Korma is a royal dish that has its roots deep buried in the Mughal cuisine of the Indian Sub Continent and can be traced back to the 16th Century. Korma was prepared in the royal Mughlai kitchens and the famous white korma was perhaps served to Shah Jahan and his guests at the inauguration of the Taj Mahal. The technique of making korma is different from other curries. The meat/chicken is seared on high heat in ghee (clarified butter)and then left to simmer in its juices for a long time till the meat turned soft and tender. Sometimes it was sealed with a lid and left to steam on a low flame in the last stages of cooking and this technique is called “dum”. There are many variations of the white korma and it depends on the method of preparation and the mixture of spices used that results in different flavours.
In my version of the white korma, I used a creamy marinade for the chicken flavouring it with whole spices such as star anise, nutmeg, fennel, cardamom etc, seared it on high heat and then simmered in the white sauce till done. I did not use any turmeric or red chilli powder. For the sauce I chose to use fried onion paste instead of browning the onions as is done in the traditional style. The outcome was a creamy, silky, smooth and delicious korma so tasty and flavourful and loved by all.
Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken – 2 lbs
For the Marinade:
¼ cup yogurt
2-3 tbs cream cheese
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp mace
1 star anise
2 tsp black pepper corns
1 tbs garlic paste
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs whipping cream
4 chopped green chilies
a pinch of saffron dissolved in warm milk.
1 tbs vegetable oil
salt to taste
For the Korma:
1/2 tsp black pepper corns
1/8 tsp mace
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 star anise
4 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
2 – 4 tbs vegetable oil
1/4 cup fried onion paste
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 cup Yogurt
4-6 green chilies
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1/4 cup full cream
salt to taste
Instructions:
1. Cut the chicken at the joints (6 pieces) and the breast into 6 pieces. Clean, wash and towel dry. Then rub the chicken with salt and lemon juice and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
2. Blend together cream cheese, yoghurt and whipping cream until smooth so there are no lumps. Grind together fennel, mace, nutmeg, star anise and pepper.
3. Add the dry ground spices, garlic paste, chopped green chilies salt, saffron and one tbs oil to the cheese mixture and mix well to make a smooth paste. Massage the chicken pieces with this mixture thoroughly and marinate for 4-6 hrs.
4. Place the marinated chicken in the oven for 20 minutes on convection roast or you may also broil them on high s for 5 – 8 minutes on each side and when it starts browning a bit, remove and keep aside to cool. The chicken may not be completely cooked, but it doesn’t matter because we’ll be cooking it in the korma again. We just want to give it a grilled look. The 3rd option is to barbecue them lightly.
5. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot.5. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot.
6. Sizzle the whole spices (Black and green cardamoms, fennel seeds, star anise, mace, nutmeg and pepper corns in the vegetable oil for 10 seconds then add fried onion paste, coriander powder, green chilies and yoghurt. Mix well.
7. Now transfer the broiled chicken with all its juices to the pot. Adjust the salt and simmer for some time till the chicken is completely cooked (10- 15 minutes). Add some water if the gravy is too thick. Finally add the whipping cream, simmer for 2 more minutes and serve hot garnished with some chopped coriander. Enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
- I
- 1 Whole Chicken - 2 lbs
For the Marinade:
- Hung Yogurt - ¼ cup
- Cream cheese - 2-3 tablespoons
- Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
- Nutmeg - 1/8 tsp
- Mace - 1/8 tsp
- Star anise - 1star
- Black pepper corns - 2 tsp
- Garlic paste - 1 tbs
- Lemon juice - 1 tbs
- Whipping cream - 2 tbs
- Green chilies - 4 chopped
- Saffron - a pinch dissolved in warm milk.
- Vegetable oil - 1 tbs
- Salt to taste
For the Korma:
- Black pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
- Mace - 1/8 tsp
- Nutmeg - 1/8 tsp
- Star anise - 1 star
- Green cardamoms - 4
- Black cardamom - 1
- Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Bay leaves - 2
- Vegetable oil 2 - 4 tbs
- Fried onion paste - ¼ cup
- Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
- Coriander powder - 2 tsp
- Yogurt - ½ cup
- Green chilies - 4 - 6
- Cilantro chopped - ¼ cup
- Full cream - ¼ cup
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut the chicken at the joints (6 pieces) and the breast into 6 pieces. Clean, wash and towel dry. Then rub the chicken with salt and lemon juice and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Blend together cream cheese, yoghurt and whipping cream until smooth so there are no lumps. Grind together fennel, mace, nutmeg, star anise and pepper.
- Add the dry ground spices, garlic paste, chopped green chilies salt, saffron and one tbs oil to the cheese mixture and mix well to make a smooth paste. Massage the chicken pieces with this mixture thoroughly and marinate for 4-6 hrs.
- Place the marinated chicken in the oven for 20 minutes on convection roast or you may also broil them on high s for 5 - 8 minutes on each side and when it starts browning a bit, remove and keep aside to cool. The chicken may not be completely cooked, but it doesn't matter because we'll be cooking it in the korma again. We just want to give it a grilled look. The 3rd option is to barbecue them lightly. Do not brown the chicken pieces.
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot.
- Sizzle the whole spices (Black and green cardamoms, fennel seeds, star anise, mace, nutmeg and pepper corns in the vegetable oil for 10 seconds then add fried onion paste, coriander powder, green chilies and yoghurt. Mix well.
- Now transfer the broiled chicken with all its juices to the pot. Adjust the salt and simmer for some time till the chicken is completely cooked (10- 15 minutes). Add some water if the gravy is too thick. Finally add the whipping cream, simmer for 2 more minutes and serve hot garnished with some chopped coriander. Enjoy!
Fouzia Husainy
Thank you Aisha,
~*Aisha Hussain*~
I just made this and it is fantastic! Definitely going to make it again