Chicken Korma Recipe

Chicken Korma at its Best! Marinated chicken is simmered in a creamy and delicious curry made with onions, nuts and yogurt/coconut. This Indian Chicken Korma is the ultimate comfort food – made delicious & flavorsome with easier steps. It’s a beginners’ recipe and you don’t need to hunt down hard for the ingredients because we only use pantry staples.

Korma is a South Asian curried dish traditionally made with red meat. But versions with chicken, paneer and vegetables are more common in the households and restaurants. Broadly classified, there are 2 kinds of korma made in Indian cuisine – North Indian & South Indian.

North Indian Korma is made with yogurt, cream, nuts, seeds & crushed brown/ fried onions. Sometimes you will also see recipes made with boiled onion paste ex: Navratan Korma. South Indian kurma is made with coconut, seeds and sometimes nuts. Crushed brown onions, cream & a lot of times yogurt is also not used.

In this post I share my North Indian recipe (Mughlai style). It is pretty straight forward and yields a creamy, rich and delicious dish that’s packed with layers & layers of authentic flavors. It tastes better than the restaurant versions, is healthier & less greasy. If you are new to Indian food, read my expert tips and ingredients section below.

For a Classic Indian meal, serve it with plain steamed Basmati Rice, fast Butter Naan, Tandoori Roti or Parathas, alongside Lassi or Raita. Chicken Korma also goes well with flavored rice like Ghee rice, Cumin Rice & Turmeric Rice.

About Chicken Korma

Korma originated in South Asia, & has its roots in the Mughal Cuisine. The English term Korma is derived from the Urdu word “qorma” which means “To Braise”. Basically this is a dish where meat is braised in fats like ghee, oil &/or yogurt.

Later it is simmered with a paste made of spices, nuts, seeds, yogurt and fried onion paste. One ingredient you will never find in an authentic korma is Tomato! Yes! The essential tang in a korma comes from yogurt, and tomatoes are never used. However if you want you may use a small tomato. But if you use a lot, your korma curry will likely end up tasting like Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala.

I have tried to remain true to the authentic version, except for marinating the chicken (for better absorption of flavors & tender meat) and pan frying the onions instead of deep frying to make it healthier. For a 100% authentic korma you may check this Mutton Korma.

Now comes the million dollar question:

Why is chicken marinated for Korma?

I have tested & retested chicken korma a lot of times without marinating and realized it made a huge difference to the flavor and texture. Chicken unlike red meat, cooks faster and does not get enough time to soak up the flavors while cooking.

I found the resulting dish was not as flavorful & succulent as the marinated chicken. This step also helps to get rid of the raw meat flavor quickly.

If you are an Indian food lover, you may love to explore these
Indian Chicken Recipes
Chicken Biryani
Rogan Josh
Chicken Vindaloo
Indian Chicken Curry
Chicken Masala

Photo Guide

Step by Step Photo Instructions

Marinade

1. To a mixing bowl, add

• ½ kg chicken (1.2 lbs. skinless, bone-in preferred but boneless is okay)
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (or coconut milk)
• 1 tablespoon ginger & garlic paste or ½ tbsps. each grated (We usually rub the chicken with turmeric and then rinse off before cooking. Hence the yellow color here.)

2. Next add

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or paprika)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon salt

3. Mix well to coat the chicken with the spices. Cover and keep aside until needed or refrigerate overnight if you want.

Make Korma Curry/ Gravy

4. While the chicken marinates, go ahead with the recipe. Heat 1½ tablespoon oil or ghee in a pan. Add 2 to 3 cardamom pods. I used a bit more here as we like the flavor.

5. Add 1 cup sliced onions (2 medium yellow onions). Saute them stirring often until golden brown & caramelized.

6. This is how the onions look – golden brown & caramelized. Do not burn. Turn off the stove. Add 10 whole cashew nuts or almonds or a mix of both. If you do not have a powerful blender, you may soak the nuts in half cup hot water for 30 mins, drain before using here. Cool this completely.

7. Add the onions and nuts to a grinder/ blender jar. Pour ¼ cup yogurt or coconut milk.

8. Blend to a smooth puree. If you do not have a powerful blender, you may pour half cup water and blend. (remember to omit adding water later for the gravy)

Make Chicken Korma

9. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoon oil to the same pan and spread the oil. Add the following whole spices: (omit if you don’t have) Also note that it is hard to find/remove the whole spices after making the dish, so if you are afraid that you will bite into it, simply omit them.

• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves
• 1 cardamom
• 2 inch cinnamon. I used Ceylon cinnamon so used more. If you are using cassia, just use a 2 inch thin strip. Let the spices sizzle in the oil for a minute.

10. Add marinated chicken and slit green chili (optional).

11. Saute on a medium heat until the raw smell of ginger garlic is gone. This takes about 5 to 7 mins.

12. Add the onion paste. Pour ½ cup hot water.

13. Add ¼ teaspoon salt.

14. Add ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala and 1½ teaspoon coriander powder. You can also add little chili powder if you prefer red color korma.

15. Mix well and increase the heat to bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover & cook on a medium heat until the chicken is tender and fully cooked through.

16. You will see traces of oil over the korma when it is done. Taste test and adjust salt or garam masala to preference. If the korma is too thick, add some hot water to bring it to consistency. If you want you may also finish this with half tsp or rose or kewra water and a generous pinch of nutmeg. I only add these to my mutton korma. Garnish with 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro/coriander leaves.

Serve chicken korma with rice, jeera rice, roti, naan or paratha.

Ingredients & Substitutes

Onions: Traditionally onions are deep fried until deep golden to light brown. These crispy onions are later crushed to a coarse powder and then simmered along with the other ingredients after the meat has been partially cooked.

You may make the pan fried brown onions like I have shown in this post or follow this fried onion recipe post to make deep fried crispy onions. Deep fried onions impart a much deeper flavor and a slightly coarse texture to the chicken korma. Alternately you may also use your favorite brand of store bought fried onions.

Nuts: You can use only almonds or only cashews or a mix of both. Alternately you may use almond meal/ flour for convenience. To make the dish nut-free, you may use thick coconut milk.

Yogurt/ Curd: This recipe uses yogurt in the marinade and also in the korma. You can use store bought or homemade yogurt but make sure you don’t use very sour yogurt as it can make your dish too tart. To make this dish dairy free, you may use thick coconut milk.

Spices: A traditional Korma uses a long list of ground and whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, nutmeg, mace, coriander, black cardamoms and black pepper. However I have reduced them to the minimum making sure to retain the best flavors.

Chicken: Usually korma is made with bone-in meat as it makes the best and flavorful dish. I use whole chicken that’s pre-cut (known as curry cut). You can also use boneless chicken or chicken thighs. Avoid using breasts as they can easily dry out if overcooked.

Kewda or Rose Water: Kewda or rose water are artificial flavoring ingredients used in a lot of Korma recipes before finishing. These impart a floral scent (perfume) to the dish. At home, we personally don’t prefer. But if you have, you may use a few drops.

Expert Tips

1. Bone-in chicken tastes best in this recipe as the juices from the bones seep to the korma and make the gravy delicious.
2. Marinating the chicken is optional. It is just done to tenderize the meat. If you prefer to skip the step, add all of the marinade ingredients together to the pan along with chicken.
3. A korma curry gets its creamy texture from yogurt and nut paste. Traditional korma recipe does not use any kind of starch to thicken the curry.
4. The aroma comes from the fried onion paste, take care to fry the onions evenly.
5. If you have a nut allergy just skip the nuts in the recipe and add more yogurt or use coconut milk.

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