Here’s the other recipe I tried out from our Book Club’s January selection Climbing the Mango Tree.
I must admit that this too I found kinda bland…but i upped the spice quotient and it was simple yet delicious.
Chicken Cooked in a Yogurt-Almond Sauce (Murgh Korma)
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
One 2 ½ -inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4-5 good-sized cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons blanched, slivered almonds
1 ½ cups plain (nonfat) yogurt
1 ½ teaspoons garam masala (see below for Madhur’s recipe)
1 tablespoon ground coriander
½ – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
1 ½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons peanut or olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into fine half-rings
Two 2-inch sticks of cinnamon
8 whole cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
3 ¼ pounds chicken, cut into 8 pieces (see headnote)
2 tablespoons golden raisins (sultanas)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
DIRECTIONS
Put the ginger, garlic and ¼ cup water into a blender. Blend until you have a smooth paste. Add the almonds and another 2 tablespoons water. Blend again until you have a smooth paste.
Put the yogurt in a bowl. Whisk it lightly with a fork or whisk until smooth. Add the garam masala, ground coriander, cayenne and salt. Stir well into mix.
Put the oil into a large, preferably nonstick sauté pan and set it over medium heat. When it is hot, put in the sliced onions. Stir and fry for 10-12 minutes, turning the heat don if necessary, until the onion slices are reddish brown. Remove the onion slices with a slotted spoon, squeezing out as much of the oil as you can with the back of a second spoon, and leaving that oil back in the pan. Spread the onion slices over a paper towel-lined plate.
Put the cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves into the same pan over medium heat. Stir once or twice. A minute later, put in the chicken pieces, only as many as the pan can hold easily in a single layer. Brown the chicken lightly on both sides, removing them to a bowl when done. Do all the chicken pieces this way. Add the golden raisins. Stir a few times and then add the paste from the blender. Stir and fry for two minutes. Now put the contents of the bowl with the chicken, including all the accumulated juices, the contents of the yogurt bowl and the fried onions. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer, still on medium heat. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook gently for 25-30 minutes, stirring gently now and then, until the chicken pieces are tender. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve.
To Make Punjabi Garam Masala used in Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe:
Put in a spice grinder
1 tbsp of cardamom seeds
1 tsp of whole black peppercorns
1 tsp of whole black cumin seeds
1 tsp of cloves
1/3 of a nutmeg
2″ stick of cinnamon
Grind finely and store in an air tight jar. This makes about 3 tbsp of Garam Masala
BTW ..WHAT was Lady Gaga wearing at the Grammy’s??????????????????Definitely Out-of-this-world!!!!!
Art , Food and Travel Chronicles 
mallugirl
/ February 17, 2010i too loved the book, but the recipes i felt were geared towards a western audience so didn’t bother.:))crazy outfit..but she succeeded in getting the attention.
bergamot
/ February 6, 2010The korma looks flavoursome
Shwetha
/ February 6, 2010Yeah, when I saw that outfit, I was like what on earth. But I’m not sure which horrified me more – Bjork’s outfit where she looked like a Swan that got lost midst of migration or this one.
The curry looks divine. I love hot food too. 🙂
Sashi
/ February 6, 2010Never had this before lovely, looks creamy with almond Sauce Sheba.
Anita
/ February 5, 2010The curry looks great. Not too sure about Gaga’s outfit though. It doesn’t look very comfortable or practical 😛
Love2cook
/ February 4, 2010Hi S!
I love chicken, so do ur Murgh Korma! Wow, delicious foodies here! I’m adding U in my list without ur permission…hehehe 🙂
Owh yeah, I’ve brought a jug of pineapple punch for U! Cheers… 😉
Cham
/ February 3, 2010I was wondering what she would have done after wearing those shoes! Pampered with foot spa or the whole body! One of the scifi dress !
The masala looks very tasty!
nisha
/ February 3, 2010My chicken dishes are so bad i hate having to make it…Unfortunately chicken is one of my fav and i cant do without it also. I am always thrilled at finding new chicken recipes, hope i wount screw it up
And about lady gaga…she just gets wilder..yellow tresses? seriously!!!!
s
/ February 7, 2010so gutsy right!
Urmi
/ February 3, 2010I appreciate for your wonderful presentation and mouth watering pictures. The dishes looks delicious and tempting.
Jagruti
/ February 3, 2010lovely, rich and yummy kurma…thanks for the punjabi garam masala recipe
aquadaze
/ February 3, 2010Lovely review Sheba. Yeah, even I got the feeling that her recipes were kinda bland, more suited to the western palate.
The chicken looks absolutely delish, it is the one that I am making over the weekend.
And Ann , am I glad that you are yet to post your review, it means that I wasn’t the last!!!
Pooh
/ February 2, 2010I actually loved Lady Gaga’s dress… impractical but totally cool.. kind of like a fairy and she carried off a neon wig with that outfit…
I am going to get the book again soon… once I start cooking.. as of now I am living off the stock in my freezer…
Gulmohar
/ February 2, 2010this is so nutty and rich..yumm..
can you call it a dress..lol..
Bong Mom
/ February 2, 2010I loved the Korma, made it from the same book but I did change a little
Sayantani
/ February 2, 2010You know Sandeepa also cooked this recipe sometimes ago. this looks delicious S.
sometimes I really dont understand why do they wear such clothes….the only reason could be to grab more attention and publicity.
s
/ February 7, 2010yea Im sure thats the case..though u must admire her persistence.
Jaya Wagle
/ February 2, 2010Sheba, hats off to you for following all those steps to make the gravy. It looks good, though what did you do to make it spicier?
For me, if it is not a one pot meal, as in throw everything one after the other, I loose interest in the recipe. Chart it to my laziness. Guess that’s why I chose the easy route and made what I made!
s
/ February 3, 2010Jaya, I just increased the amt of pepper ….I CANNOt eat bland food..unlike my husband who hates anything spicy(thanks to the navy)
ruchikacooks
/ February 2, 2010Nice korma, have heard a lot about murgh mougali etc this looks gorgeous..may be I can try this with potatoes.
Where did you get that pix of Lady G? May be she thought people will go Gaga 🙂
haven’t read the book too 😦 looking forward to a nice evening with the mango tree!
Ann
/ February 2, 2010PS The more apt question would be…how did Lady gaga WALK in those …errr..shoes?
s
/ February 2, 2010I KNOW!!!! waiting to read ur review…..
Ann
/ February 2, 2010SHEBA!!!! This is getting out of control, I made the cheese vali gobi and the yoghurt chicken too!!!! I haven’t posted my reviews yet, got hammered at work and can’t blog. Though I fudged the yoghurt chicken recipe so much with another recipe that I had wanted to try, in the end it really wasn’t that similar to M’s original recipe….
EEERIEEEE though….
shahana
/ February 2, 2010Really liked the murg korma recipe.will give a try soon.
Abhilash
/ February 2, 2010Murgh korma… never had this before. I hope this looks a variety and I will try to find it in some hotels and taste it.
Regarding lady gaga… I am pleased that she is a statue and I am sure she is not wearing anything safe 🙂
s
/ February 7, 2010safe? Im sure it hurts like crazy!
Priya
/ February 2, 2010Such a rich and creamy chicken dish, tempting dish…dunno how she entred into her dress…lol Lady Gaga..
Asha
/ February 2, 2010Korma as opposed to spicy south Indian Kurma is mild tasting, your’s looks great though. I have that book too, god recipe to choose. I like Garam masala spices.
Lady GAGA is KOOKOO! ;D
s
/ February 7, 2010thanks ..