I’m sharing another pour and cook recipe! This is the easiest and fastest way to make creamy white chicken korma.
A pour and cook chicken korma recipe? Yes, it’s true! This korma is crazy delicious and basically effortless.
To make this white chicken korma, you blend yogurt, garlic, ginger and few spices together and then pour that yogurt sauce over chicken and cook. No need to cut the raw chicken into pieces.
Once the chicken is done, you stir a creamy cashew sauce into the curry and then either shred the chicken right in the pot or use kitchen shears/scissors to cut the chicken into cubes (so it looks more chicken curry-like? I do this sometimes only because my (ahem, picky) husband has something against shredded chicken… 🤷🏽♀️😂).
WHAT IS WHITE CHICKEN KORMA?
White chicken korma is a mildly spiced, creamy and nutty curry. It’s also known as safed murgh (translation: white chicken).
What’s really cool about this dish is that it calls for ingredients typically used in royal dishes from Mughlai cuisine and yet it’s simple to make. So not only is this a great weeknight dish, it’s fancy enough to serve on a special occasion.
Speaking of royal cuisine, rumor has it (not above gossip here…) that white chicken korma was served at the completion dinner of the Taj Mahal, you know – the famous white marble mausoleum that Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built for his wife Mumtaz.
My recipe is made with yogurt, cashews, sesame seeds or white poppy seeds, and a bit of heavy cream. As for spices, I use cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and garam masala. No ghee necessary, but add it if you want – ghee will never hurt a dish.
WHY SHOULD I MAKE THIS WHITE CHICKEN KORMA?
This is a great family-friendly dish because the kids can eat it as is and adults can top it with sliced green chilies to make it spicier. Fresh mint is a nice touch but cilantro works too, of course.
Another good reason to make this? Because it’s what I call a “unicorn recipe” (okay, I literally just made that phrase up and wouldn’t actually use it in real life… probably). What’s a “unicorn recipe” you ask? I’m not talkin’ about those rainbow-colored recipes (clearly). A “unicorn recipe” is when the taste of a dish far exceeds the amount of effort required to make it – in like, an unbelievable kind of way. Other “unicorn recipes” include green chicken, coconut curry chicken and Thai chicken curry.
Alright, go make this and come back to let me know how much you love it! 🙂
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
Yogurt Sauce:
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 green chili
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon white or black pepper
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Add Later:
- ½ cup cashews
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds or white poppy seeds
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup water
- mint and green chilies garnish
Instructions
- Blend the ingredients listed under “yogurt sauce” and pour this over the raw chicken. Mix well.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- While waiting for the chicken to cook, add the cashews, sesame seeds or poppy seeds and heavy cream to the blender (I don’t bother rinsing) and let this sit (to allow the nuts and seeds to soften).
- Naturally release pressure or wait 10 minutes then release pressure.
- Blend the cashew sauce. Press sauté on the instant pot, pour the sauce into the pot and cook for a couple of minutes.
- You can either shred the chicken right in the pot or use kitchen shears/scissors to cut the chicken into cubes.
- Garnish with mint and green chilies.
Video
Notes
- Don’t worry about using black pepper, the dish will still look white overall. Oh you weren’t worried? Heh, alright then…
Siobhan says
I poured the korma over frozen hash browns, topped with panko, and baked at 375 for 25 minutes, made an amazing casserole. I also substituted Gardein chick’n strips for real chicken and reduced the cook time in the instant pot to 3 minutes and did a quick release to keep the fake chick’n from getting mushy. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Chrissy says
I didn’t think I could like this as much as regular korma, but it’s amazing. I used 1.5 tbsp of 50:50 garlic ginger since I already had it on hand and we grilled onions and peppers coated in garam masala to stir in which really took it over the edge. Served it with jeera rice. Loved the mint on top!
Lani says
I have to admit, I recently gave away my instant pot, so I made this on the stovetop. The recipe turned out delicious and delicate. I had been searching for an Indian dish outside the realm of flavors and ingredients I already use, and this was spot on. The delicate spices, creamy nutty sauce, and mint were delicious together. I paired with the Kasuri Methi Potato recipe and brown basmati rice.
Carol M Steele says
Is there a substitute for the green chili? Thanks!
Kamal says
Can you suggest a vegetarian replacement for the chicken? Would paneer or tofu work well? Another vegetarian alternative?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried with a vegetarian replacement but hopefully another reader can chime in if they have!
M says
I’d like to make this in the crockpot…can you suggest how to modify?
