Hyderabadi Chicken Korma

To make this easy chicken korma, chicken is combined with spices and yogurt, and cooked over low heat until tender. Later, nuts (like almonds or cashews) or coconut paste are added to thicken the korma sauce.

The Korma chicken is so soft and tender that it just melts in your mouth. This Hyderabadi chicken korma is loaded with amazing flavors. You should try making this recipe.

About this recipe

Korma is prepared with slight variations of ingredients that are easily (or locally) available. But the basic cooking technique to make authentic chicken korma remains the same.

For example, North Indian Chicken Korma uses nuts (like almonds, cashews, and chirongi) while South Indian Chicken Korma uses cashews and coconut to make the Korma sauce.

In this recipe post, I am sharing how to make Hyderabadi-style Chicken Korma. It is a mildly spiced chicken curry with a thick sauce. It is prepared in Hyderabad mostly during marriage functions or festivals (like Eid).

Korma is originated from Mughlai cuisine. It is a popular chicken curry across South Asian countries. Mughlai cuisine is famous for its rich curries made with nuts (like almonds and cashews) and a lot of oil/ghee in their dishes.

Though preparing this traditional dish is a time-consuming task, all the hard work is paid off when your dish receives appreciation from your family and friends.

You may also like these other popular Hyderabadi chicken recipes from this website:

• Hyderabadi Chicken Masala
• Hyderabadi Green Chicken
• Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani
• Mughlai Chicken Curry
• Hyderabadi Chicken Majestic

Why You Need This Recipe

• Easy step-by-step instructions with a recipe video.
• Easy to customize. Check out the ingredient list below for alternative ingredients. You can add or skip the ingredients as per your taste and availability.
• Make ahead recipe - Korma tastes better the next day. You can cook it in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days.
• Gluten-free

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken - You can use either boneless chicken or chicken with bones. Chicken with bones is more flavorful.
• Yogurt - I used Greek Yogurt. You can also use fresh homemade curd. It is the main ingredient to make Korma curry. Do not skip or substitute it.
• Onions - I have used red onions. They are deep-fried to make birista. You can skip making it at home and use store-bought birista.
• Thickener - In this recipe, cashews and desiccated coconut are used to thicken the Korma sauce. You can substitute cashews with almonds. You can skip the addition of coconut and substitute it with cashews, almonds, poppy seeds, coconut milk, or chirongi.
• Ghee (clarified butter) - Traditionally, this recipe is made only with ghee. Ghee gives richness and a nice flavor to the curry. We have used only 2 teaspoon of ghee in the recipe. However, you can skip it.
• Oil - I have used the same oil used to fry the onions. You can use any cooking oil that has a neutral flavor like vegetable oil or sunflower oil.
• Ginger-garlic paste - It flavors the curry.
• Spice Powders - Turmeric powder, coriander powder, and garam masala powder.
• Red chili powder - Here, I used two different red chili powders - Kashmiri red chili powder (for color) and spicy red chili powder (for flavor). If you do not have Kashmiri red chili powder you can skip it, but your korma will lack the orange color.
• Green chilies - This is completely optional. Skip if you do not prefer spicy.
• Flavoring - Keora water, cardamom powder, and mace powder. Adding them gives an authentic flavor and aroma to the korma recipe. You can skip if you do not have keora water. You need mace powder in a small quantity, powder it in a mortar and pestle.
• Whole Spices - bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, green cardamoms, cinnamon, and cumin. If you do not have all of these spices, add one or two of these whatever you have.

For the detailed list of ingredients & their measurements, please check out the recipe card below.

Step-by-step instructions with photos

Preparations

1. 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 to a plate lined with a paper napkin. You can skip this step and use store-bought birista.
2. Roasting nuts and coconut - Heat 1 teaspoon of ghee (clarified butter) in a pan over medium-low heat. Add cashews and roast until lightly 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

1. Heat ghee and oil in a deep bottom pan over low heat.
2. Add whole spices and sauté for a minute.
3. Add chicken, ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, Kashmiri red chili powder, spicy red chili powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder. Stir to combine.
4. Cover and cook for 20 minutes on low heat. Stir it in between as required.

   

5. Divide the fried onions into 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.
6. Crush the remaining fried onions with your hands and keep them aside.

   

7. After 20 minutes the chicken will be cooked. Oil will float on the surface of the gravy.
8. 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.
9. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat. Serve with Naan or steamed rice.

   

Tips to make the Best Hyderabadi Chicken Korma

• 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.
• Hyderabadi 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Suggestions

• Make sure to store it within 2 hours of cooking.
• Refrigerator - Let the curry comes to room temperature. Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator. Stays good for two days. Reheat until piping hot on low heat and serve.
• Freeze - You can freeze chicken korma. It stays good for a month. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Sprinkle some water on it and reheat at low heat until piping hot.

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Recipe Card