QUORN CHICKEN KORMA.
This is my version of the popular Indian dish Chicken Korma. It’s a mild, creamy curry, flavoured with a blend of subtle, fragrant spices such as cinnamon, coriander and cardamom. The yogurt and coconut adds a great creaminess to the sauce. I’ve not cooked this dish as many times as other more spicy curries but as my children get older they are starting to be slightly more adventurous with their food tastes. I am now pleased to say that Quorn Chicken Korma is their new favourite dish .
I love the addition of Kashmiri powder, It’s mildly hot and adds a red colour to foods. The great cooks of the Kashmir region make their own spice blend pastes which they then dry into small discs and seeing as Kashmiri chillies are hard to come by, even in India, it makes using it even more of an event.
Serves 4-6
PREP TIME: 10 MINS
COOKING TIME: 20 MINS
Freezing ahead
Quorn Chicken Korma can be frozen, just after fresh cooking… for up to one month.
Once defrosted in the fridge it can be kept for 24 hours.
When cooking give the Quorn Korma a good stir through the reheating.
Ingredients for Korma paste
200g coconut milk or creamed coconut
50g cashews, roughly chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp sugar
2 dried red chillies
10 black peppercorns
Ingredients for Masala
250g or 2 medium onions, finely chopped
12 broccoli florets
75g peas
50g ghee, vegetable oil or rapeseed oil
3 garlic cloves
1 cm piece root ginger, chopped
I red (bell) pepper, roughly chopped
4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick, broken
1 200g bag of Quorn Chicken Pieces
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or regular chilli powder
4 tomatoes, chopped
125ml thick Greek-style yoghurt
150ml water
Ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
Whole coriander leaves, to serve
How to make KORMA PASTE
To make the korma paste, lightly toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan until they are fragrant, just under 2 minutes should do it, then put these into a spice grinder or pestle and mortar along with the cashews and other dry paste ingredients, if using a grinder, add the coconut milk and grind to a smooth, thick silky paste. With the pestle and mortar, tip the dry paste ingredients into a bowl and mix in the coconut milk to form the silky paste.
How to make MASALA
Take the pan off the heat, stir in the yogurt and rest of water then return to a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for another 10 minutes, adding a little water if needed, until the masala is thick and creamy.
Then serve topped with whole coriander leaves and enjoy.