Quick Chicken Korma Curry with Coconut Milk

Creamy and full of flavour, this quick and easy chicken korma recipe is so easy to make and tastes amazing. Perfect for a fake-out curry night or a quick mid-week family meal.

So it was curry night in our house, but something simple and easy was warranted mid week. Chicken Korma it is! Mild, creamy and great for everyone.

Whilst, I will always regret eating a take out pretty much straight after I have finished shoving it in my mouth, I am a sucker for a Chicken Korma delivered to the door on those evenings when I am too worn out to lift another finger in the kitchen.

Some days my brain can’t handle making a complex curry!

Thankfully, this curry gives my brain a little break. Using a curry paste feels like cheating just a little. But since I still had to add everything else to the pan, I am excusing myself this time! Don’t worry though, the rest isn’t hard! Just be sure to wear your waterproof mascara for the onion grating, or be prepared to look like me, who looked a bit like a kitchen panda at the end of that part! If onion tears really get to you, just throw it in a blender, a little more washing, but much less mascara face!

I really love the taste of coconut, so using a creamy can of coconut milk as the base, worked wonders. And don’t forget the almonds at the end. Wow! I am seriously considering never visiting my local take out curry house again. In fact, making this curry is actually quicker than dialling the takeaway and waiting for one to arrive at my door!

What is Korma Curry?

In the UK we associate Korma with a mild curry dish that can be found in nearly every Indian restaurant and takeaway here and in many around the world. Korma is a very mild, often sweet tasting, coconut based curry, flavoured with various spices and quite creamy in texture. The word Korma or “qorma” traditionally originates from the cooking method used rather than the ingredients it contains. The word means “to braise” or “braising” and the original dish dates back to the 16th century. Traditionally, korma was prepared in mud pots and slow cooked over a outdoor mud stove called a Chula.

What we know today as chicken korma is vastly different in preparation to the original dish. However, if you were to visit India, you may find a few different variations of chicken korma, some of which can be much more spicy.

Recipe Tips and Guidance

I really like to add a fruity element to my chicken korma, something that pairs well with the sweet almond taste and I find that adding a handful of sultanas and stirring them through, really gives this easy curry a nice little kick. You can also sprinkle some toasted flaked almonds or cashews over the top before serving too, if you like a little crunch.

Try serving your curry with this Pilau rice and a homemade peshwari naan you won’t regret it.

When you add the coconut milk and yoghurt, firstly, shake the coconut milk can to remix the ingredients, when a can of coconut milk has sat for a while, it has a tendency to separate. If it still isn’t mixed on opening, gently stir it before adding to your curry.

Coconut milk can be prone to separating when it is overcooked, so make sure you turn down the heat and don’t over-stir it, only occasionally to stop the curry sticking to the bottom of the pan. Don’t despair if it does happen to separate, it will still taste great, it just might not be as visually appealing.

If you have time and want chicken that is extra tender, you can marinate the diced chicken in a natural yoghurt for at least 3 hours or overnight, before adding to your dish. The yoghurt will tenderise the meat, improving it’s texture and make it taste really delicious. You can use chicken breast for a leaner meat or boneless chicken thighs in this curry recipe too.

If you want to use different meats, I recommend turkey, mutton and lamb will work well in this recipe.

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