Chicken Shahi Korma
Originally posted May 8, 2012. Updated 12/6/2020
This Chicken Shahi Korma recipe is a replica of our favourite dish at a Minneapolis Indian restaurant we used to frequent (Taste of India).
Worth the bit of effort it takes to make it!
Back when I first posted this - eight and a half years ago - I was just at the end of an incredibly busy few weeks, preparing for the release of “Twisted: A Minneapolis Tornado Memoir”.
Things had calmed down a little, so I had decided to finally blog my Chicken Shahi Korma recipe!
This had been a favourite for a while before posting.
Now that we’ve moved home to Canada - far away from the favourite restaurant that inspired it! - it’s become a VERY handy recipe to have on hand!
What is Chicken Korma?
Korma is a fairly common item when ordering Indian food, but can be vary wildly in terms of what it is.
Most commonly, I’ve seen it as a creamy curry, where the rich sauce contains pureed cashews. Aside from the pureed nuts, they tend to contain onions and other aromatics, spices, and either yogurt or coconut milk.
Chicken Korma vs Chicken Shahi Korma
While Korma is a pretty commonly available offering on Indian restaurant menus, Shahi Korma tends to be much more rare.
“Shahi” refers to the dish being “royal”, and it’s a dressed up version of a basic korma. In this case, the addition of cashews, raisins, and chunks of paneer is what makes it “royal”.
How This Recipe Came Into Existence
Chicken Shahi Korma was my absolute favorite thing to order at our favorite Indian restaurant back in Minneapolis - Taste of India. I mean, to the point where I’d never actually ordered a different entree there - I fell in love with it, and don’t tend to stray!
While we were always in the mood for some Shahi Korma, we were usually far less likely to be in the mood to deal with traffic, noise, and... well, people.
At the time, I’d been meaning to unleash one of my only useful “Autistic Superpowers” - recipe replication - on this for a while.
If I taste something, I can usually replicate it pretty easily - in terms of end product.
I’ve mentioned before that my particular flavour of autism has meant things like... looking at those “Bob is 3 years older than Susan, who is twice the age of David” kind of problems, and just knowing the answer.
I can’t tell you how I know it, it’s just sort of there.
With my recipe replication, it’s the same sort of thing. I can taste something, and just sort of spit out an ingredients list, proportions/measurements and all. It’s just... there.
Yeah, I don’t know. Brains are weird.
As a Caveat
Bit of a disclaimer: in doing this, I don’t tend to research the history, techniques, etc - I like to figure most of it out on my own.
As a result, there’s a good chance that something in my techniques- and maybe even my ingredients - could be way off ... and that’s ok. I just find that “flying blind” tends to facilitate a more accurate final result, with however it’s coming together in my head.
In the case of ethnic cooking, I have no idea which regions have different takes on a dish, and how authentic whatever I’m try"ing to replicate is in the first place.
I just know that this tastes exactly like the source material... without making any claims about that source material.
Well, you know, aside from the fact that the source material - Taste of India’s Chicken Shahi Korma - is AMAZING, and you should totally order it if you’re ever in Minneapolis!
Also, if you're interested in gluten-free cooking and baking, you should definitely check out my gluten-free cookbooks: Beyond Flour: A Fresh Approach to Gluten Free Cooking & Baking, and the sequel... Beyond Flour 2. You can order them right here on my website, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller.
More Indian Food Recipes....
Love this Chicken Shahi Korma recipe? Be sure to check out these other fabulous Indian - and Indian inspired - recipes!
Butter Chicken Recipe
Cilantro Chicken Recipe
Cilantro-Mint Chutney Recipe
Gluten-Free Chicken Pakora Recipe
Gluten-Free Mixed Vegetable Pakora Recipe
Gluten-Free Paneer Pakora Recipe
Gluten-Free Samosa Recipe
Mango Lassi Popsicles Recipe
Paneer Burgers Recipe
Tandoori Spiced Chicken Burger with Mango Recipe
Anyway, on to that Chicken Shahi Korma Recipe!
Chicken Shahi Korma
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs and or/breast meat
- 2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Ginger
- 8 Garlic cloves Peeled & pressed/minced
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 Whole Cloves
- 1 tsp Black Peppercorns
- 5 Cardamom Pods
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- ½ cup Unsalted Cashews
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Ground Coriander
- 3 tsp Crushed Dried Chilies
- 2 tsp Garam Masala
- ½ tsp Ground Cardamom
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Onions Finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 cups Coconut Milk* Or heavy cream
- 1 cup Plain Yogurt
- 12 oz Paneer Cubed
- ¾ cup Golden Raisins
- ½-3/4 cup Cashews
- ¼ cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
- ¼ cup Chopped Cilantro
Instructions
- Cut chicken into large cubes, place in a large bowl.
- Put ginger, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil into a blender or food processor – process till it’s a thick paste. Pour over chicken, toss to coat, and marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
- Grind cloves, peppercorns, cardamom pods, and fennel seedswith a spice mill or mortar/pestle.
- In a blender, combine freshly ground spices with cashews, chicken broth, and olive oil, process until fairly smooth. Add sugar, cinnamon, cumin, tumeric, coriander, pepper flakes Garama masala, and ground caradmom, process till combined. Set aside.
