Chicken, pumpkin and chickpea korma with crispy shallots
Serves: 4
Prep time: 50 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Laura Edwards
Chicken, pumpkin and chickpea korma with crispy shallots
Recipe by Linda Tubby
Serves: 4
Prep time: 50 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
715Kcal
Fat
47gr
Saturates
19gr
Carbs
24gr
Sugars
12gr
Fibre
10gr
Protein
43gr
Salt
3gr
Linda Tubby
A food writer and stylist for numerous food publications, Linda is also an established author with a plethora of cookbooks to her name, on everything from barbecues to ice cream.
Linda Tubby
A food writer and stylist for numerous food publications, Linda is also an established author with a plethora of cookbooks to her name, on everything from barbecues to ice cream.
Ingredients
- 150g echalion shallots, roughly chopped
- 5cm piece root ginger, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp mixed peppercorns
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 x 615g pack skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and halved
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cardamom pods, bruised
- 2 star anise
- about 600g pumpkin or squash (to give 500g prepared weight), cut into 2.5cm chunks
- 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 large tomato, skinned, deseeded and chopped
- 2 tsp Maldon sea salt
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 75ml full-fat natural yogurt
- 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
- 2-3 tbsp finely chopped mint
- 2-3 tbsp coriander leaves
For the crispy shallots
- 150ml sunflower oil
- 250g echalion shallots, thinly sliced
Step by step
Get ahead
Make the shallots up to 2 days ahead, store in an airtight container and add the mint just before serving. Make the curry a day ahead, chill and reheat gently on the hob until piping hot; add the coriander to serve. It freezes well.
- Put the chopped shallots, ginger and garlic in a food processor or blender and whiz to a paste with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Grind the peppercorns, coriander, cumin and fennel seeds to a fine powder in a spice grinder or using a pestle and mortar.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large casserole over a medium heat and fry the chicken in 2 batches for 3-4 minutes until golden –remove to a plate as it is browned. Add the rest of the oil and fry the onion for 5 minutes until softened. Add the cardamom pods, star anise and the shallot paste, and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the pumpkin to the casserole and fry for 3-4 minutes. Then stir in the ground spices. Return the chicken and any juices to the casserole with the chickpeas, tomato, sea salt and cayenne.
- Mix the yogurt and coconut milk together; stir into the casserole. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Lay a circle of baking paper directly on top of the curry, add a lid and put it in the oven for 30 minutes until the chicken and pumpkin are fully cooked. Remove the star anise and cardamom pods.
- For the crispy shallots, line a tray with kitchen paper. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over a medium heat and add the sliced shallots. Fry them, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes or until evenly golden. Using a slotted spoon, scoop them onto the paper when they are done and spread out so they crisp up.
- Mix the mint with the crispy shallots; serve scattered over the korma with the coriander.
