Food talk
Quick korma
Dress up the readymade tikka to prepare finger-licking murg korma in a jiffy

Everyone — almost everyone non-vegetarian — loves murg korma but the trouble is that making a good korma at home is more than a bit of hassle. True, that marinating time taken by chicken is less than mutton but somehow the taste — like that at Karim’s, or whoever is your favourite eatery — just doesn’t seem to seep in the broiler boti. Well, we are pleased to announce that we have licked the problem in a finger-licking manner. You can now enjoy the delicacy in a jiffy.

The trick is to use heat-and-eat tikka for the korma. Not as a finger food or cocktail snack but as the substance of this dish. But first things first. Remove excess spicing from the readymade tikka. Wipe the tikka with a tissue paper. Then ‘rinse’ in 2-3 tbsp of curds diluted with equal measure of water. Now you are ready to begin.

Ingredients
Chicken tikka masala 250 g
Bay leaf one
Cloves two
Brown cardamom one
Onions (medium sized) two
Tomatoes (small) optional two
Ginger-garlic paste 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon stick (small) one
Oil 2 tbsp
A large pinch of nutmeg and mace powders
Salt to taste

Method
Peal and slice the onions very finely. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Put the bay leaf and whole spices in it and when they change colour, add the onions and tomatoes, if using. Cook on medium heat till these turn golden. Add ginger garlic paste, along with the tikka. Stir-fry for about three minutes. Sprinkle nutmeg and mace powder. Remove and adjust seasoning. Serve with rice or roti. If a thinner gravy is preferred, you may dilute the sauce with the curds in which the tikka was rinsed.

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