- In a large pan, cook chopped onions in 1 Tbsp olive oil until tender and translucent. Add chicken and tomato paste, cook until tomato paste starts to brown and/or gets very aromatic. Add chicken broth/spice mixture, along with coconut milk/heavy cream and yogurt. Stir well, reduce heat to low, simmer for about 1 hour.
- When sauce has thickened, add paneer, raisins, cashews, parsely and cilantro. Stir well, continue to cook for another 15 minutes.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Ok I am so glad I found this I eat this every other friday at work. I love Taste of India my office is just down the street and this is what I order every time I go. I have gotten my co-workers hooked on it as well. So thank you know I can make it at home when I am craving it abd bring it to work to share.
I do not usually post my thoughts about recipes...so let this be my first. I have tried about five different shahi korma recipes I have found on-line, and your recipe is my absolute favorite. I am posting this while my onions are cooking tonight...about the 5th time I have made this recipe and it has never disappointed! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Amanda,
Thank you so much for your feedback! It's definitely a favorite of ours, and it's always great to hear that other people enjoy my recipes as much as we do!
- Marie
Amazing Post/ Blog Marie keep up the great work!
Thanks, Natasha!
This is my go-to Indian recipe. This is by far the best recipe I have found outside my favorite restaurant! I was surprised how many of these spices I already had in my pantry, thanks for sharing it 🙂
Thank you for the kind words, Mary! I'm honoured!
This recipe is spot on. It was so good. Now that I don't live in the Twin Cities, I can save the money on gas and make my favorite meal and eat it for days. Yummmm!!!! Thanks again.
Wish I had your superpower. I can't wait to try this - everything I love in food.
I just found it interesting that I was looking for a recipe for Chicken shahi korma and after looking at 5 other sites come to this one and notice that (1) you are the person I read about in the Star and Tribune article a few days ago publishing a book (2) you have been to Taste of India ,one of my favorite restaurants and (3) Shahi korma is your favorite dish there and apparently the only one you have ordered , the same as me . I look forward to trying your recipe , hopefully tonight. THanks
Hi Don,
Welcome to my blog! What a funny set of circumstances, I love it. I didn't even know I was in the Strib recently, I'll have to look it up!
Enjoy the recipe
I have been looking for a shahi korma recipe to make. It is my favorite dish from a nearby Indian restaurant. Your recipe looks delicious and is the one I want to try. However, I have never had paneer in shahi korma before so I am hesitant to try it. Also, I am having a very hard time finding paneer in my local grocery stores. And I don't want to make it myself, even if it is fairly easy to make. After some research, I've found that I can substitute halloumi cheese for the paneer, as it has a similar texture and consistency. I am wondering if the paneer is a necessary ingredient in this recipe. If it is, would halloumi be an appropriate substitute? If I don't need to use the paneer, should I add anything else to complete the recipe. Thanks for your response. I can't wait to try it either way!
I think you can easily skip it. I love it in there, but many kormas have no paneer.
Just wondering where you can find all the ingredients. Im dying to try to make this and didnt see everything at the grocery store.
Have you tried Indian grocery stores for anything you can't find in a normal grocery store?
Can't wait to try this! I love Indian food and start to crave it after a few weeks.
Penzey's spice might be an online site to try for spices. https://www.penzeys.com/search/#?q=Indian
Great recipe!! Family loved it. For the paneer I marinated for 5 min in turmeric and red chili ( just a little with salt and olive oil. Lightly fry in small pan. Then I added it to the chicken. It was absolutely the best.
My family specifically said keep this recipe.
Great recipe!! Family loved it. For the paneer I marinated for 5 min in turmeric and red chili ( just a little with salt and olive oil). Lightly fry in small pan. Then I added paneer to the chicken. It was absolutely thebest
This sounds amazing! I can just imagine how wonderful it smells while cooking! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Anything Chicken Korma is just delicious and this looks incredible. Bet it's delicious!
Nice blend of delicious flavors....plus that aroma!!
Absolutely love the flavours in this delicious dish!
This looks delicious! I love Indian food so I am excited to try this recipe.
Its so crazy, I use to hate Indian food, and now I can't get enough of it. I can't wait to try this recipe, it looks amazing. Thanks for sharing!
We love Indian recipes, and this looks so delicious. So I'm going to save this recipe and will make it in the near future. Thank you for sharing.
I love Indian food
Loved this shahi korma! First time trying it!
I love anything "korma" when I go out for Indian food. I need to give this recipe a try!
Fantastic recipe! I've always wanted to try a korma but never got around to it! Was delicious!
Chicken shahi kurma looks delicious creamy and rich as it supposed to be. yummy meal with rice.
The flavors of this dish are amazing!
Wow, all of the spices I this dish sound so good and your pictures look so yummy!
This Chicken Shahi Korma looks absolutely delicious!
This looks so so good. My husband will love this dish.
I’ll substitute chicken with vegetables as I am vegetarian. But it’s spot on recipe!
Oh wow, this chicken sounds so good. I absolutely love the flavors, all the spices you used here. I can't wait to make this.