Baked Chicken Korma & Rice

Julie's Baked Chicken Korma & Rice

This is the recipe I came up with to make chicken korma to take to a potluck, based on the excellent korma recipe my husband uses. I wanted to make it in a casserole form that would be easy to just mix together and bake then take in the same pan to the potluck. The folks at the gathering loved it, so I think it came out pretty darn well. :)

Main ingredients:
3 cups cubed chicken meat, breasts or thighs, skinless
2 cups uncooked white rice

Sauce:
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp cashew butter (warmed in microwave to soften)
1 cup half and half
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk or 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (I prefer the coconut milk)
2 14.25 oz cans chicken broth, or about 30 oz homemade equivalent

Spices:
1/8 tsp cayenne, to taste
3 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon (Ceylon preferred)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
3 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp ground cumin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large saucepan sauté the chopped onion and sliced mushrooms (if using) in butter and olive oil until onions are opaque. Add spices and the remaining sauce ingredients except for one of the cans of broth (or half of your homemade); simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add cubed chicken; stir.

Put uncooked rice in the bottom a large lightly-oiled lasagne pan and carefully pour the chicken/sauce mixture over (the pan will be pretty darn full). (You can also just mix the rice into the sauce and pour into the pan, but if you do so make sure you evenly distribute the rice on the bottom of the pan.)

Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, add the remaining can of chicken broth into the pan and stir well, then bake for an additional 30 minutes until rice is cooked through. Makes about 10-12 potluck servings.

Making it in a crockpot: this dish could also be slow-cooked in the crockpot, but if you do... don't bother to saute the onions and mushrooms; put in all the broth at once; cook on med to high for 4 hours, and don't put in the half-n-half, coconut milk or yogurt, and cumin until the last 30 minutes (if you overcook cumin it turns bitter). Also, make sure to use a type of rice that holds together well and won't get too mushy during long cooking. Uncle Ben's would probably work well.