Chicken Korma is a classic Indian recipe, but due to the considerable amount of liberties I took with this classic, I must be upfront about it in the title, to avoid the Food Police coming after me. For starters, I cooked it sous-vide. I know, what was I thinking? But I tell you, the perfect texture is worth it. Perhaps you are familiar with the concept of velveting meat before stir-frying? It is widely used in Chinese cooking and does wonders for chicken breast, pork tenderloin, or shrimp, typical types of protein that will often dry up when submitted to the intense heat of the wok. Chicken Korma is not a stir-fry, but the improvement in texture offered by the gentle cooking in the water-bath made me think of velveting. To add insult to injury, I omitted several spices that make Korma a Korma. There you go. Rebel. My middle name. Inspiration came from this recipe at Anova Culinary, a great source for sous-vide cooking.
SOUS-VIDE CHICKEN KORMA
(inspired by Anova Culinary)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 shallot, cut into small dice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup cashews
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Fresh cilantro, for serving
Set the sous-vide to 150°F (65°C).
Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, salt, ginger, garam masala, curry powder, cinnamon, turmeric and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender. Add the cream, yogurt, cashews, lemon juice, and honey. Process until smooth, about 1 minute. Combine the pureed sauce with the chicken in a large zipper lock bag. Seal the bag using the water immersion technique and place in the water bath. Set the timer for 2 hours to 3 hours.
When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Transfer the entire contents of the bag to a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: We adored this recipe. Period. If you look at the original, you’ll notice I substantially reduced the amount of heavy cream. It was plenty rich this way already, and it had enough sauce in the bag to form a luscious sauce. Of course, if you prefer the extra richness given by more cream, go for it. I also used fewer spices. On my second time around, instead of cilantro I sautéed a few cashews until golden brown and sprinkled all over when bringing it to the table. Phil liked the second version even better, I cannot decide. One thing is certain; this will go in our regular rotation of recipes. If you don’t have sous-vide, simply use a regular pan, saute the chicken pieces (you could velvet them before for better texture), then add the ingredients for the sauce and simmer very gently until cooked through. Yogurt has a tendency to separate, something that might be a bit more likely cooking on the stove top. Indeed, that is another benefit of sous-vide, with such a gentle heat, the yogurt mellows down gently, without putting up a fight and curdling right in front of your eyes…
Second time around… double cashews, ground in the sauce,
and sautéed for serving…
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mmm.. looks delicious. Seems perfect dish for today ( we have +1,5C)..
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pretty chilly over there! We are having nice weather this weekend… feels ALMOST like Spring! 😉
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I’m loving those browned cashews!!!
I haven’t heard of velveting the meat before. I went back and read the post you linked to, does this ensure that the meat stays soft and tender then? I often grill chicken kebabs for the boys, if I velveted the chicken first, would it stop some of it from becoming hard?
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Well, we got in touch by whatsapp already, so I am curious to find out if that would work, if you experiment with it. The tricky part is coupling velveting with marinating, but I guess it can be done….
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If it’s a method widely used in Chinese cooking, there must be a way..
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Traditional or not the meal looks very appetizing.
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I don’t like to mess with tradition, but truth is, I often do!
😉
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You are killing me with this sous vide! Why oh why do you do this to me? You are breaking down my resistance. This dish looks amazing!
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can you hear the evil laughter???? 😉 Resistance is futile, my dear… FUTILE! 😉
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The food police can be ruthless! Loved your notes 🙂 This looks delicious! I have never done sous vide, so I appreciate your tips on how to adapt this to the stovetop. I’m craving this kind of food right now.
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Isn’t it? I am very afraid of the food police and its black helicopters… 😉 Don’t want to mess with them….
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I have a sous vide and I’m saving this recipe! I’m making pork tenderloin via sous vide as we speak. 🙂
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pork tenderloin is perfect for sous vide! Hope you will blog on your adventure…
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The food police would be those that stop to give you an honorary certificate for being citizen of the year. I’m dying to try this one.
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Well, wouldn’t it be a nice twist of fate, getting a certificate instead of a smack upside the head? 😉
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You are MY kind of rebel, Sally. Keep breaking the rules, cooking is more fun that way!
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I’ve been breaking quite a few rules lately…. stay tuned! 😉
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Oh, wow! I’ve never thought of cooking a curry sous vide, but it makes perfect sense in this recipe. Such a great idea!
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I cannot take credit for the idea, but wish I could 😉
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