Chicken Korma Recipe (Pakistani)

Chicken Korma garnished with almonds in a blue pot resting on a grey napkin with a roti on the side.

5 from 2 votes

My family's Chicken Korma Recipe (Pakistani) for an ancient fragrant curry prepared with bone-in chicken favored in the Mughal court.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani

Keyword: authentic chicken korma, best chicken korma, easy chicken korma

Servings: people

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Nosheen Babar

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken
½ cup cooking oil
1 large onion see notes
2 tsp crushed ginger
2 tsp garlic paste
1 cup yogurt
6 green cardamom
2 tbsp peeled and slivered almonds
1 tbsp kewra

Korma Masala

10 peppercorn
6 green cardamom
½ piece nutmeg
5 piece mace
2 black cardamom
10 clove
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder

Instructions

Korma Masala

Dry roast the whole spices for 30 seconds to 1 minute (just till the aroma is released).
Grind to a powder and mix with the salt, turmeric, coriander, and red chili powder.

Korma

Grind the onions to a fine pulp in the food processor. (see notes)
Heat the oil and saute the onions till they are a medium golden brown.
Add the garlic and ginger and saute for about 1 minute.
Add in the chicken and roast it till it turns opaque. (see notes)
Add in the Korma Masala and saute the mixture for a few minutes.
Whip the yogurt until it's smooth and add it to the chicken mixture ¼ cup at a time, roasting the meat until you have a dense curry. (see notes)
Once all the yogurt has been added, add 2 cups of water, stir, and cover the pot with a lid.
Cook on low heat for 15 minutes till the curry thickens and the oil separates and rises to the top.
Uncover, check that the chicken has cooked through, and the curry is the perfect consistency (see notes)
Add the remaining six crushed pods of cardamom and the kewra. Stir, cover, and let the Korma sit for 5 minutes.
Plate, and garnish the korma with the slivered almonds. (see notes)

Notes

Onion: My onion was very large, so I used 1. If yours is small, then you may need two. Approximately 2 cups (1 cup per pound of meat) is a good rule to apply.

The onions are the mainstay of a good korma. They provide the consistency, flavor, and color of the dish. Typically, these are sliced thinly in semi-circular slices and sauteed to a nice brown hue. Often strained from the oil, cooled, and crushed, they're added back to the curry later.

All of this takes quite some time, and I found a while ago that grinding them in the food processor helps them cook more quickly and evenly. It also eliminates the need to cool and then crush them. Since then, I've always cooked my Korma this way.

Chicken: Adding all the chicken simultaneously decreases the oil's temperature drastically and affects the cooking process. Korma is based on the "braised" cooking technique, which means the meat must first be fried on high heat and then cooked on slow heat. For this reason, we add the chicken a little at a time, fry it till it starts sizzling, which indicates the oil has once again increased in temperature, and then add some more.

Yogurt: Like the chicken, adding all the yogurt at once drastically reduces the cooking temperature and causes the yogurt to curl. For this reason, add in no more than ¼ cup at a time, let it heat up, and then add ¼ cup more, and so forth until all of it is incorporated.

The Curry: Once the chicken is cooked, please ensure your curry has the perfect consistency before turning the stove off. If it's too thin, cook it uncovered as long as necessary. If it's too thick, add some water to create the perfect consistency.

Garnish: Adding the six pods of cardamom and the kewra at this stage gives the korma its famous aroma. The entire cardamom is added, but it's crushed lightly to release the essential oils before doing so. Too much Kewra can cause the Korma to taste slightly bitter, so stick strictly to the measurements. Sprinkle the almonds right at the end to prevent them from getting soggy and serve.

Nutrition