If you’re looking for a rich, creamy, and aromatic dish, this recipe is perfect. It will impress your family and friends. This Persian Style Chicken Korma recipe is the perfect choice. Unlike the more familiar Indian-style korma, this Persian-inspired version uses the Persian inspired flavours of fruit, honey, nuts, and yogurt. Warm spices are also used, creating a dish that’s both comforting and elegant. Tender chicken is cooked in a silky sauce made with ground almonds, onions, apricots, and yoghurt. Giving it a luxurious texture that pairs beautifully with saffron rice or fresh naan bread.
This chicken korma is surprisingly easy to prepare. It is guaranteed to impress at any dinner table, whether you’re new to Indian cooking or a seasoned home chef. With its balance of creaminess and subtle spice, it’s a recipe you’ll want to make again and again. Let’s dive into how to make the best Persian-style chicken curry at home!
Of course before we start, I need to point out that this is a fusion of Indian & Persian flavours. Korma is an Indian dish, you don’t get a Korma in Persian cuisine. So we are taking an Indian dish and adding ingredients that give it a Persian twist… think Pathia or Peshwari Naan but with a Korma! I know how useful people on social media can be pointing out these things! Ha!
This whole dish was created after a moderator on The UK Curry Group on Facebook set a challenge. The challenge was to cook a curry using fruit. Well, I can’t resist a challenge!
I liked the idea of apricots in a curry, and that’s what sent me down the Persian influenced rabbit hole. Sultanas seemed a great choice too. But I know how some people feel about them, if you’re a hater, that’s fine, leave them out! Honey seemed an obvious choice to sweeten the curry and pistachio added to the whole decadence of the dish. I liked the idea of honey and pistachio combined in a spicy brittle. With sweetness, spice and that almost burnt flavour that I thought would really add to the layers of flavour.
This Persian Chicken Curry isn’t a quick curry fix. But with the separate components, it makes the dish easier to breakdown and you can prepare parts in advance. The gravy will keep in the fridge for a couple days and the brittle should be fine for weeks. Although, if not using straight away, don’t make it into a crumb until you are ready to make the curry. Otherwise, it will just clump together again.
Remember, use the recipe as a guide only. It is really easy to adapt to your own taste. You could even make this more decadent by infusing some saffron in some single cream to drizzle over the finished product. Let your imagination run wild!
As always, the spice blends used in the recipe are available to buy from www.omemade.co.uk.
And if you like this recipe why not have a look at some of the other recipes on the blog. Here’s another medium spiced and sweeter style one, Chicken Chasni
And if you cook any of the curries on the blog, please give them a share on social media and use the hashtag #omemade so we can find them!
Happy cooking!
Persian Style Chicken Korma
Ingredients
Fruity Hotel Style Gravy
- 3 medium onions, chopped
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic and ginger paste or 1 clove of garlic, chopped and 1 teaspoon of chopped ginger
- 2 tsp Hotel Gravy masala or 1/2tsp of garam masala, 1 tsp ground coriander and 1/2tsp ground cumin
- 400 g tinned apricots and the syrup
- 2 tbsp plain, natural yoghurt
- 70 g ground almonds
- 70 g grated fresh or frozen coconut
- 1 small finger chilli, sliced
Pistacio, Honey & Fire Masala Brittle Crumb
- 60 g caster sugar
- 40 g honey
- 50 g shelled, unsalted pistachios
- 2 tsp 'Ome Made Fire Masala or a pinch of salt, 1 tsp chilli flakes and a grind of black pepper
The Curry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
- 2 tbsp garlic & ginger paste or 1 tbsp each of finely chopped ginger and garlic
- 1 tbsp sultanas (optional)
- 1 tbsp mild curry powder or mix powder
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 0.5 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 full portion of the above hotel gravy
- 750 g diced chicken breast or thigh
- 150 ml single cream
- 1 tbsp honey add more or less to taste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 2 tsp rose water (optional)
- 100 g pomegranite seeds
Instructions
Fruity Hotel Style Gravy
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the onions and salt. Turn the heat to moderately low and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 – 40 seconds
- Add the Hotel Masala and cook for roughly 30 seconds
- Add all the other ingredients, stir in, and cook gently for around 20 minutes
- Take off the heat and let cool slightly before blitzing to a thick smooth sauce with an immersion blender.
Pistachio, Fire Masala & Honey Brittle Crumb
- Line a baking tin or tray with baking parchment.
- Heat the sugar and honey in a pan on a medium low heat until the temperature reaches 138℃. This will take approximately 10 minutes.
- Once the mixture reaches 138℃, remove from the heat. Add the nuts and spices, stirring in briskly before turning onto the baking parchment. Spread out and leave until completely cool.
- Break the brittle up and then pulse in a spice or coffee grinder to a course crumb. If you don't have a grinder, you could put the brittle in a bag and bash it with a rolling pin to break it up.
Making The Curry
- heat the oil in a pan or kadai. once hot add the sultanas and cook for a few seconds on a moderately low heat.
- Add the garlic and ginger paste and cook for around 40 seconds
- Add the curry/mix powder, Kashmiri Chilli and cinnamon, cook on a low heat for 40 seconds. Add a splash of hot water if the mixture is sticking.
- add the fruity hotel gravy and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken. It will look thick but don't panic it will thin out with the juices coming out of the chicken as it cooks and when the cream is added.
- Put the curry on a low heat so it's just simmering. Place a lid on the pan and cook for around 10 minutes.
- Take the lid off the curry and add the cream, honey, salt and garam masala. Stir together and bring back to a simmer. At this point if the curry sauce is still looking too thick then you can thin it out with a little hot water. Carry on cooking at a gentle simmer for around 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through (test with a temperature probe that the core temperature of the chicken is 75℃ or cut into the centre of a larger piece of chicken and make sure that there is no pinkness)
- Stir in the fresh coriander and the optional rose water. The curry can now be served, garnished with the pomegranate seeds, the pistachio and honey brittle and a drizzle of extra cream if you desire.