Chicken korma

Name: Chicken korma
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Asian, Indian
Ingredients: 2 dried bay leaves; 6 cardamom pods (green); 4 whole cloves; 1 cinnamon quill, broken into halves; 2 tbsp olive oil; 40 g raw almonds (see Tips); 3 tsp garlic paste (see Tips); 2 tsp ginger paste (see Tips); 1 brown onion (approx. 120 g), cut into halves; ¾ tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp sea salt; ¼ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 140 g pouring (whipping) cream; 200 g water; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1000 g chicken thigh fillets, cut into cubes (2-3 cm); 1 tsp garam masala (see Tips); fried shallots, for garnishing