Lighter Indian Chicken Korma

Lighter Indian Chicken Korma - ditch the heavy calories for this amazing tasty authentic lighter version that doesn't compromise on flavour. 

Lighter Chicken Korma

When you hear the word korma, you instantly think high calories, creamy and that you must avoid, especially as one serving of Chicken Korma from an Indian restaurant or Takeaway could set you well over 1000 calories. (that is without any sides)

Well, no more do you have to associate that word with blowing your daily limit. You can now enjoy an amazingly delicious Chicken Korma in the comfort of your own home.

Chicken Korma - an Indian meal favourite.

The first time I went to an Indian restaurant, I think I must have been about 8 years old. Part of my father's work was to do with ventilation and cookware for Chinese and Indian restaurants, so I was lucky enough to eat at lots of different ones, and experience the food from a young age because of it. I think one of the dishes I tried was a Chicken Korma, along with Tandoori Chicken and a few other mild dishes.

Chicken Korma doesn't really qualify as a curry to me. Curry to me means spicy, and although it does have spices and lovely flavours, it isn't at all spicy. Some may find it super sweet too if you are used to the spicier options from an Indian restaurant.

That aside many people still love and enjoy Chicken Korma. It's a great choice for kids too if you want to start getting them used to different spice combinations if they are still used to pretty bland foods. Hey, it's even a great choice of adults that are new to Indian food also. 

Authentic Chicken Korma

There are various different recipes to be found on how to make a korma, some with yoghurt and cream, some with coconut milk/cream, some with ground almonds, it's hard to know what one to make, right?

Obviously, an Authentic Korma is probably a lot different to what we are used to from the local Indian restaurant or takeaway. Chicken Korma is generally a dish from South Asian dish (Moghul cuisine) and is one of the most popular curry choices in the United Kingdom. 

I make no claims that my recipe is authentic, as it certainly isn't. This is my version and I really thought hard about the flavours and taste and getting it just right and close to the korma I am used to while still keeping the calories low as possible.

So I hope you agree with me, that this is pretty damn fine. My family love it anyway.

How to make this lighter Chicken Korma

Whenever I think of a Korma,  I think creamed coconut, that was how I used to make it back in my student days and I couldn't imagine it with anything else. That was the first ingredient I definitely wanted to include at when creating this recipe.  

For this version, I didn't want to use just yoghurt, while yoghurt is a great alternative for curries, it doesn't quite give that creaminess you expect in a korma, so instead, I combined yoghurt with a much smaller amount of creamed coconut for THAT flavour and it totally worked!!

Adding some sweetness to the Chicken Korma, I used some Sukrin:1, but you can replace with another sweetener of your choice, just be aware the taste may differ if you use a different brand of sweetener as some tend to have a bit of an aftertaste. I like Sukrin, because it is the only sweetener I have found that has no aftertaste. 

To get the smooth lovely a smooth, I use my Nutri Ninja Blender with Auto IQ which is an awesome blender to own. It will blend to a set pattern depending on what it is you are making i.e. soups, sauces etc. So clever. I love it.

Then, of course, there is a blend of spices such as ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric etc. All staples in my pantry as I regularly make delicious curries and Indian fakeaways.

You may be wondering what to do with the leftover Creamed Coconut, right? as you are only using a small amount you will have quite a bit left. Well what I did was make up another big batch of the sauce, and use the rest of the coconut cream, in measurements as directed in this recipe, then I have divided it into portions for this recipe and have tubbed it up and put it into the freeze, that way I can just defrost and use whenever I want to make a korma. Great idea, don't you think?

When you buy the coconut cream, make sure it is the block stuff like this Creamed Coconut, there are canned versions called Coconut Cream, but it not the same in my opinion.

Side Options for Curry

The most popular choice tends to be white basmati rice, it's simple and super quick to cook. If you always struggle to get perfect rice. Try my favourite method, it never fails.

• Rinse the rice in a colander or sieve.
• Add to a saucepan (If you have one cup of rice, you want double to amount of liquid, so 2 cups of water in this example).
• Bring to a boil and then let simmer
• When the liquid is all pretty much absorbed. Turn off the heat, add a lid and leave for 10 minutes, the steam trapped under the lid continues to cook the rice to perfection. Yummy fluffy rice. 

Other great options to complete an Indian Fakeaway are:

• Sweet Corn Pilau Rice
• Oven Baked Onion Bhaji
• Bombay Butternut Squash
• Sweet Potato Flatbread
• Zucchini and Rice Pilau

and if you are trying to be super healthy, why not try this delicious Roasted Cauliflower Rice

Want some more curry recipes? Check out these:

• BEEF AND POTATO CURRY
• COCONUT BEEF MEATBALL CURRY
• CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE CURRY
• BOMBAY BEEF CURRY (STOVE TOP AND INSTANT POT)
• CHICKEN AND SPINACH CURRY
• BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHICKPEA CURRY (VEGAN)
• COCONUT CHICKEN AND SWEET POTATO CURRY (INSTANT POT AND STOVE TOP)
• HEALTHY MATAR PANEER CURRY

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 850 delicious Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, value and smart points etc.

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