Royal Chicken Korma

Nectar of the Curry Gods...better than any Korma you've ever tasted!

This one comes from Madhur Jaffrey’s “Ultimate Curry Bible” and is an absolute stunner of a dish. I mostly follow her very good recipe, with a few tweaks that I have figured out through trial and (mostly) error…

• Double the cream, as I prefer more liquid. I do it cold rather than hot, and 30 mins of steeping the saffron while you prep everything else is plenty.

• Less cinnamon as I just don’t like cinnamon that much, so I only use 1/2 stick.

• Much less cayenne pepper (only 1/2 tsp), as the recommended amount is completely eye-watering.

• More nuts and sultanas because I like them. I didn’t have any whole almonds, but flaked almonds work just as well.

• Cheat on the garlic and ginger, no one in their right mind can be arsed with that much mincing and grating, so I use this awesome product instead…

Here’s the recipe - you can see how well used this one is by all the splashes and splodges on the page! This is unlike any Korma you’ll have eaten in a curry house and is significantly better. Yes, you need to invest up front in the various spices and flavours but once you have them in the cupboard they last for ages, and the other recipes in this book are also brilliant so you can make good use of them.

When you do the yoghurt adding bit of the dish it will start to separate and go weird and you will lose heart - but keep the faith, follow the recipe and when you add the cream at the end it magically brings it all back together again. I garnish with plenty of fresh coriander - great for both colour and taste - and serve with shop-bought naan bread and/or microwave plain rice. Since I’ve invested all my energy in the main korma-y event I can’t be bothered making my own bread or even cooking rice - but if you have the time and patience to do this it would probably be even nicer.

Plate up, pour yourself a cold glass of Cobra and it’s game on - enjoy!