What a wonderfully warm and flavorful chicken coconut korma this is!  Brings the taste of your favorite Indian place right in to your own kitchen. 

I have a confession to make, a serious sin I committed for years, I staunchly stated that I hated curry for close to 10 years (I know shame, shame, shame).  It all stemmed from a bad experience eating Thai Curry Duck, so I placed the blame on all curry and avoided the stuff like I avoid the scale (I don’t like talking to him he never says what I want to hear, jerk).

Then a few years ago I started reading about “food aversions” more specifically conditioned taste aversions.  As it turns out my dislike for curry was all in my head….. whaaaaatt?  I had been wrongfully berating a whole type of food (multiple types in fact).  How could I?

So I decided, I would conquer this aversion, I would eat some Indian curry to overcome my psychological block.  Mind over matter.  But I needed to start simple, Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Coconut Korma, easy enough.  

I bought it at our local Indian restaurant, in a gas station.  Bite number one was mind blowing, I mean I was floored.  The warmth, the sweet and nutty flavors all popped at once, my taste buds where in Shangri-La.  Bite number two I was hooked, by the end of the meal I was addicted and by the umpteenth time eating it I was just a curry tweeker.

Seriously, how did I screw this one up so bad, 10 years wasted….

So I set about to make my own (because that’s the kind of guy I am) and after failing multiple times, yes I admit it, I think I finally found the chicken coconut korma for me.

Garam Masala

Spice is the key to good Indian curries, and critical to getting the curry mixture right is garam masala.  Garam means “hot” or something like that, and masala is a “mixture of spices”, so garam masala is part of the warming attribute of curry.

A couple of years ago I was on a plane coming home from a work trip.  I was sat next to a Filipino woman and began talking to her.  Her husband is from India, and we got talking about curry (for some reason all my conversations end up about food, my poor wife).

She told me her Indian mother in law always roasts the spices she uses to make her food with.  A light went off for me, if fresh ground spices are better, would roasted ones be better?  The answer is….. YES.  Especially for curries.

So to make my garam masala for my chicken coconut korma (because why would you buy it) I started with whole spices and roasted them by putting them all in a frying pan together and tossing them over medium heat until they smelled nutty and spicy.  The spicy smell obviously comes first.

Then I ground the whole spices in my spice grinder (actually it’s a coffee grinder, but I use it for spices).    Again use whole spices not powdered stuff.

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Garam Masala

Quick and delicious garam masala. 

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp coriander
  • 2 tsp cinnmon
  • 1 tsp fennel
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 1 tsp clove
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Roast all the spices for about 10 min over medium heat, until they begin to smell nutty and very spicy.  Then grind them in a coffee grinder or small food processor.

Recipe Notes

Where ever possible use whole spices and grind them yourself. 

Jicama Rice

A little twist on the classic here is to use jicama rice in place of regular or brown rice.

If you’ve never had jicama it is like a mild radish crossed with a potato.  It is a great substitute for rice in this recipe.

All you have to do is peel your jicama and dice it.  Then process it in your food processor until it is the right texture.  Use your pulse to prevent pureeing.

I like to add blanched almonds to it for a little crunch, yum.

 

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Creamy Chicken Coconut Korma

What a wonderfully warm and flavorful chicken coconut korma this is! Brings the taste of your favorite Indian place right in to your own kitchen.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

  • 2 whole chicken breasts
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • 2 tbsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp coriander
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper or cayenne 1 tsp for hot

Korma Sauce

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp garam masala
  • 2 tbsp coriander
  • 2 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ginger fresh grated
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 2 medium tomatoes dicedd
  • 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup cashews

Instructions

Chicken Marinade

  1. Dice the chicken breast in to 1 inch cubes.

  2. Place the chicken, yogurt and spices in a zip lock bag together and work them around to mix. 

  3. Let marinade in the fridge at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. 

Korma Sauce

  1. Dice the onion and mince the garlic.  Sweat them in the butter (that is start cooking them until they become slightly see through)

  2. Add all the spices and cook for 5 min over medium heat.

  3. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is cooked all the way through, about 10 min. Toss in the tomatoes and cook about 5 more minutes

  4. Next mix in the coconut milk and cream. Cover and simmer for 25 to 30 min, minimum. It seems to me to longer I let it simmer the more the flavors meld together.

  5. Finally throw in some cashews and give it a couple minutes with them.

  6. Then spoon it (not that kind of spooning) over a mound of jicima rice and I toss just a sprinkle of garam masala on it.

Recipe Notes

Try and use homemade yogurt, click here to learn how to make it. 

Enjoy this amazing chicken coconut korma, better yet serve it to friends and tell them it’s a secret family recipe.  Chicken coconut korma is sure to be a big hit, and really not all that hard.