AWADHI MURGH QORMA (WHITE CHICKEN QORMA )

Here, I am, back again with a Dish to celebrate.So far I know there would be more than six thousand recipes of chicken Qorma/Korma on Internet. Out of which there will be about 150 white chicken korma recipe. I spent days on my laptop but I found none close to the authentic, a mild aromatic korma, from Lucknow. I spoke to old Bawarchi's (cooks) of Lucknow but they also seemed to have limited information of the genesis of the White Qorma. During my research I came across 50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi. 
I was quite impressed with her research. she claimed in the book that White Chicken Qorma is basically a Muslim court dish, the Moghul Emperor Shahjehan, builder of the Taj Mahal monument, used to have all-white banquets on full-moon nights at the Agra Fort. The terrace of the fort was bedecked with white carpets and cushions and white flowers, the guests dressed in white, and all the dishes served were white in color. The white korma was later perfected at the tables of the gourmet Nawabs of Awadh in Lucknow. The Royal House of Jaipur connected by marriage to the Moghuls, also served all-white banquets on the night of Sharad Poornima, the September full moon, as late as the 1960s.
 
Originally this dish was made with almonds only, but modern cooks prefer a combination of cashews and almonds. The traditional Lucknowi recipe also includes 30 grams "chaar magaz" or "four seeds," a mix of various melon, squash, and pumpkin seeds available in India from specialty grocers, and a teaspoon of powdered rose petals. 

INGREDIENTS

 

• 1 kg chicken- Curry Cut or boneless
•  400 gm onions
•  15 gm garlic
• 15 gm fresh ginger
• 5 gm green chillies
• 200 gm plain yogurt 
• 10 gm poppy seeds
• 30 gm coconut
• 20  gm cashew nuts
• 10 gm  blanched almonds (optional)
• 6 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon 
• 6 Green cardamoms
• 1 tsp red chilly powder
• 1/3 Brown cardamon powder or 1 whole brown cardamon
• 150 gm ghee or clarified butter
•  salt

Method:

Join the Chicken. Wash and keep aside. Soak the poppy seeds in 1/2 cup of water for 1 hour. Then drain the water and grind into a fine paste with coconut and cashew nuts. Grind ginger and garlic to a fine paste along with green chillies and salt. Apply over chicken. keep for marination for 1 hour. peel and grind onions. heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. fry cloves, cinnamon and green cardamons. Stir for few minutes. Add onion paste and let the moisture dry up. Add red chilli powder and marinated chicken. Cover and cook gently. when dry add coconut paste. Fry until the fat separates but do not brown much. Add beaten curd and a cup of water. cover and cooked gently until check is done and gravy is thick. add cardamon powder. Serve garnish with mashed kohya, rainisn and fried chopped cashew-nuts along with Roomali Roti.

Top Tips

• Use fresh Ginger and Garlic
• Don't cook for long after putting the mixture of coconut and cashew-nut. It will get stuck to the bottom. 
• use Heavy bottom pan/deghchi

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives.” ― Oscar Wilde