Easy Chicken Korma Recipe with Creamy Yogurt and Fried Onions

Hello everyone, I am Sumaira. Today I am sharing my very delicious and easy Chicken Korma recipe, and I will show you how simple it is to make at home. You do not need a lot of spices for this one — with just a few spices, a delicious korma is ready.

Chicken korma — also called chicken qorma, and murgh korma when you see it written that way — is a creamy chicken curry with yogurt and fried onions. This is the gentle, rich style people also know as Shahi chicken korma or degi qorma: chicken in large pieces, a yogurt marinade, onions fried golden and ground back into the gravy, ground almonds to make it smooth, and a fresh-ground spice mix stirred in at the end. It is one of the special dishes on our desi (Indian & Pakistani) table, for family dinners and for guests. The colour and the smell when it is done are wonderful.

Everything is step by step below, with pictures from my video. If you want to see any step being done, tap the watch link under the picture and the video will open at that exact moment.

Ingredients

The full list with exact quantities is in the recipe card at the bottom. The chicken is 1.5 kg (about 3 lb 5 oz), kept in large pieces — I do not cut it small for korma. The marinade is beaten yogurt with garlic paste, ginger paste, red chilli powder, salt and coriander powder. Then you need onions and oil for frying, whole spices, more yogurt for the gravy, and almonds. A few things that sometimes confuse people, as help notes from me to new cooks: use plain, unflavoured yogurt; the whole spices — cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, black peppercorns and cumin seeds — are in the spice aisle of a regular grocery store, and any one you cannot find is in the spice section of an Indian or Pakistani grocery; and black cardamom, the large dark pods in the fresh spice mix at the end, is one to look for in that Indian or Pakistani grocery spice section. Kewra water is mentioned at the end as an option only — I did not add it in this video, so you can simply skip it; if you want to try it, look for it at an Indian or Pakistani grocery or online.

How to Make Chicken Korma (Murgh Korma)

Marinate the chicken. Take 1.5 kg chicken (about 3 lb 5 oz), in large pieces. Add 1/2 cup yogurt (120 ml), beaten well, 1 tablespoon garlic paste, 1 tablespoon ginger paste, 1 tablespoon red chilli powder, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder. Mix all the spices well with the chicken. Cover it and put it in the fridge for one hour, so the chicken marinates well and the flavour of the spices goes into the chicken.

Fry the onions golden — and do not grind them yet. While the chicken is marinating, fry the onions. Take 1 cup oil (240 ml) in a large pot and add 3 onions, finely chopped. Fry them on high heat until they turn golden brown, and keep stirring so they do not burn. Do not brown the onions too much — if they get too dark, the korma will turn bitter. Take the golden onions out on a plate and let them cool. Do not grind them yet, otherwise their colour will spoil — we will grind them only when it is time to add them.

Fry the whole spices in the same oil. In the same oil, add 10 cardamoms, 10 black peppercorns, 8 cloves, 2 bay leaves and 2 cinnamon sticks. Fry them for a while on high heat, and keep stirring. These whole spices give the korma a wonderful flavour.

Fry the chicken — no water. Add the marinated chicken to the pot. Fry the chicken for 10 minutes on high heat. Stay near the stove while it fries and keep stirring it from time to time, so it does not stick to the pan. Do not add water.

Add the yogurt and cook, covered. Add 1 cup yogurt (240 ml) and mix it well. Make sure the yogurt is not too cold — with cold yogurt, small lumps will form in the korma. Cover the chicken and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat. Check once or twice in between. After about 10 minutes, take the lid off — the chicken is almost cooked.

Add the ground almonds. Take 15 almonds, add a little water, and grind them in a blender. Add them to the chicken and cook them with the chicken for two minutes. This is what makes the gravy smooth and creamy.

Now grind the fried onions and add them. Now — only now — take the fried onions from Step 2, add a little water, grind them, and add them to the chicken. Mix them well and cook for two to three minutes. Then, if you like, add 1 tablespoon chopped almonds — these are optional, and you can skip them.

