Korma sauce for chicken, chick peas, pork, etc.

St. Martin has a large Indian population. After a great meal at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, we stopped at the neighboring Indian grocery and talked with the proprietor about how to make korma. She gave us the vague recipe, but we haven’t been able to make it until now since you need to blend the sauce. No blender or food processor on Whisper!

1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
big chunk of fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
black pepper
cardamon
cinnamon
coriander
chili flakes/powder (some kind of heat)
salt
cashew nuts, ground
1 cup or so of coconut milk
1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
pinch of saffron

Gently sauté onion, garlic and ginger for around 5 minutes. Add all the spices and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes. Add cashew nuts, coconut milk and tomatoes. Let simmer for 45 minutes. Puree sauce in blender or food processor and return to pot. Add saffron. At this point the sauce is done. You can freeze it, can it or add food to it for dinner on the same day. We added chunks of chicken (bone-in), but it would be equally good with pork, chick peas, or maybe even chick peas with spinach. If you add chicken or pork, continue to let simmer for 45 mins. or so. Serve with rice, yogurt and naan.