Chicken and prune korma
A luxurious chicken korma, with prunes, cashews, ground almonds, coconut milk, yoghurt and a multitude of spices.
Ingredients
- 500g/1lb 2oz skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into 4cm/1½in chunks
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 cardamom pods
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 400ml can coconut milk
- 2 heaped tbsp plain yoghurt
- 12 dried no-soak pitted prunes
- 25g/1oz cashew nuts
- 3 green chillies, finely chopped
- 2 tsp cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
- 1½ tsp flaked sea salt
- ½ lime, juice only
- 25g/1oz ground almonds, to garnish
- large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped, to garnish
Method
Put the chicken pieces in a bowl and add the chilli flakes, turmeric, coriander and cumin. Stir well and leave to marinate for 5–10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan or shallow casserole and gently fry the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and cardamom for a few seconds before adding the onions. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is softened and pale golden-brown, stirring regularly.
Add the spiced chicken pieces and cook for 4–5 minutes, or until lightly coloured on all sides, stirring regularly. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and cook for another minute. Pour over the coconut milk and add the yoghurt. Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the prunes, cashew nuts, chillies and cornflour mixture and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add a little water if the sauce thickens too much before the chicken is tender. Season with salt and lime juice to taste. Garnish with the ground almonds and fresh coriander.
