Chicken Korma

Steps

1. mix5 min
   blender, with 3 tbsp of the soaking water
   soaked cashews blended to a completely smooth cream = nut paste. Any grit left here stays grit in the finished sauce; nuts are the thickener in a korma, so texture is decided at this step, not at the stove
2. fry14 min
   medium, ghee, stirring often
   ghee + sliced onion until deeply golden-brown and collapsed, not merely translucent — this browning is the sauce's entire sweetness and color. Pull the onion out with a slotted spoon, leaving the ghee, and blend half of it into the nut paste; pale onion here gives a flat, milky korma that no amount of spice will rescue
3. temper2 min
   medium, in the reserved ghee
   cardamom + cinnamon + cloves + bay leaf until the pods hiss and the fat smells sweet. Whole spices need fat and heat to release their oils; thrown in later with liquid they only taste of dust
4. saute3 min
   medium, stirring
   + ginger + garlic until the raw sharpness is gone and the paste stops smelling green — about the moment it starts to catch on the pan
5. saute2 min
   low, splash of water if it sticks
   + coriander + cumin + kashmiri chili powder, bloomed in the fat for under a minute before the water goes in. Ground spices scorch fast at this stage and burnt coriander turns the whole pot bitter
6. sear6 min
   medium-high, in batches
   + chicken thighs, turning once, until the surfaces are set and lightly colored. You are not cooking them through, only building fond and firming the exterior so the meat does not shred during the braise
7. mix4 min
   heat off or very low, adding a spoonful at a time
   + whisked yogurt, off the heat, stirred in gradually until fully absorbed before the next addition. This is the failure point of the dish: yogurt dumped into a hot pan curdles into grains and weeping whey. Room-temperature whole-milk yogurt, low heat, and constant motion keep the proteins dispersed
8. braise25 min
   covered, bare simmer
   + nut-and-onion paste + remaining fried onion + salt + hot water, held just below a bubble until the thighs are tender at the bone. A hard boil at this stage breaks the yogurt emulsion and squeezes the chicken tight
9. reduce8 min
   uncovered, low, stirring
   until the sauce clings to a spoon and beads of ghee separate at the edges — the traditional visual cue that the onion and nut solids have cooked out and the sauce is done. Stop short of this and the korma tastes raw and thin; push past it and the nuts scorch on the pan bottom
10. season2 min
    heat off
    + garam masala + optional cream + optional rose water, stirred in at the end so the volatile aromatics survive, then rest 5 minutes before serving so the sauce tightens onto the meat