Why it works: Sunflower and cardamom share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 52 recipes mention both. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 6Ingredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oil in a large lidded pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes until softened and golden.
Add the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and lightly crushed cardamom pods and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Stir in the korma curry paste and cook for 2 minutes, then add the chicken thighs and turn them to coat well in the spices.
Add a splash of water to loosen the pan, scatter over the sultanas, cover and simmer gently over low heat for 25 minutes, turning the chicken once halfway.
Uncover and cook for 5 minutes more to reduce the liquid. Check that the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) before serving.
Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool slightly. Stir the Greek yogurt in gradually so the sauce stays smooth and does not split.
Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks, then stir in most of the chopped coriander leaves and stems.
Scatter the remaining coriander over the chicken and serve hot.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Sunflower + cardamomtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together52 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Cinnamon + cardamomtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Cardamom + coriandertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together872 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sunflower + coriandertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together369 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Cinnamon + coriandertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,635 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sunflower, chicken, cinnamon, cardamom, yogurt, coriander):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sunflower, chicken, cinnamon, cardamom, yogurt, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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