Afghan-style chicken korma with dried sour plums
This recipe uses dried sour plums, which impart a salty, sour flavour. They’re also small and impossible to stone, so you have to caution your diners. If you can’t get them (Iranian ones can be found online) use dried sour cherries instead. Afghan food is very interesting, as you can taste influences from Iran, India and Mongolia.
SERVES 4 6 PREP 20 mins plus 3 hrs soaking COOK 55 mins EASY
55g chana dhal
60g dried sour plums, or
100g dried sour cherries
2 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil
8 bone-in chicken pieces (use thighs if you like), skin removed
1 large onion, inely chopped 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and inely chopped
8 garlic cloves, inely chopped
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 green chillies, halved, deseeded and inely sliced
275g Greek yogurt
150ml chicken stock (or use water) To serve
1 red chilli, inely sliced small handful of roughly chopped coriander
lemon or lime wedges latbreads or cooked rice
1 Put the chana dhal in a bowl, cover with water and leave to soak for 3 hrs. Meanwhile, put the dried plums or cherries in a second bowl, cover with warm water and leave to soak for 1 hr.
2 Heat the oil in a deep 30cm frying pan, and brown the chicken pieces in batches, seasoning as you go. Transfer the browned chicken to a bowl as you cook.
3 Add the onion to the pan and fry over a medium-low heat for 8-10 mins until soft and pale gold. This takes a bit of time. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook for another 3 mins, then add the turmeric. Stir everything together until the spices are fragrant.
4 Drain the chana dhal and tip into the pan along with the tomatoes and chillies. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have collapsed slightly. Stir in the yogurt, stock and some more seasoning. Return the chicken pieces and any resting juices to the pan, then drain the plums and mix these in. Bring everything to just under the boil (it’s important that the mixture doesn’t fully boil, or the yogurt will curdle), then turn the heat down to low. Cover and cook for about 15 mins, then remove the lid and cook for 15-20 mins more until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has thickened.
5 Scatter over the sliced chillies and coriander, then serve with lemon or lime wedges, and flatbreads or rice.
GOOD TO KNOW 2 of 5-a-day
PER SERVING (6) 349 kcals • fat 16g • saturates 6g • carbs 23g • sugars 18g • ibre 4g • protein 27g • salt 0.4g