozes out water on cooking. So it is best to let the chicken cook in its own juices.
  
• Now add the fresh mint and chopped cilantro and then close the lid and let the chicken cook on medium low heat for around 10 minutes. Then open to check and give it a stir gently then taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Add some coconut milk to balance the flavours and sprinkle some lemon juice if your yoghurt is sweet and not tangy. Close the lid and simmer on low till the curry thickens and the oil rises on top around 10 minutes. 
• Garnish with a few more mint leaves and chopped cilantro. Your chicken korma is now ready.
•  Serve hot and enjoy with Naan and  Basmati rice.

Video

Notes

1. You can use chicken with or with out the skin for this korma.
2. There is no need to add any water to the chicken while it is cooking, coz its flavour is lost.
3. Adding coconut milk and lemon juice towards the end is a finishing touch to balance the flavours. It depends on how tangy the yoghurt is. I prefer using home made yoghurt as it makes a lot of difference in taste. All it contains is active bacterial culture which has been passed on through the ages and no guar gum or any preservatives to alter its taste.
4. You could use greek yoghurt as an alternative to home made yoghurt. Another alternative is to use coconut milk instead of freshly ground coconut paste. I always prefer using good quality coconut milk such as "Aroy-D" or "A Taste of Thai". These two brands I find, do not have any preservatives or guar gum and contain 60% - 85% coconut extract and the rest water.
5. Do not use spear mint for this korma as it changes the flavour. Use only pepper mint which is the mint used in Indian cooking.

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