Hyderabadi Chicken Korma recipe with step by step photos and a video recipe. This Chicken Korma recipe is a rich, thick, and creamy chicken curry from Hyderabad, India. It is made with chicken, yogurt, nuts, dessicated coconut, and aromatic spices. Serve it with Naan, Jeera rice, or steamed rice.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time40 minutesmins
Total Time45 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Hyderabadi, Indian
Servings: 4people
Calories: 430kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
1 Deep bottom pan
Ingredients
1kgchickencurry cut
4onionsthinly sliced
7cashews
3tablespoondesiccated coconut
To make chicken korma sauce
2teaspoongheedivided
¼cupoilused the same oil used to fry onions
2tablespoonginger-garlic paste
1cupyogurt or curd
1teaspoonKashmiri red chili powder
1teaspoonspicy red chili powder
½teaspoonturmeric powder
2teaspooncoriander powder
½teaspoongaram masala powder
2green chilies
1teaspoonkeora water(optional)
½teaspooncardamom powder
¼teaspoonmace powder
Whole spices
2bay leaves
5cloves
6-7peppercorns
3green cardamomsopen slightly
2inchcinnamon
1teaspooncumin
Instructions
Preparations
Making birista (fried onions) - Heat oil in a deep bottom pan on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add onion slices in small batches. Stir frequently and cook the onions until golden. Remove it on a plate lined with paper napkin. You can skip this step and use store-bought birista.
Roasting Nuts and Coconut - Heat 1 teaspoon of ghee (clarified butter) in a pan over medium low heat. Add cashews and roast until light golden. Next, add desiccated coconut to the pan and roast until it is golden. Remove and keep it aside to cool down.
Making Hyderabadi Chicken Korma
Heat ghee and oil in a deep bottom pan over low heat.
Add whole spices and sauté for a minute.
Add chicken, ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, kashmiri red chili powder, spicy red chili powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Stir to combine.
Cover with the lid and cook for 20 minutes on low heat. Stir it in between as required.
Divide the fried onions in two parts. Transfer one part of the fried onions and the roasted cashew and coconut, to the mixer/grinder jar. Add little water and grind it to a fine paste. Keep it aside.
Crush the remaining fried onions and keep it aside.
After 20 minutes the chicken will be cooked. Oil will float on the surface of the gravy.
Add the fried onions and nuts paste, crushed onions, garam masala powder, green chilies, keora water, cardamom powder and mace powder to the gravy. Stir to combine.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat. Serve it with Naan or steamed rice.
Video
Notes
Cook the korma on low heat. Do not increase the heat at any stage of cooking. Slow cooking results in soft melt-in-mouth chicken loaded with awesome flavors.
While making birista (fried onions) - Thinly slice the onions and deep fry them in small batches. Stir continuously to make sure the onions are evenly fried. The time you see the onions starting to become brown, lower the heat. Stir for a few seconds and remove. It gets burnt quickly so be careful.
Do not make onion and cashew paste in advance. The color of the paste will darken. Grind them to make the paste only when you are ready to add it to the gravy.
Korma has a thick sauce. Do not add more water or thin it. It will dilute the flavors of the curry.
Do not skip yogurt in the recipe. You can also use fresh homemade curd for the recipe.
Do not increase the quantity of Keora water and mace powder. It may spoil the entire dish. If you do not like the flavor of keora water, skip adding it. Korma curry tastes delicious without it.