Shahi chicken korma is a rich and flavourful curry. It’s a dish invented for nobility. Spice, coconut, almond, cream and a hint of sugar come together in a sumptuous curry worthy of any celebration.
Chicken korma can be a great dish. If it’s done right. This is a dish that has been around forever. Traces back to the 16th century. Legend says it was served at the inauguration of the Taj Mahal. That’s a pretty big deal.
shahi chicken korma
Ingredients
The spice mix
- 1 1/2 tsp indian restaurant spice mix - recipe link below
- 2 tsp kashmiri chili powder or 1/2 tsp cayenne mixed with 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
The curry ingredients
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 1 3 inch piece of cinnamon stick - cassia bark
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 2 tsp garlic/ginger paste - recipe link below
- 15 oz curry base
- 3 Tbsp coconut milk powder - Maggi brand is pretty readily available
- 1 Tbsp almond flour
- 10-12 oz pre-cooked chicken - this works with pre-cooked lamb as well
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar - more to taste if you like it sweet
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream - 35% (optional)
Instructions
- Make the spice mix.
- Combine and mix the coconut milk powder and almond flour with enough water to form a thin paste.
- Heat your frying pan (don’t use non-stick) briefly over medium heat. Add the oil.
- When the oil starts to shimmer add the cinnamon and cardamom and cook until they start to crackle.
- Now add garlic ginger paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it stops sputtering.
- Turn down the heat and add the spice mix. This is the critical step. Stir it constantly for 30 seconds. If it starts to darken lift the pan off the heat. You want the spice mix to cook in the oil but not burn.
- Turn the heat up to medium high. This is also really important. The heat is what caramelizes the onion in the curry base and gives the curry it’s Indian restaurant flavour. As you become more comfortable with this technique try pushing it.
- Add 3 oz of curry base. Stir until bubbles form (little craters really), around 30 seconds. Think lively boil. Watch the edges of the pan. The curry can stick here. Sticking is OK. Just scrape it back into the base. Burning is bad.
- Now add 6 oz of curry base and stir briefly. Let it cook until the bubbles form again. This takes 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the curry base and let cook until the bubbles form.
- Stir in the coconut/almond paste.
- Turn the heat down to low and add the pre-cooked chicken.
- Let the curry simmer for about 5 minutes. If it gets too thick add a bit more curry base. Don’t add water.
- Add the sugar. Taste and decide if you want it sweeter. Creep up on it. You can add sugar. You cannot take it away.
- Add heavy cream to taste. None is a really good curry. 2 Tbsp is a creamy, kingly version. Decide what you are in the mood for. The cream does dull the flavours but it adds richness and tempers the heat.
- Garnish with a bit of chopped fresh cilantro if desired and serve with rice or Indian flatbread.
Notes
Nutrition
Truly great turkey gravy starts with incredible turkey stock. And this is how you do it.
Roast turkey is a classic North American holiday dish. It’s the toughest one though. Brine your bird. Cover it with tin foil.
Butter under the skin. Roast it in pieces. Stand on your hands while the turkey roasts. Wear a yellow tie. Lot’s of advice out there on how to make a decent bird.
I have my own opinion (of course:-). What saves bad turkey and elevates turkey done right into superstar territory is the gravy.
And there’s no secret here. Anyone can do it. Concentrated homemade turkey stock. It’s the silver bullet that will make your gravy the one your mother-in-law raves about.
There aren’t a lot of ingredients in turkey gravy. Fat, flour, stock and the pan drippings and fond. You can’t do much about the fat.
Flour is flour so that leaves two. You can help yourself by roasting your bird unstuffed and making a really good dressing instead.
Stuffing is a double whammy. Is soaks up all the goodness that would otherwise end up in your gravy and it makes it harder to roast a turkey evenly. It’s tasty though. I get why you try. Don’t think it’s worth it though. Some battles you just can’t win…
Home made turkey stock is the secret ingredient
So what’s left? The stock. That is the one place you can take your gravy from average to awesome. Concentrated homemade turkey stock.
Really concentrated turkey stock. A flavour explosion. 10 times more concentrated that regular homemade turkey stock. 10 times better gravy.
100 times better than that giblet water. All that mouthfeel. All that flavour. It’s literally an order of magnitude better. And it is impossible to botch. Unless you can’t boil water.
It takes a big pot to make a little stock. I start with a about 7 quart stockpot. Wind up with 3 cups of the concentrated stock.
Takes a little planning though. Start this the day after you serve your turkey. If you can’t get to it for a few days, toss the carcass into a bag and freeze it.
You are making gold out of lead. Magic even. Before you call me crazy, try it. Just once. Then tell me what you think. What your mother-in-law thinks…
ultimate homemade turkey stock
Ingredients
- leftover turkey bones - the whole carcass if you have one
- turkey necks, wings and backs - as will fit in a big pot - 5 lbs or more
- 2 onions - halved. Leave the skins on
- water to cover
Instructions
- Trim as much fat from the turkey parts as you can. Place them in a large pot along with your leftover carcass.
- Add the onion halves and cover with water.
- Simmer, loosely covered, until the turkey bits are tasteless. You want all the flavour in the water and none in the meat. This can take 12 hours. Add water as needed along the way.
- Once the turkey bits are tasteless, start reducing. You want to get somewhere around 3 cups of liquid. When you get down to 3 cups remove the onions, sprinkle them with a bit of salt and try them. They are the cooks treat.
- At this point, remove the big bones from the pot then strain through a colander.
- Defat as best as possible and pour into a freezer proof container. Place the container in the refrigerator and let the fat separate.
- Remove fat, cover and freeze until your next roast turkey dinner.
