A Taste of India 12/28/12

On the menu tonight: Chicken Korma!

After a wonderful Christmas where we received a couple of gifts to help round out our kitchen, we decided to put some to use and make one of our favorite cuisines. After a bit of searching, we decided on a new dish we hadn't done before, coupled with a few of our favorite sides.The recipe posted below is not the original, it was modified to fit our tastes a bit more.

Entree:

• Chicken Korma

Sides:

• Beef Simosas
• Roti
• Basmati Rice
• Mint Chutney

 

Chicken Korma:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into 2" pieces)
• 2 1/2 tbls butter
• 1 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 2 inches cinnamon stick
• 2 whole green cardamon pods
• 2 cloves
• 2 Indian bay leaves
• 1/2 tbls grated ginger
• 1/2 tbls grated garlic

Marinade ingredients:

• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 1/2 tbls chili powder
• 1/2 tbls red chili powder
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 2/3 cup fried onions (roughly 1 medium onion)

Process:

1. Chop onion into a fine dice, and saute over medium high heat with a bit of olive oil in a non stick pan until translucent and just starting to turn brown.
2. Mix all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl, add chicken, cover, and let sit for about an hour.
3. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat,  melt the butter and throw in the remaining ingredients. Stir fry for a minute or so until the whole spices become very fragrant. (this smells AMAZING!)
4. Add chicken and marinade to the pan, and continue to stir fry for about 10 min.
5. Reduce heat to medium low, cover the pan and continue to cook for about 30 min. Oil should be just starting to separate, chicken should be tender, and the sauce should be thickening.
6. Remove from heat and serve over a bed of Basmati Rice.
7. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

This dish quickly became one of our new favorites. We made a seasoned basmati rice using chicken stock, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder, but decided in the end it would have been better with just a plain basmati rice. Although it turned out absolutely delicious,  we thought it was missing a bright, citrus note. Garnishing with a squeeze of lime would fix that. Enjoy!

Sources:
http://rasamalaysia.com/chicken-korma/
http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/breads/r/roti.htm
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/baked-samosas-with-mint-chutney-recipe/index.html
http://www.samosa-recipe.com/Beef_Samosa.html