I made chicken korma.
Actually I can't boast about my cooking as I am a lousy cook.That is why my family members(two innocent victims) are highly surprised once they had the first bite in their mouths.
My husband took the first bite with that ' what to do' look in his eyes which I have seen so many times in the past once they were forced to eat one of my elaborate but failed dishes for the lunch. I was eagerly watching his response and got ready to listen to another lecture on my cooking.
His expresion changed and I closed my eyes waiting for the familiar set of words. When I opened my eyes he was full of smiles.Gobbling the first piece and taking another juicy one in his hands he exclaimed " oh,my! Finally my woman has shown her culinary expertise!"
Brimming with pride and joy but very cautious not to show it as he is unpredictable in his remarks, I controlled my facial muscles which were trying so hard to surface a smile.
I threw a humble look at him.He was eating and talking and I couldn't decide which was faster.'That's what I am telling you all the time, woman! If you pay more attention to your cooking he and I won't have to go hungry "(nodding at the direction of my son) .
To say how much he appreciated my chicken curry, my hopes of sharing a dish with my neighbour was totally shattered.
Up to now I kept you in the dark and now comes the most important thing.
The secret was in the simplicity of the dish.
I don't want to tire you with my details but this dish was very different from my regular chicken dishes and that's why I want to share it with you.
I did some adjustments with the ingredients and used only the most important.
Apart from chicken I added a lot of coriander leaves,( not only for garnish but in the curry too), curd, garam masala ( something similar to our spices) and water. Yes a lot of water. Three cups full!
No coconut milk. I was puzzled as how to make the curry creamy and thick without coconut milk and doubtful whether it would succeed.
Though it needed a few ingredients the method was somewhat fussy. Some ingredients were to be grounded and some were to be fried and at the end I couldn't find space to continue my cooking as my table was literally cluttered with plates and dishes.
but I shouldn't worry about them. The final outcome was a marvel.The gravy was very very tasty. As the curry was cooked in low heat for a long time all the flavours were absorbed well into the chicken pieces and it was heavenly to the palette.The dish wafted the strong flavour of corriander leaves(cilantro leaves) and it was tempting and mouthwatering. So I had to bear my husband's over indulgence with the dish.
Hope any of you are tempted to try this at home and I would like to hear from you You can get the recipe from the YouTube.(there are hundreds of recipes for korma).. Actually it won't go wrong. Whatever happens, your dish will taste good due to corriander leaves and the curd.
