20 mins
Chicken Korma
Recipe by Mamtha Sunil Kumar
Chicken Korma is a beautifully tasty, mild and creamy Indian dish. Korma (sometimes spelled kormaa, qorma, khorma, khurma or kurma) originates from South or Central Asia and is generally (but not always) made with yogurt, cream, nuts and seed pastes or coconut milk. Generally considered in the west as a curry, you'll see that this version contains zero curry powder and you can add cream or yoghurt at the end if you still want to 'tone it down' a little.
As with many Indian recipes, there are lots of different ingredients but they are generally all easily available from any good Asian food store (**we have our own recipe for garam masala if you want to stay loyal to your own cooking!).
Chicken Kiev 
Chicken Liver and Mushrooms on Ciabatta Ingredients for Chicken Korma
If you want to know more about Indian ingredients, check our Indian Spices and our Indian Pulses, Rice and Seeds pages.
Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements
How to Cook Chicken Korma
- Peel and grate (grind) the ginger and grind the saunf (fennel seeds). Remove and discard the seeds from the green chilies and grate the chilies, then peel and grate one of the onions. Place these all in a bowl with two tablespoon of water, mix into a paste and set aside.
- Grind the coconut (you can use pre-grated coconut if its available to you, but not desiccated coconut... it must be moist). Mix with a tablespoon of water and set aside. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size portions and set aside.
- In a pan, heat the oil and add the garam masala. Peel and finely chop the second onion and add to the pan. Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes then add the chilies-ginger-onion paste and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin seed powder and salt to the pan and stir well. Gently fry this mixture for 5 minutes, adding a little more water if needed then add the chicken pieces and a small glass of water. Cover the pan and allow to cook very gently for between 30 minutes and 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked and tender.
- When the chicken is cooked, stir in the coconut paste and bring the whole mixture quickly to the boil. Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve with Boiled Basmati Rice
MAMTHA SUNIL KUMAR'S HOT TIP:
If you like your Indian food mild, stir in a few tablespoons of cream or natural yoghurt right at the end before serving.
What To Eat Tonight
The main course is often the easiest to plan but, when entertaining, what do you use as a starter course? Here are some great choices.
Breakfast is, they say, the most important meal of the day, so choose your breakfast menu well from our great selection.
Those wonderful beasts that just scream for something hot and tasty between toasted bread or buns. Once tasted, never forgotten!
Other Chicken Recipes
Chicken Kiev - created in Moscow Merchants' Club in the early 20th century and renamed Chicken Kiev in one of the Soviet restaurants in later years.
Chinese Chicken Salad is a truly delicious light meal or, using just half the amount of chicken, starter course.
Chicken with Tarragon is one of the classic French ways to cook a chicken. Stupidly simple but plenty of taste and fragrance.