Add water and let the oil separate. Add 1 cup water (240 ml). Cover and cook on medium heat for five minutes. After five minutes, take the lid off. Now lower the heat, so the oil separates.

Stir in the fresh-ground spices, then serve. Grind these spices fresh: 8 cloves, 12 black peppercorns, 6 green cardamoms, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 black cardamoms, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 bay leaf. Put them in a blender and grind well — when you grind fresh spices, the chicken korma gets a distinct aroma. The ground spice comes to about one tablespoon. Add it to the korma and mix well. I did not add kewra water here — if you like it, you can add two teaspoons. A very delicious chicken korma is ready. Dish it out in a serving dish and serve it hot. You must try it this Eid, and impress your family and guests. If you are serving a full desi table, my Chikar Cholay is another main dish from my kitchen you can put on the table.

Do try it, and share it with your friends. If you make it, tell me in the comments how it came out.

Remember me in your prayers.

Sumaira

Easy Chicken Korma with Creamy Yogurt and Fried Onions

Sumaira's chicken korma (chicken qorma / murgh korma) — chicken in large pieces in a creamy yogurt gravy with golden fried onions ground back in, ground almonds, whole spices and a fresh-ground spice mix at the end. A creamy chicken curry with yogurt and fried onions, the Indian and Pakistani way.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6 to 8 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani

Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients

  

For the marinade:

• 1.5 kg chicken about 3 lb 5 oz, in large pieces
• 1/2 cup yogurt 120 ml, beaten well — plain, unflavoured yogurt
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp coriander powder

For the korma:

• 1 cup oil 240 ml
• 3 onions finely chopped
• 10 cardamoms
• 10 black peppercorns
• 8 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 cup yogurt 240 ml, not cold — plain, unflavoured yogurt
• 15 almonds ground with a little water
• 1 tbsp chopped almonds optional
• 1 cup water 240 ml

For the fresh-ground spice mix (makes about 1 tbsp):

• 8 cloves
• 12 black peppercorns
• 6 green cardamoms
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 black cardamoms
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf

Optional, to finish:

• 2 tsp kewra water

Method

 

1. Marinate the chicken: mix the chicken with the beaten yogurt, garlic paste, ginger paste, red chilli powder, salt and coriander powder. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. While the chicken marinates, heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the finely chopped onions on high heat, stirring, until golden brown. Do not over-brown them or the korma will turn bitter. Take them out on a plate and let them cool. Do not grind them yet.
3. In the same oil, fry the cardamoms, black peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks for a while on high heat, stirring.
4. Add the marinated chicken. Fry for 10 minutes on high heat, stirring from time to time so it does not stick. Do not add water.
5. Add the 1 cup yogurt (make sure it is not cold, or lumps will form) and mix well. Cover and cook for 8–10 minutes on medium heat, checking once or twice in between.
6. Grind the 15 almonds with a little water and add them to the chicken. Cook for 2 minutes.
7. Now grind the cooled fried onions with a little water and add them to the chicken. Mix well and cook for 2–3 minutes. Add the chopped almonds, if using.
8. Add the 1 cup water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Remove the lid and lower the heat so the oil separates.
9. Grind the fresh spice mix (cloves, black peppercorns, green cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, black cardamoms, cumin seeds and bay leaf) and stir about 1 tablespoon into the korma. Add the kewra water now, only if you like it — she did not add it. Dish out in a serving dish and serve.

Video

Notes

• Do not over-brown the frying onions — if they get too dark, the korma will turn bitter. (Her words from the video.)
• Do not grind the fried onions early — grind them only when it is time to add them, otherwise their colour will spoil. (Her words from the video.)
• Fry the chicken with no water, and stay near the stove, stirring from time to time so it does not stick. (Her words from the video.)
• The yogurt for the gravy must not be cold, or small lumps will form in the korma. (Her words from the video.)
• Grinding the end spices fresh is what gives this korma its distinct aroma. (Her words from the video.)
• Kewra water is optional and she did not add it — skip it, or find it at an Indian or Pakistani grocery or online.
• Black cardamom and any hard-to-find whole spice: look in the spice section of an Indian or Pakistani grocery.

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