Meagan's Korma

Yesterday afternoon Meagan asked me for some Korma.  For those that don't know, Korma is an Indian curry that is full of spice and flavor.  It's not as hot or pungent as Vindaloo, but mild is definitely not the word for it.  The sauce (or gravy as they refer to it) is creamy and rich.  It's definitely a staple at our house.

When I first started cooking Indian food, I started with this book:

Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni

She's like the Julia Child of Indian cooking.  I've made just about every recipe in that book at least once.  My Korma recipe comes right out of hers.  I've made many many modifications to it though.  But many of my Indian recipes have been inspired by her. 

Meagan's Korma

2 medium sized chicken breasts, skin removed
2 lbs fingering potatoes (sub yukon golds)
2-3 large carrots
10 oz frozen peas (or more if desired)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups chopped onion
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
15 green cardamom pods
12 whole cloves
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon Indian red pepper
2 cups plain yogurt
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 cup coconut milk
1 head iceberg lettuce (optional)

To make the masala (or the spice mixture), remove all the seeds from the cardamom pods and put them in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.  This will take a while, but it's worth it.  Grind together your cardamom, cloves, and coriander seeds.  If you'd rather skip this step you can use ground cardamom, ground clove, and ground coriander, but grinding them yourself tastes better in my opinion.  In a small bowl, combine all your spices: cardamom, clove, bay leaves, cinnamon, coriander, and red pepper. 

Remove as much fat as you can from your chicken breasts and cut them into 1/2" - 3/4" cubes, about the size of a scallop.  On a different cutting board with a different knife cut your potatoes and carrots into bite sized pieces.  Try to keep them about the same size as the chicken so they all cook evenly.  I like keeping the skins on my potatoes, but you can skin them if you desire.

Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil on your back burner.  When the water is boiling add in your potatoes and parboil them for 10 minutes.  In the meantime you can...

Heat your oil up on medium-high heat in the largest pan you own, preferably non-stick.  When your oil is hot enough add in your onions, garlic, and ginger.  Cook them until the onions are pale and translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add in you masala and stir for a few minutes so that it's completely absorbed.  Drop in a few tablespoons of your yogurt and stir it in until the moisture has evaporated.  Do this until your yogurt has been completely absorbed.  Your korma should have a nice yellow color by now. 

Add in your chicken pieces, your potatoes, and your carrots, along with a few ladles of stock water from the pot you parboiled your potatoes in.  Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook, covered for about 25 minutes.  Add in your peas, your coconut milk, and your salt and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes.  Now here comes the most important part of this recipe: let it rest for an hour.  If it looks a little on the thin side, it will thicken up!  Just let it rest!  When your hour is up, reheat it on low heat.  Before you eat it, obviously, remove your bay leaves.  You can serve it on rice or spoon it into iceberg lettuce cups (which is amaaaaaazzzzzing!!!...  and also low-carb!). 

Enjoy!!!

-CJ