Susan T says
Chicken Korma is my favorite! I had never seen a white korma though. My favorite local restaurant’s Korma is a golden yellow color. I can’t wait to try this ‘unicorn recipe’ but I am curious about the cashews. I see roasted cashews in most stores, does it matter if we use raw/ unroasted cashews versus roasted ones? In most of the dairy-free recipes I have seen, they usually specify raw cashews when making cashew cream. Thank you!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Susan, that’s great! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this 🙂 I haven’t tried roasted cashews for this but I think it’ll be fine. You should be able to find raw cashews at Trader Joes – my ALDI has had them since winter and they’re also available at all Indian grocery stores. Whole Foods has them too much it’s much pricier there.
Anoop says
We made this last week. Is pretty good. Different taste. Good variety but we liked the brown kurma better.
Thanks for sharing.
Anoop.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Anoop, glad to hear that 🙂
Sam says
I made this on a stovetop with chicken breasts. The flavors were very good but there was a lot of gravy, perhaps a full cup of desi dahi is too much? I added a tablespoon of ghee to compensate for the lack of fat in chicken breasts and a teaspoon more garam masala at the end. A couple cups of peas made for a healthy meal, served over basmati rice.
Gayatri says
Love this recipe as did my picky 2 year old! Thank you! I skipped the poppy seeds as I didn’t have any but it turned out great.
My Heart Beets says
Gayatri, I’m so happy to hear that your 2-year-old liked this too! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Saswati says
This is one of our family favorites. So quick & easy, yet tasteful… my toddler loves this, just as much as my husband! I would usually make it without the cream, but can’t tell the difference. I usually serve it with basanti polau (bengali version of sweet yellow rice) – the combination is heavenly :). Thanks so much for this terrific recipe !
My Heart Beets says
Saswati, that’s so great to hear! I’m so glad your toddler likes this – that’s the biggest compliment (I have one, so I know how picky they can be lol). And that combination sounds great – thank you for sharing 🙂
Francis Major says
This is probably the most bland, yet beautiful curry I have made. Great for kids and people who cannot tolerate any kind of heat. Sliced green chilies and cilantro really take the dish to the next level. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Trace says
Hi, I absolutely love your book & your website. Quick question:
May I use chicken breasts?
Perhaps bone in so the result is less dry?
I don’t care much for chicken thighs.
Thanks.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Trace, I’ve only made this with chicken thighs but I think breast will be fine too. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Brian says
Can I use bone in thighs?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Brian, I’m sure bone-in will work – I’d just increase the cook time by 2 minutes. Let me know what you think of the dish!
Vijay says
If I wanted to make a vegetarian version with paneer, would I just cook the sauce for 5 minutes still? Or is that time to just make sure the chicken is cooked?
Niki says
Is it ok to leave out the yogurt for a dairy free version? Thank you
Robert says
Hi Ashley,
Do you happen to have a link on amazon for white poppy seeds? I can only seem to find black ones in my local markets. Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Robert, I know I’ve seen white poppy seeds on amazon in the past but I can’t seem to find a link right now – sorry! I’ll keep checking and update the post once they’re available. Do you have any Indian grocery stores near you? I’m sure they will have them there.
Robert says
Thanks, will do!
Also, I made this last night. The flavor is wonderful, but my version turned out noticeably gray in color in comparison with yours (It was looking gray-ish even before I added the cashew sauce with the black poppyseeds). The only deviation from your recipie was that I cut up the chicken thighs prior to placing them in the Instant Pot (not sure why I did that) Any ideas?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Robert, I’m so glad you liked this dish – thanks for letting me know how it turned out! So the white cashew sauce is really what makes the dish white – once you get the white poppy seeds, you’ll see! I plan on making and sharing a video for this recipe soon (hopefully)!
Roshni says
What can I substitute for the poppy seeds? I don’t have any on hand. Also, is there a healthier option to do this without heavy cream?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Roshni, sesame seeds will be a good sub for poppy seeds and you can try full-fat canned coconut milk as a sub for heavy cream. Hope you love it!
Shiney says
Great recipie , is it ok if we do not add cream ? is there a substitute for it ?
My Heart Beets says
Thanks Shiney! You can try it without cream – I’m sure it’ll still be good, just a bit less rich. You can use full-fat coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
Prachi says
Loved the gravy idea. What if I wanted to use paneer instead of chicken
Pallawi says
Ashley, which coconut flour do you use for this recipe? Any amazon link?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Pallawi, there’s no coconut flour in this recipe. Let me know if there’s another ingredient you’re looking for 🙂