Easy Chicken Korma Recipe, a restaurant-style Indian curry with a rich, creamy homemade sauce made with coconut milk and earthy spices. It's a mild curry dish that is easy to make, and a great chicken dinner recipe for the whole family.
That I love curries is surely an understatement. I love them! And now I can add to my list of favourite Indian curry dishes this fantastic Chicken Korma. I am all for chicken, as you can tell, when it comes to a good old curry.
I can't say no to a good beef curry either, or even fish curry or a nice vegetarian curry like chickpea curry, but no other meat, I am afraid. Chicken is the usual choice purely because it can be cooked pretty quickly, it's tasty, easy to make, and generally speaking, is everybody's favourite meat.
I did make this chicken korma mild so my kids could enjoy it too, so feel free to add a lot more spiciness to it. I don't mind the mild version, but I do appreciate that a bit of a chilli makes it taste even better.
It's the great marriage between the sweetness of the coconut and the heat of the spices used that makes this the best chicken sauce you can possibly have.
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Ingredients used
- chicken breast - it's my go-to when I make chicken curry, but chicken thighs or legs could be used to, either on the bone or boneless
- onion- yellow, red or shallots can be used here
- garlic and ginger - I prefer fresh ones
- tinned coconut milk - go for a full fat-one, the light coconut milk is too watery, and doesn't work at all
- Indian spices - my curry is pretty mild, but you can go for some heat if you want too: turmeric, cumin, garam masala, chilli powder, paprika and ground coriander
- blanched almonds to garnish - they are optional, but I highly recommend using them, they give a nice texture to the curry
- bay leaves - they have a wonderful aroma that works very well here
- tomato puree
- plain yogurt - it adds creaminess to the sauce
- salt - to taste
- oil - for frying
Step-by-step instructions and photos
- to make the marinade, add the diced chicken breasts to a large bowl, add the yogurt and spices to it, and give it a good stir to coat well (see photo 1& 2)
- leave to marinate for at least 1 hour
- peel and quarter the onion, ginger and garlic cloves and add them to a blender
- blitz for 10 seconds
- heat up the oil in a large pan, add the onion mixture, and fry it over a low heat until golden
- add the marinated chicken and give it a good stir
- add the tomato puree and bay leaves, and mix again
- increase the heat to medium, place a lid on, and lave to cook for 10 minutes or until the liquid released by the chicken has been evaporated
- add the coconut milk, give it a stir, and continue to cook until the liquid is reduced to a nice sauce
- garnished with fresh parsley and tossed almond flakes
Expert tips
The coconut milk together with the earthy Indian spices and almonds make the best korma sauce. I never buy ready-made curry sauces, they are nowhere near as delicious as a homemade one.
When you use a tin of coconut milk, make sure you use the coconut cream as well, this is usually separated from the milk.
If you don't have time to marinate the chicken, you can still coat the chicken pieces with the yogurt and spice mixture, but rather than setting it aside, cook straight away.
Obviously, the longer it marinates, the more flavourful, but sometimes shortcuts are ok, especially on hectic day.
This dish can be safely frozen to be enjoyed any other time, just make sure you store it into an air-tight container. I usually cook a bit extra and freeze some food, just in case there are days when I am short of time.
Recipe FAQs
While some recipes mention the use of yogurt only, I find that what makes it stand out from other chicken curries is the use of coconut milk. You can use plain yogurt too only, but I would highly recommend using it together with the coconut milk.
Unlike other chicken curries, chicken korma is a milk curry, spiced, but definitely not spicy.
Absolutely! To defrost, either microwave it, or leave it to thaw in the fridge, then add heat it up in the oven until it's bubbling hot.
Rice, nice kind of flatbread or poppadoms are the best sides for chicken korma.
Other curry recipes
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Easy Chicken Korma Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 cm fresh ginger
- 1 cup tinned coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoon almond flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoon parsley or coriander (cilantro) to garnish
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
Instructions
- To marinate the chicken, add the diced chicken breasts to a bowl together with the yogurt, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, paprika and garam masala.
- Give everything a good stir for the chicken to be well coated in the mixture.
- Cover the bowl with clingfilm, and set aside for at least 1 hour.
- Peel and quarter the onion, garlic and ginger, add them to a blender, and blitz well.
- Heat up the oil in a large pan, add the onion mixture and salt, and fry on a low heat until golden.
- Add the tomato puree and bay leaves, and give it another stir.
- In goes the marinated chicken, give it a stir and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Place the lid on the pan, increase the heat to medium, and leave it to cook for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally, so that the liquid released by the chicken evaporates.
- Add the coconut milk, give it a good stir, and continue to cook until the liquid is reduced into a thicker sauce.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and tossed almond flakes.
- Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- When you use a tin of coconut milk, make sure you use the coconut cream as well, this is usually separated from the milk.
- If you don't have time to marinate the chicken, you can still coat the chicken pieces with the yogurt and spice mixture, but rather than setting it aside, cook straight away.
- Obviously, the longer it marinates, the more flavourful, but sometimes shortcuts are ok, especially on hectic day.
- This dish can be safely frozen to be enjoyed any other time, just make sure you store it into an air-tight container. I usually cook a bit extra and freeze some food, just in case there are days when I am short of time.
Melanie Papandreou
Ingredients says ground almonds but no mention of it in the method??? When do we add the ground almonds!
Thanks
Laura Semmens
When does the chicken go in the pan?
Daniela Apostol
Thank you for spotting it, I have updated the recipe card now.