Chicken Korma with coconut milk and cashews – a rich and creamy curry that’s mildly spiced and easy to make! Serve over cauliflower rice for a hearty and healthy low carb meal! | Gluten Free + Paleo + Whole30
Let’s be real.
Curries can look really intimidating to make. They always have these huge ingredients lists and the flavours are always so complex and delicious that it just feels like a lot. Ya know?
Well. Difficult, this is not. Glancing briefly at the ingredients and instructions here this chicken korma with coconut milk might look like a lot it’s actually a pretty easy, straight forward curry that takes about 30 minutes to make with ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.
Personally, the most challenging thing about making this is chopping the onions. I am a total wimp when it comes to onions. Just standing over a hot pan full of onions is enough to make my eyes burn but it’s so worth it in the end.
So let’s get cookin’!
How to Make: Chicken Korma with Coconut Milk
Altogether this curry can be made in about 30 minutes. It’s made almost entirely in one pan, though you will need a blender or even a small food processor as well.
Start off by simply frying up your cubed chicken in coconut oil. Cook for about five minutes and then remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. It’s alright if the chicken isn’t 100% cooked through at this stage because you will be adding it back to your dish later.
Moving on: it’s time to pull out the blender. We’re basically going to be making out own ginger/garlic/onion paste by blending them all up with a little water until smooth and watery. Normally in curries like these you’d be asked to use a pre made or pre bought paste, but we’re just going to make it because it’s faster, easier and cheaper.
Note: This recipe calls for two onions. One onion (the roughly chopped one) will be blended along with the garlic and ginger while the other is chopped and fried separately.
In the same pan you used to cook the chicken, heat the remaining coconut oil and begin frying your remaining onion. Cook for about 10 minutes until it’s soft and slightly browned. Add the spices and onion puree and cook for about a minute.
Stir in the coconut milk and chicken stock and let that mixture simmer and reduce into a nice, thick, golden-brown sauce. At this point all you need to do is add in the chicken and cashews and cook another 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked and piping hot. Top it off with some fresh cilantro and serve!
This chicken korma with coconut milk is a great option for people who are sensitive to spicy foods. It’s a pretty mild curry with only 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder. You can also reduce that amount down even more to 1/4 teaspoon if you really want to play it safe.
If you’re looking for a Whole30/low carb meal, serve this over warmed cauliflower rice and you’re all set! Otherwise a side of gluten free flatbread or naan and regular rice is also a great option!
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Chicken Korma with Coconut Milk
Chicken Korma with coconut milk and cashews - a rich and creamy curry that's mildly spiced and easy to make! Serve over cauliflower rice for a hearty and healthy low carb meal! | Gluten Free + Paleo + Whole30
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts seasoned with black pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 brown onions (one quartered and another chopped)
- 2 tablespoons garlic, crushed or finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground corriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, (use 1/4 teaspoon if you're extra sensitive to spicy food)
- 1 cup full fat unsweetened coconut milk or coconut cream from a can
- 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- fresh cilantro for topping
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a large pan or skillet. Add the chicken and cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally until almost fully cooked through. Transfer the chicken to plate or bowl and set aside.
- Add the quartered onion (saving the other chopped onion for later), the garlic, ginger and water to a blender or small food processor and blend into a puree. Set aside momentarily.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon coconut oil to the same pan you used to cook the chicken. Once warm add the chopped onions and sauté the onions for 10 minutes until soft and browned.
- Stir in the onion, garlic & ginger puree along with the cumin, coriander, turmeric garam masala and chili powder. Cook 1 minute.
- Add the coconut milk (or cream) and chicken stock and let simmer for at least 5 minutes. Let the mixture reduce down and thicken slightly.
- Add the chicken to the pan along with the cashews and cook another 5 minutes until the chicken cooked through and piping hot.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and more cashews if you'd like and serve hot over rice.
Notes
Nut Alternatives: You can replace the cashews with flaked almonds or another nut of choice or omit them altogether.
Coconut Milk: I recommend using a full fat coconut milk from a can as opposed to reduced fat or carton milk. The extra fat will yield a creamier curry. You can also just use straight coconut cream or regular dairy cream if you can tolerate dairy/don't need this to be Whole30 compliant.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 396Saturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 756mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 29g
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe for my family, during the quarantine we came to stay with my parents and brothers so we are a total of 8 in the house counting my husband and 2 daughters ! The last time I had chicken korma was 10 years ago when I lived in England and I’ve been missing it so much .When I found this recipe on pinterest it looked to good to be true and waaaay to easy but on mothers day i gave it a try and also made naan bread. Let me just say that it was FANTASTIIIIIC ! My brothers loved it and my parents who had never tried it before just adored it ! I just finished making some right now for lunch !!! Thank you sooo much!!! From Cuenca Ecuador !!!
Hi Maria! I’m so glad to hear that you all enjoyed it so much! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know what you thought! Hope you and your family are staying safe in these strange times!
Did not taste like a Korma – more like a green Thai curry.
Agree and far too bitter.. (and I have made many curries). However…! After I added some ground almonds, honey and a splash of mango chutney, it was much more tasty.
Hi. Was wondering if I had curry powder, could I substitute that for the spices? If so, how much curry powder. I have garam masala so I can use that.
Thanks.
Hi Michele! I think that’s a good option if you don’t have all the spices on hand. I recommend using 2 tablespoons curry powder but still using the garam masala as well.
Chicken ended up too dry, I would suggest thighs next time. Also the whole thing was slightly bland, so I would add a lot more curry and chili powder next time.
Can’t go wrong with more spice!
