Since I’ve been on Twitter, I’ve only allowed one person’s tweets to go directly to my phone and that’s Maya; one, because I know she won’t abuse it, and two, I find myself completely interested in everything she’s doing, especially perhaps because she often tweets about food.
So when I got her tweet text saying that it was super hot in Joshua Tree and that she was making chicken korma to revive herself, I HAD TO KNOW WHAT CHICKEN KORMA WAS. And I started blasting her with questions. Good thing too, because everybody in the house loved it and it will definitely become a regular part of our menu.
The original recipe is from Mark Bittman’s The Best Recipes book. Here it is from memory. [Almost got the whole thing, but had forgotten the yogurt, which is important.]
CHICKEN KORMA
1 chicken cut-up (I used a bag of frozen thighs from Trader Joe’s)
2 onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups basmati rice (I used brown basmati)
1 1/2 c of yogurt
2 c hot water
1 T chopped garlic (I used 2x or 3x this)
1 T peeled chopped ginger (I cut mine into big slices so they are easily fished out by my picky teenager)
3 whole cloves
5 cardamom pods (a first for me!)
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1 T coriander
a pinch of saffron (come to think of it, did I remember to add saffron? don’t think I did…)
oil for frying
salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Brown the chicken meat (salt and pepper it too). (I think you might be able to skip this step if you’re in a rush.) Put it aside.
2. Saute the onions until soft. Add all the spices and fry until fragrant (2 min). add the rice and saute until glossy. Stir in yogurt and water.
3. Nestle in all the chicken pieces. Add water.
4. Cover and simmer for 30 min or until done. Simmer uncover if it’s too soupy.
So easy! So delicious! And smells crazy good!
