Chicken Korma – Mughlai Style

Step 1: Fry the Onions

Heat oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Once hot, add sliced onions in small batches and fry until they are golden and crispy. Remove the fried onions with a slotted spoon, spread them on a plate, and let them cool down completely.

Step 2: Roast Cashews and Coconut

Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a separate pan on medium-low heat. Add cashews and roast until light golden. Then, add desiccated coconut and continue to roast until it also turns light golden. Remove from the pan and keep aside to cool down.

Step 3: Prepare the Onion-Nut Paste

Divide the cooled fried onions into two parts. In a grinder jar, add one part of the fried onions, the roasted cashew and coconut mixture, and 1/4 cup of water. Grind to a fine, smooth paste. Keep it aside. Slightly crush the remaining part of the fried onions with your hands and keep it aside.

Step 4: Sauté Spices and Cook Chicken

In a large pan or kadai, heat 1/4 cup of oil and 1 tsp of ghee over low heat. Add the whole spices (bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, green cardamoms, cinnamon, cumin) and sauté for a minute until aromatic. Add the curry-cut chicken, ginger-garlic paste, and yogurt.

Step 5: Add Powdered Spices and Cook

Add Kashmiri red chili powder, spicy red chili powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder to the chicken. Combine everything well. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally as required.

Step 6: Finish the Korma

After 20 minutes, the chicken will be cooked and oil will float on top. Add the prepared onion-nut paste, the crushed fried onions, garam masala powder, green chilies, keora water, cardamom powder, and mace powder.

Step 7: Simmer and Serve

Combine all the ingredients well. Cover the pan and cook for another 5 minutes on low heat. The Chicken Korma is now ready to serve.

• Fry onions in small batches to ensure they become crispy and evenly browned.

• Stir the chicken occasionally while it cooks to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

• Using hot water helps maintain the cooking temperature and results in tender chicken.

• For a richer gravy, you can add a splash of fresh cream at the end.

• Almonds can be used instead of or in addition to cashews for the paste.