Chicken and Pea Korma Recipe

Forget takeaway, Callum Hann’s chicken curry recipe is now one of our weekly easy dinner ideas. Serve with rice, fluffy naan and his singly tzatziki for the ultimate curry night.

Korma is one of those please-all Indian curries. Everyone (except vegetarians), will pounce on a big bowl of this chicken one, and even then you could swap the chicken out for sweet potato or pumpkin (winter squash). Prepare for your kitchen to smell delicious. The green apple I’ve added to the tzatziki gives it a little extra zing.

Recipe and image from I’d Eat That by Callum Hann, photography by Alan Benson. Published by Murdoch Books, RRP $24.99.

Serves: 4

Ingredients
130 g (1⁄2 cup) thick Greek yoghurt
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
a thumb-sized
piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
a handful of coriander, stems finely chopped, leaves reserved
1 tablespoon garam masala
6 boneless, skinless free-range chicken thighs
cooked white rice or naan bread, to serve (optional)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 brown onion, halved and thinly sliced
1⁄2 a red capsicum, seeded and thinly sliced
1 1⁄2 tablespoons tomato paste (concentrated purée)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 batch of simple but proper tzatziki
1 green apple (such as granny smith), coarsely grated, seeds removed
75 g (1⁄2 cup) frozen peas
25 g (1⁄4 cup) flaked almonds (optional)

Method
1. In a large bowl, stir together the yoghurt, garlic, ginger, coriander stems and 2 teaspoons of the garam masala.

2. Cut each chicken thigh into nine pieces then stir into the yoghurt mixture, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or ideally for 1–3 hours, if you have time.

3. If you are making rice, start it just before you start cooking the korma.

4. Heat a large heavy-based saucepan over a high heat. Add the canola oil, then the onion and capsicum and stir for 3–5 minutes, or until the onion starts to turn golden brown.Add the tomato paste,curry powder, salt and the remaining garam masala, and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently, before adding the chicken and yoghurt mixture.

5. Cook for 8–13 minutes, stirring often, or until the yoghurt has started to brown and the chicken has just cooked through (piping hot flesh with no sign of pink in the juices).Turn the heat off.

6. Meanwhile, make the tzatziki (omitting the dill in the recipe). Roughly chop half the coriander leaves and stir them through the tzatziki with the grated apple.

7. Stir the frozen peas through the korma.The second they have warmed through in the korma, put the taztziki in the middle of the table with the rice or naan bread.

8. Scatter over the remaining coriander leaves and flaked almonds (if using) and serve.

What’s your favourite curry dish?