Thank you for the receipe, it had good flavours. But I found it slightly bitter tasting. I’m not sure why. I used full fat coconut milk. I did forget to add the salt, could this be the reason? Would be grateful for any tips on how to add some extra sweetness to this curry?
Hi Julia! In my own experience I’d definitely say that salt can make or break a recipe. Sometimes things just taste off for some reason that I can’t put my finger on until I realise that it just needs a little more salt. If you make this again and that doesn’t help, you could also try adding a teaspoon of sugar to the sauce if you’re looking for a little more sweetness.
Thank you so much, ma’am, for this detailed recipe, you have explained all the steps so nicely. It is somewhat different from what I employ, I use generous amount of fried sliced onions (as well as their paste) but haven’t used coconut milk, that seems very interesting… will definitely try it out.
I hope you love it!
Loved this recipe! Would definitely say it tasted like Korma unlike other comments. I added more coconut milk, raisins and natural yoghurt as my family have more of a sweet tooth then spices but there was still definitely a kick to it. Thumbs up from all and will definitely be making again
Thanks Laura! So glad you enjoyed it!
Sounds great! At what point did you add the yogurt?
I had marinated some chicken for kebabs 2 days ago and when I cooked the first batch in my air fryer they were too salty so I decided to not cook the rest and find something to do with them. I work 12 hours shifts I didn’t have time to do anything with them until today. I had the chicken covered in my fridge. I was searching the internet for a recipe and stumbled upon this one. I had onions and coconut milk at home so I decided to try it. I fried the chicken in a pan, poured it out and I just sautéed the onions with grated ginger and garlic, added a small can of tomato paste and coconut milk. Let it cook for few minutes and then returned the chicken to the pan. It was delicious.
Thank you for the recipe.
That sounds delicious – I bet marinating the chicken really added a lot of flavour here. Glad you enjoyed it in the end!
Can Ghee be used instead of butter/oil? I’m not sure yet what ghee is used for..Thanks!
That would totally work! Ghee is often used in curries so that would be perfect here!
I won’t be making this again! To me it was more like a Thai curry
Thank you for sharing! I had all these things in the fridge and decided to whip it up and it was so easy and tasty!! I added some broccoli too as i had this in the fridge as well and was great with the sauce. I would totally make this again.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know what you thought!
UPGRADED COMMENT/REVIEW:
I can’t figure how to edit original comment, so I thought it was fair to add an upgraded one. I have since remade the recipe several times with Unsweetened Coconut milks and creams. (Creams are a little nicer if you can find them).
The recipe is outstanding, and so easy to make. I knew originally it had potential, I just needed the right coconut milk.
TIP: One update I would suggest is to marinate chicken beforehand if you have the time. On one of my cooking days, I decided to prep the chicken earlier in day. I placed in bowl and then decided to marinate with all the spices and savories in the recipe. I sprinkled in some oil, and each of the spices, including salt and black pepper, over the chicken pieces (go light on Chili if you find it overwhelming) For the savories (Onion, Garlic and Ginger), I sprinkled onion powder, garlic powder and ground ginger. It sat throughout the day, cover in plastic wrap, in fridge while I spent the day out. When I made it that evening, as directed, there was so much added depth of flavor. ENJOY!!
Hi Eric! Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know how it went the second time around! Sorry again about my mistake not listing the right coconut cream!
I love your recommendation for marinating the chicken too – definitely worth doing!
I wanted to love it. Made it exactly as directed in recipe. It was basically a very easy recipe with only a little effort needed was for various chopping and mixer steps. I used coconut cream, as that is what I had in pantry. Same exact spices and steps followed, but in the end it was just too sweet. Almost like syrup. Very surprised because it looked amazing, and as a fan of korma I know it can usually have a fragrant touch of sweet flavor, but this was overbearing. My first time cooking with coconut cream. Usually use it for tropical cocktails. I may try one more time using coconut milk, but am a little wary. That’s a lot of good chicken to go to waste.
Hi Eric – sorry to hear that!
Can I ask what kind of coconut cream you used – was it sweetened or unsweetened? Coconut milk/cream should have a natural sweetness to it but it shouldn’t be enough to make this taste syrupy. I ask because I just went back and looked through the recipe and notice that I didn’t specify that it should have been unsweetened. I’m so used to cooking with a certain type of coconut milk that I forget that sweetened coconut products are still very popular and widely used (like in cocktails). If that was the problem then I am so sorry – that is completely my fault!
It did have sugar added. The only Cream of Coconut I have ever found in my area supermarkets/grocers are all with sugar. They’re canned and are made by companies that rhyme with ‘Hoya” or “Loco Copez.” After I made it, I went searching for other versions, including in some International markets (I’m in NYC, we have many) to no avail. I am going to try again with Coconut Milk I have, which is unsweetened, and hopefully it will be great.
I did like the spice blend and ease of this recipe, so I want it to work. I also know past versions I’ve tried have a slightly sweet taste, usually from added coconut and cinnamon spice, so mild sweetness was expected, just not the amount I got from the canned Cream. That was just too much.
I’ll keep you updated on how the milk works, I just like the idea of something creamier. I did a search for unsweetened creams after your comment, and found many. Sadly none I can buy locally, so I will have to buy online for future use when I get a chance.
You’re in NY love. You can find anything here. If all else fails get the coco cream at Trader Joe’s.
Spices???? What are those spices??? That ambiguity stopped me going further.
Hi Sapumall – I’m not too sure what you mean. The spices are listed in the recipe. Are you having trouble viewing the recipe?
Decided to make this for my weekly lunch meal prep. It did not disappoint! Very easy to make and super delicious!
Thanks CarrieAnne! Glad you liked it!
Made this last night, speedy & delish thank you
Thanks Natalie! Glad you liked it!