Comfortable korma

When it comes to chilli, sign me up for mild.

I can’t do ridiculously hot; sweating profusely through a meal just to get to the end without my tastebuds being aware of what I’ve actually eaten? No thanks.

Subsequently I have a distrust of shop-bought curry pastes, they tend to be somewhat inconsistent in their heat claims and I’m yet to find one I can really rave about.

So I decided to make my own and this korma paste (a great mild choice for the chilli-inept) is bursting with flavour and made with ingredients that are easily found.

It’s based on a Jamie Oliver recipe, is nice and simple and you should get at least two meals from this amount of paste – once you start making your own paste, it’s difficult to go back to shop-bought.

This chicken korma is a perfect meal for a chilly night, but if you do find you end up with a korma that’s still a little sweat-inducing, a nice dollop of natural yoghurt should soothe the fire!

Chicken Korma Curry

Ingredients

Paste:

2 cloves garlic

1 piece of ginger, thumb-sized

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons peanut oil (or similar)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 fresh chillies

3 tablespoons desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons ground almonds

1 bunch fresh coriander

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

Curry:

500g chicken thighs, chopped

1 can coconut milk

1 zucchini, chopped

1 handful snow peas

Method

In a dry frying pan (no oil), place all the spices, ground almonds and coconut and brown lightly or until fragrant.

Place all your ingredients in a processor or Thermomix and whiz together until a smooth paste forms.

Place the curry paste in a jar and store in the fridge until needed.

To make your chicken korma, brown chicken thighs in a hot frying pan with a dash of peanut oil.

Reduce heat and add about two tablespoons of korma paste (or to taste), frying until fragrant.

Add coconut milk, zucchini and snow peas and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

Serve on a bed of rice with a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Enjoy!