Padma Lakshmi'S Chicken Korma - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into stew chunks
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 ounce tamarind pulp (a golf ball sized piece)
1 cup boiling water
10 green cardamom pods (seeds removed from pods, pods discarded)
6 cloves
3 star anise, whole
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 plum tomatoes, each cut into 8 pieces
1 pint half-and-half
3 tablespoons sesame oil
3 -4 hot red chili peppers, dried
3 black cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
3 garlic cloves, minced
9 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup raw cashews, crushed in a mortar and pestle
1 inch piece gingerroot, minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Combine the chicken and vinegar in a large bowl; cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Place tamarind in a small bowl; cover with boiling water; let stand 20 minutes.
Combine the green cardamom seeds, cloves, star anise and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder; grind until combined.
Mix the ground spices into the tamarind gravy; set aside.
Combine the tomatoes and half-and-half in a food processor or blender; puree; set aside.
Heat the oil in a deep, heavy skillet over medium heat; stir in the red chilies, black cardamom and cinnamon stick and cook 2 minutes.
Add the garlic, shallots, cashews and ginger; cook, stirring, 6-8 minutes.
Add the reserved tamarind and ground-spice mixture; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
Add the reserved tomato mixture; turn heat to medium-low.
Stir in the garam masala; cook, until mixture thickens, about 15-20 minutes. Season with the salt.
Add the chicken; cook, stirring, 7 minutes.
Note: When soaking the tamarind, push down on the pulp with the back of a spoon; the tamarind will begin to break down; after soaking time is over, break up the tamarind with fingers or a spoon, then push the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.