Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma

This recipe is from another cooking blog written by a friend of my hubby: Garlicshoots - chicken korma.  We made this once before in November 2010, right after the recipe was shared on garlicshoots, and loved it.  I made a note in the recipe binder about how good it was, and especially how I thought the buttermilk made for an amazing sauce (a good contrast to a coconut milk sauce or to a heavy cream sauce that you'd get in an Indian restaurant).

We made this again for a Monday night dinner, and again it was fantastic. Hubby said he liked the flavors of the sauce even more the 2nd time.  Definitely a recipe binder keeper.

Chicken Korma
light olive or canola oil for sauteing
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2-inch piece cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1 tsp ground tumeric

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1.5 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce (supposed to use plain, canned sauce, but we used jarred pasta sauce)
1 Tablespoon sugar

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2" cube-sized pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup roasted cashews
3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro

In a large saute pan, heat oil and saute onion until soft (3 minutes).  Add garlic, ginger, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander, tumeric, cayenne, cumin, and saute until spices are fragrant (1 minute).  Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, sugar.  Bring to a boil.

Add the chicken pieces to the broth mixture.  Cook over low heat.

Combine the buttermilk and cashews in a small food processor, and blend until nuts are finely pureed.  About 5-10 minutes before the chicken is done cooking, add the buttermilkd-cashew blend to the chicken mixture.  Stir and continue cooking.
Serve with rice.

Why we love the Dekalb Farmer's Market -- bulk spices, extremely cheap!

cinnamon stick, bay leave, coriander, tumeric, red pepper, and cumin

Buttermilk and cashews, about to be blended

Chicken and sauce mixture -- before the buttermilk is added

The final sauce.  Doesn't look attractive for photos, but tastes amazing!