Lately, it appears that life is moving faster than it should. Blink and it is March but also there was a long slow series of unprecedented events since last March. Things are happening, time is ticking and it is all a bit exciting for me at the moment. Goals are coming to light. Moments I could just dream of just a few months ago. Yet all I am longing for is a time san responsibility. That time in university where you were an adult but the heaviness of adulating wasn’t weighing you down. Or even further to my childhood in Dublin. When the most important event of the week was going to the second-hand book store with your best friends and getting a 50p copy of Sweet Valley Twins or Babysitter’s Club to add to your ever-growing collection. Everything was taken care of by the adults so you’d go across the street to your best friend’s family restaurant and feast on Indian Curry House favourites, like a chicken korma with a fluffy butter garlic naan. Creamy comfort with a side of nourishment. Yes, I’d like to spend a day (or two) in the cocoon of those carefree days of childhood. It’s emotions and its flavours. Sweet with a hint of spicy fragrance.

I started to crave Chicken Korma a few weeks ago along with a desire to be transported back to childhood. Having yet to perfect time travel, I thought the easiest way to recreate those times was through making the meals from those time and so a series of texts started with the aforementioned best friend to get the exact details but we couldn’t quite get theme because as I said we were children and it was the adult’s job to cook and feed. So I set about creating it from taste memory using the ingredients I already had at home ( this is my favourite kind of culinary game) and so this recipe is born. While it is not quite the same ( we suspect there was a lot of cream and sugar involved that has been omitted here) it is still a sensational taste powerhouse. It won’t taste like your local Indian takeaway either because that has been modified and it is a completely different dish altogether. Please keep an open mind and give it a go. It is a milder curry with hints of spice relaying on the creaminess of the yogurt and caramelness (this is a word that should be a word) of the onions. It is a time-consuming dish because anything that takes longer than 30-45 minutes is long in my eyes but it is worth the wait.

THE RECIPE

Chicken Korma

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

500g of boneless thigh chicken
3 large onions sliced
2 Tbs of crushed ginger and garlic
¼ cup of Greek or strained natural full fat yogurt
4 died red chillis
2 cinnamon stocks
½ Tbs of cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cardamom seeds
2 tsp crushed red chilli
1 Tbs tomato puree
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbs of butter
¼ cup water
Salt to taste
3 fresh green chillis cut into thirds for finishing
1 Tbs of flaked almonds toasted

method

In a heavy bottom pan heat the olive oil and butter. Once butter has melted. Cook the onions till they are golden brown almost caramel. This will take time. About 15 minutes.
Once the onions are golden remove from pan and drain oil over greaseproof paper and allow cooling. Once cooled, grind them to a paste. Set aside.
Heat the pan again (it should still have some grease from frying onions but if not then grease it with butter or a little oil). Sauté the ginger and garlic. Then roast the dry spices (cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper corns and the whole red chilli) with the ginger and garlic till fragrant. About 3 minutes.
Add the onion paste, tomato puree, chilli flakes, yogurt and salt. Mix to combine well. Cook till the contents of the pan start to sizzle and bubble.
Turn the heat to lowest, if the contents in the pan are dry, add some water and place the lid on pan. Cook for 30 minutes or till meat is cooked through fully and the korma looks homogenous.
Remove from heat and adorn with flaked almonds and green chilli.
Serve hot with naan or flat bread. Can eat with rice too but bread is the preferred option.