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A Chicken Korma recipe that's really satisfying and hits the right balance of flavours from sweet, caramelized onions, whole spices and cashews. Restaurant style taste that can be so easily achieved at home!
A good korma can seriously beat everything else, except butter chicken in my book but a good korma is also hard to make. I've had some really bad ones that are cloyingly sweet from too much sugar in the curry or just bland. Korma has an underlying sweetness to it, but not from a sweetner. It comes from onions that are cooked slowly till they gain colour and get mildly sweet in the process. Slightly hard work, but so so worth it.
Korma - what is it really?
Korma or kurma can refer to a range of curries in India and there are different ways to make it. It primarily refers to whitish-yellow gravies that have their base in onions, cashews and whole spices or garam masala. The level of heat can vary depending on how hot you like your curry. But they are mostly mildly sweet but like I said before - not from added sweeteners. And they are originally made with mutton or lamb, and are rich or 'shahi'. Sometimes the ingredient list will also include saffron but we've decided to skip it today.
Slicing Onions for Korma
Good chicken korma needs a little patience. Because the base starts with browning onions slowly. This recipe asks for 4 large onions to be sliced. If that sounds like too much work, make this process faster by using a mandoline if you have one. The advantage is that you'll get evenly sliced onions and its much faster than slicing them on your own.
Best cut of meat for Chicken Korma
I prefer using boneless skinless chicken thighs for chicken korma, because they remain tender and juicy by the time the curry is cooked. You can easily use bone-in chicken too, where the bones will again prevent the meat from drying out.
This korma sauce or gravy is rich and delicious. And so fragrant. So so fragrant from all the whole spices. The whole spices are sauteed in ghee, which releases their natural oils and literally flavours the whole gravy.
Ghee and not oil is used in this recipe, and I highly recommend sticking to it, if you can get your hands on it. It's so worth it. Because ghee is added not just as a fat, but for its nutty flavour.
Chicken Korma might seem like a little effort but trust me, it's so worth it in the end. Make this a weekend meal which can be followed by a nap!
Serve this with
- Soft Rotis if you want a lighter bread
- Instant Naan that's ready in 30 minutes!
- Jeera Rice if you love basmati
- Coconut Rice because they go so well together.
How to make Chicken Korma Recipe Video
Easy Chicken Korma made at home!
Chicken Korma is a delicious Indian dish that's mildly sweet from caramelized onions and fragrant from whole spices and garam masala. It's a rich gravy that's creamy and luxurious.
5 from 6 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Halal
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 Portions
Calories: 300kcal
Author: Richa
Ingredients
- 1 kg Chicken boneless skinless thighs ,cut into 1.5 inch pieces
- ½ cup Yogurt
- 2 teaspoon Salt divided
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper ground
- 4 tablespoons Ghee
- 4 Onions large (sliced)
- 10 Cashew nuts soaked in water for 30 minutes
- 6 Garlic cloves peeled
- 1 inch Ginger peeled
- 3 Green Chillies / Serrano Peppers
- 2 Cardamom Pods
- 1 Bayleaf
- 3 Cloves
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ½ teaspoon Chilli Powder / Cayenne Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 3 tablespoons Cream
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Marinate the chicken in yogurt, salt and pepper and set aside for 20 minutes. Soak the cashews in water at the same time so that they soften by the time you are ready to use them.
Heat 2 tablespoons ghee and cook the onions till golden brown. Browning the onions takes a while, because it’s important to brown them without burning. Keep stirring them every few minutes as they cook to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Once they are evenly deep golden brown and soft, you know they are ready (or refer to the video above for colour).
Transfer them to a mixer grinder along with soaked cashews, garlic, ginger, green chillies and a little water and grind till smooth.
Heat the remaining ghee and add whole spices (cardamom pods, bayleaf, cloves, cinnamon) and the chicken. Stir fry the chicken on high heat for a few minutes till slightly brown. Add the onion paste with ½ cup water, coriander powder, chilli powder and salt. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally while the chicken cooks, and and add more water if necessary.
Once the chicken is cooked, add garam masala and cream, mix well and turn it off. Serve hot.
Notes
- Onions: You can use white or red onions in this recipe. I prefer white onions because of their flavour but they can be hard to find sometimes. We've tested the recipe with both.
- Slicing Onions: Slicing four onions can seem like too much work. So either get some help, or use a mandoline if you own one. It makes this really fast and you'll get even, thin slices
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs is my meat of choice for this recipe because they remain tender and juicy. If you'd like to use chicken breasts, skip the step where we stir fry the chicken on high heat to get some colour and just add them directly along with the onion paste and simmer so that they don't overcook.
- Is korma unhealthy? Not really. The richness in the gravy comes from onions and cashews and not from too much cream or butter.
Nutrition
Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 727mg | Potassium: 277mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 291IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Anna Cherian says
The Yummiest Chicken Korma I've ever had..so so comforting and tasty. Everyone loved it. And it's super easy to make! This is going to be my go to comfort chicken dish. Thanks a ton for the recipe, Richa! ❤️Reply
Amanda says
Beginner question: what do I do with the whole spices? Take them out once cooked? Extending this question to you butter chicken recipe as well.
Reply
Richa says
Hey Amanda, yes you can fish them out once everything is cooked, so that noone accidently bites into them. However in the butter chicken recipe, we blend the whole spices with onions and tomatoes.
Reply
Ashok says
Thanks Guys, Your Recipe Was Too Fantastic. Me and My Family Loved it. I Will definitely Share your Rrecipe with my friends.Reply
Richa says
Thank you so much for leaving a comment Ashok! Glad you liked the recipe
Reply
Karishma says
Hi Richa, I really love your recipes and have tried many. A humble request to you, can you add how many servings the recipes will provide. That way it will be easier for us to increase or decrease the ingredients based on our requirements.
Reply
Lisa @BestNonToxicCookware says
Great recipe! I made it according to your recipe and the taste is great! Everyone in the family likes it, it makes me happy. Thank youReply
Richa says
So happy you liked the recipe Lisa! Thank you for leaving a comment
Reply
Rahul says
Nice blogs kindly do visit our blogs as well for more scrumptious recipes 🙂
do visit our blogs as well for more scrumptious recipesReply
Smitha says
Hi Richa, I currently do not have cashew nuts. Can I substitute with Almonds?
Reply
Swarup Mishra says
Love the recipe!Reply
Richa says
Thank you so much for leaving a comment Swarup! So happy you liked it! I hope you'll try the other recipes too
Reply
Harvey leo says
A very easy recipe to cook. It gets cooked in no time. I have fixed this recipe every Saturday on my dining table. Thanks
Reply
Richa says
Thank you so much! So happy you liked it! I hope you'll try the other recipes too
Reply
Geetha says
My husband does not like yoghurt in his chicken or other meats. Will it alter the taste of the korma if I skipped marinating the chicken with yoghurt?
I tried your mutton curry for my daughter's birthday and it turned out really nice. My daughter loved it. Thanks Richa
Reply
Richa says
Hey Geetha, your husband won't be able to taste the yogurt at all once the chicken is cooked. But if you want to skip it, marinate the chicken in 3-4 tbsp cream instead of yogurt.
So glad you liked the mutton curry!Reply
Dr Thasneem Fahir says
Super tasty dishReply
Richa says
Thank you so much Sr. Thasneem! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
Reply
