Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma

Ingredients:
1.5 kg chicken joints, skin removed
3 cm cube of root ginger, finely grated
125 gr thick set natural yogurt
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
4 dried red chilies
5 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
500 gr onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp ground coriander
½ tsp powdered black pepper
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
250 ml warm water (reduce quantity if using boneless chicken)
100 gr creamed coconut, ct into small pieces
1¼ tsps salt or to taste
2 heaped tbsps ground almonds
Juice of ½ a lemon

Method:
1. Cut each chicken joint into half, separating leg from thigh and cutting each breast into two.

2. Mix with ginger and yogurt, cover and leave to marinate in a cool place for 5 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.

3. Place the chopped onion, red chilies and garlic in a liquidizer or food processor and liquidize to a smooth paste. You may need to  add a little water if u are using a liquidizer.

4. Heat the 5 tbsps oil over medium heat and fry the sliced onions till they are golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and using a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to another dish. Leave any remaining oil in the pan.

5. Place the pan in which the onions have been fried, over medium heat and add the other 2 tbsps cooking oil.

6. When hot, add the ground coriander, powdered pepper, garam masala and turmeric, stir rapidly (take the pan off the heat if the oil is too hot) and add the chicken along with the marinade. Adjust the heat to medium-high and fry the chicken for ±10 minutes, stirring frequently.

7. Add the liquidized spices and continue to fry for 6 minutes on low heat.

8. Add the water and the coconut and bring to the boil. Stir until coconut is dissolved. Add fried onion slices and salt.

9. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is tender (± 30 minutes). Sprinkle the ground almonds and mix well. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.