Chicken Korma
By :Urvashi Pitre
Korma, in the Urdu language, simply means “cooked meat.” Because of the styles of restaurant cooking, korma is associated with a creamy, mild, and rich sauce. To increase the creaminess of this recipe, almonds are added, and then the dish is “finished” with a touch of coconut milk. A quick blending of the sauce ingredients followed by cooking under pressure in the Instant Pot results in a dish that is rich, creamy, and flavorful, with a thick sauce that is not overly spicy.
Votes: 25
Rating: 4.44
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Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Difficulty Easy
Browse Category Poultry
Duration 30-60 min
Cooking Technique Pressure Cook
Main Ingredient Chicken, Coconut Milk, Tomatoes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
For the Sauce
  • 1 ounce raw almonds or substitute cashews if you prefer
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1/2 cup tomato diced
  • 1/2 green serrano chile
  • 5 cloves garlic peeled
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup Water
For the Korma
  • 1 pound chicken breasts thighs, or drumsticks, boneless, skinless
  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup cilantro chopped fresh, optional
For the Garnish
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/4 cup cilantro chopped fresh
  • 1 tablespoons pinch saffron strands soaked in non-dairy milk
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Difficulty Easy
Browse Category Poultry
Duration 30-60 min
Cooking Technique Pressure Cook
Main Ingredient Chicken, Coconut Milk, Tomatoes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
For the Sauce
  • 1 ounce raw almonds or substitute cashews if you prefer
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1/2 cup tomato diced
  • 1/2 green serrano chile
  • 5 cloves garlic peeled
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup Water
For the Korma
  • 1 pound chicken breasts thighs, or drumsticks, boneless, skinless
  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup cilantro chopped fresh, optional
For the Garnish
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/4 cup cilantro chopped fresh
  • 1 tablespoons pinch saffron strands soaked in non-dairy milk
Votes: 25
Rating: 4.44
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Instructions
To Make the Sauce
  1. In a blender jar, mix the almonds, onion, tomato, serrano, garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt, garam masala, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and water. Blend into a smooth purée.
To Make the Korma
  1. Pour the sauce into the inner cooking pot of the Instant Pot. Place the chicken on top. If the chicken is frozen, push it down into the sauce a little.
  2. Lock the lid into place. Select Manual and adjust the pressure to High. Cook for 10 minutes.
  3. When the cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally. Unlock and remove the lid.
  4. Carefully remove the chicken to a board and cut it into bite-size pieces.
  5. Stir the coconut milk, garam masala, and tomato paste into the pot. Return the chicken to the pot, and garnish with the slivered almonds and cilantro.
  6. Pour the saffron milk along with the saffron strands over the rice and serve.
Recipe Notes

27 replies
  1. Mariac
    Mariac says:

    Can someone please answer a question regarding the saffron snd milk mixture? When I open this recipe in the app it says 1 Tablespoon pinch of saffron and 2 non dairy milk. A tablespoon of saffron is much different than a pinch. And 2 what of non dairy milk? Thanks!

  2. sassys1313
    sassys1313 says:

    First, yes, the unit of measurement is missing from the saffron instructions (I assumed 2 tablespoons). Also, the non dairy milk is not in the ingredients list. Finally, the last line says to pour over rice. There is no rice in the ingredients list or in the instructions until that point. After ovecoming these issues, yes, it is a very tasty dish.

  3. Lauramurray
    Lauramurray says:

    I put in 1/4 of serrano and it was fine, spicy wise. My kids can’t take too much heat; It would have been too much with the amount called for. In the end I added a splash of whipping cream and a huge pinch of fenugreek (kasoori methi) it could have used even more. (The fenugreek made the dish). A box of it lasts for quite a while and is awesome in all sorts of stuff.

  4. KatePf
    KatePf says:

    Mariac, I printed the recipe and the printout has the “1” and the “pinch saffron strands” in bold type, with the “tablespoons” and “soaked in 2non-dairy milk” in regular type. So I think it’s supposed to be 1 pinch saffron strands soaked in 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk.

  5. MagicPot
    MagicPot says:

    Urvashi’s chicken korma is awesome the first day even better as leftovers. One of the best chicken recipes you can find, super delicious!

  6. cdmoore
    cdmoore says:

    This was delicious!!!! My husband and I devoured the Korma. Minor minor changes. In the sauce recipe….we used 1 cup of a homemade Ro Tel original recipe for the chopped tomatoes and Serranto chile. Also used boneless/skinless chicken thighs cut in to 8ths. Sauteed them first then added the sauce recipe. Cooked as per the recipe…10 minutes and used natural release. Once done, used saute, added coconut milk and cilantro. Made Indian Spiced spinach (yummly) and jasmine rice. Wonderful.

  7. viachicago22
    viachicago22 says:

    Hi! Thanks for the recipe. I’m sorry for not understanding, but to be clear- you stir the milk, tomato paste and garam masala into the pot at the end, put the chicken back in and then serve? No more cooking at that point?

  8. Rachuk1
    Rachuk1 says:

    My familyloved the dish but it didnt taste anything like korma. I’ll make it again as a ‘curry’ but not if i want a korma

  9. janegwhite305@gmail.com
    janegwhite305@gmail.com says:

    This recipe was fantastic! It was very simple and i did everything the recipe said. At the end, I mixed in the saffron, cilantro and coconut milk. My spuce adjustment was adding a small amount of Major Grey’s Chutney for a hint of sweet and a little acidity. Delicious!

  10. RC6253
    RC6253 says:

    Delicious. I made this according to the instructions and using chicken breasts. It came out perfectly… tender, flavorful, and genuinely easy. To my surprise, the sauce actually came out rich and thick, and it wasn’t overly spicy.

  11. Caleigh Mc
    Caleigh Mc says:

    Got the burn message and felt like it was missing something. Not enough fat perhaps. I did used breasts so that is likely part of the problem.

  12. amolinelv
    amolinelv says:

    Yummy… i just a drained can of diced tomatoes, and a drained can of fire roasted chilis. Added 3/4+c of the coconut milk( not full fat)

  13. tmangefeste
    tmangefeste says:

    Wonderful recipe. Used 2 tbsp of almond butter instead of almonds for the korma sauce. Served it up at a party and it was a hit!

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