Chicken Quorema

Name: Chicken Quorema
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 75 ml / 2 ½ fl oz / ⅓ cup double cream; 75 g / 3 oz / ¾ cup ground almonds; 120 ml / 4 fl oz / ½ cup water plus a little extra if required; 1 blade lemongrass, lightly squashed; 2 bay leaves; 1-1 ½ tsp salt; 6-8 chicken thighs (800 g / 1 lb 12 oz), skinned and boned and each cut into 4-8 pieces; ½ tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp sugar (optional); 75 g / 3 oz / ⅓ cup ghee or butter; 3 onions, sliced in half moons; ¾ tsp crushed dried chillies; 1 tsp coriander seeds; 1-2 pinches / 20-60 saffron strands, crushed; juice of 1 small lemon; 75 g / 3 oz / ⅓ cup ghee or butter; 175 g / 6 oz / ¾ cup natural yoghurt; 2 tsp cornflour; 1 ½ small onions, finely grated or ground in a food processor or similar; 2 large cloves garlic, crushed; 8 peppercorns; 5 green cardamoms; 3 cloves; 1 large (10 cm / 4 in) or 2 small (5 cm / 2 in) cinnamon sticks

Preparation info

Serves
4
generously

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Fool's Gold

By Sam Bilton

Published 2022

About

Forget the sickly-sweet chicken kormas you may have had in the past. This is a rich curry with the hint of a kick but is in no way cloying. Adapted from the recipe for Fowl Quorema in The Indian Cookbook, 1880.

Ingredients

1-2 pinches / 20-60 saffron strands, crushed
juice of 1 small lemon
7

Europe
Asia
United Kingdom
India
Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Infuse the saffron in the lemon juice.
Heat 50 g / 2 oz / ¼ cup of the ghee or butter in a large saucepan or casserole. Fry the onion slices until crisp and brown. This will take a while so feel free to prepare the remaining ingredients while they are cooking. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve until required.
Roast the chilli fl