Meet your new Indian comfort food! If you love chicken tikka masala, this creamy stewed chicken will hit the spot. Where tikka masala is bright, tangy, and spicy, korma is mild, nutty, and slightly sweet. This recipe, like most Indian cooking, uses lots of spices for a deliciously complex flavor—if you don’t have all of them handy, you can omit or substitute. You’re the chef!

Prep & Cook: 45 minutes

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

For the chicken marinade:

• 1.2 lb chicken (boneless or bone-in okay)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 3 tbsp plan yogurt or coconut cream
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp red chili powder or paprika (add more to spice it up!)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the korma:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cloves
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1-2 green chiles, diced
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks (ground is okay)
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder or paprika
• 2 tbsp coriander or cilantro, chopped

To saute and blend:

• 1 tbsp oil or ghee
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 cup yellow onion, sliced
• 10 whole cashews or almonds
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt or coconut cream

Preparation

1. To make the marinade, add chicken, yogurt/coconut cream, ginger, and garlic into a large mixing bowl. Stir to coat chicken.
2. Add the turmeric, chili powder/paprika, garam masala, and salt and mix well. Set aside to marinate (you can marinate overnight if you’d like).
3. Heat oil or ghee in a sauté pan. Add cardamom pods and sauté 1-2 minutes.
4. Add onions and cook until softened and golden brown.
5. Add cashews or almonds to the pan and stir.
6. Put cardamom pods, onions, and nuts into a blender with yogurt or coconut cream. Blend until smooth. Add water if needed. Set aside. Note! If your blender can’t blend nuts very well, soak nuts for 30 minutes in warm water before blending.
7. Heat oil or ghee to the same pan. Add bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon sticks. Sauté for 1 minute until sizzling.
8. Add in marinated chicken and sliced green chiles. Sauté on medium 5-7 minutes.
9. Add the blended onion mixture to pan with 1/2 cup hot water.
10. Add salt, garam masala, chili powder/paprika, and cinnamon if you didn’t use whole sticks.
11. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook on medium until chicken is cooked through.
12. Top with chopped coriander/cilantro and serve with rice, naan, or roti!