Chicken Korma

A perfectly spiced, mild and authentic tasting chicken curry that everyone will love. This Chicken Korma is mild enough to suit all tastes (even kids will enjoy it) but can easily be made spicier. This curry recipe is super easy to make in under 30 minutes, it's healthy and can even be made in a slow cooker.

A homemade curry is always a better option than reaching for the takeout menu. They are cheaper, healthier and often quicker than getting one delivered. This Chicken Korma is all of those things - perfect for a busy weeknight. This is one of our favourite curries as it is full of flavour, but can easily be adapted to how spicy we want it.

Why should you try it?

Step by step

One: Over a medium heat add the oil in a large pan and cook the onions until softened, about 4-5 minutes.

Two: Add the chicken and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes.

Three: Add the korma paste and stir so the chicken is coated.

Four: Add the coconut milk, stir well and bring to the boil.

Five: Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Six: Stir in the yogurt to get a marbled effect.

What is a korma?

A korma is a fragrant Indian dish containing meat, usually lamb or chicken, that is gently cooked with spices and dairy. Whilst some korma recipes contain yogurt, others have cream or a combination of the two.  You can make a vegan version with coconut milk instead of dairy (and no meat, obviously).

You will find that a lot of korma recipes contain nuts – usually almonds. These are often in the homemade paste and used to thicken the sauce. You can sprinkle the curry with some flaked almonds too.

Kormas are very popular in the UK as they are mild and seen as a gateway curry. The spice levels are pretty mellow, but it has plenty of flavour.

Curry paste

If you want to save yourself some time, then use a really good quality korma paste from a store. However, if you have some extra time then you can make your own Korma paste. It's really simple and mix of garlic, ginger, almonds, coconut, cayenne, garam masala, coriander (cilantro), coriander seeds, cumin seeds and chili.

If you didn't want to make your own, and didn't want to buy a paste, you could just use curry powder or garam masala instead, but you wouldn't get that same korma flavour.

What chicken to use

We used chicken breast as it is easy to chop into good bite-sized chunks. You can of course, use any chicken meat for this - thighs are particularly tasty. You could even use leftover cooked chicken - just make the sauce first and add the cooked chicken a few minutes from the end.

What vegetables to add?

The only vegetable in this recipe is an onion, but feel free to add any veg you like. Mushrooms and chunks of aubergine would work really well with this. You could even stir in some spinach a few minutes before serving to add a green boost.

What to serve it with

We served this with some simple brown rice, but you could up the rice game and serve it with some turmeric rice. Just add a teaspoon of turmeric and half a teaspoon of garlic powder to your rice when you are boiling it, to get a lovely golden coloured rice. 

Of course naan bread goes really well with a curry, so maybe try our peshwari naan. If you still want some bread, but want to save a few calories, then our Easy Homemade Flatbreads go really well too. And obviously rice is a natural side dish for curries, so why not try our Turmeric Rice?

If you want some sides to go with this curry, then why not try our easy raita or our tasty cucumber salad too?

Can it be made in a slow cooker?

This can easily be made in a slow cooker. Just add all the ingredients to you slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours or high for 3 hours. Cooking the chicken low and slow makes this chicken fall apart and melt in your mouth.

FAQs

Extra tips

• If you need to thicken the curry, then you can just let it cook for a little longer.
• You can add some extra spice with some red chilli flakes
• Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• This recipe can be made in the slow cooker too. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5.
• You can make your own curry paste, or use store bought.

More curry recipes

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