Korma

It is braised in yoghurt and it is deliberately the mildest of these, aromatic rather than hot.

Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains lamb.

Ingredients

1 kg lamb shoulder, in large cubes
500 g yoghurt
80 g almonds, blanched and ground
3 onions, sliced
8 cloves garlic
a 5 cm piece of ginger
8 green cardamom pods
6 cloves
a 5 cm stick of cinnamon
a generous pinch of saffron
100 ml cream
5 tablespoons ghee
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
300 ml water

Method

IT IS BRAISED IN YOGHURT AND IT IS DELIBERATELY THE MILDEST OF THESE, AROMATIC RATHER THAN HOT. Its article says both. The method: meat or vegetables BRAISED WITH YOGURT, water or stock, and spices to produce a thick sauce. And then the thing that stops a cook "improving" it: THE FLAVOURS OF KORMAS ARE LESS INTENSE THAN THOSE OF OTHER INDIAN MEAT-CONTAINING DISHES, AND THE FRAGRANCES MORE AROMATIC. There is no chilli in this at all. Adding some does not make a better korma, it makes a different curry.
THE SPICES ARE WHOLE AND AROMATIC, NOT GROUND AND HOT. Cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, saffron. Its article's own 18th-century description lists ghee, yoghurt, cream, crushed almonds, cloves, cardamom and saffron -- not one hot spice among them.
THE ALMONDS ARE GROUND AND THEY ARE THE BODY. Eighty grams, blanched and ground. Its article records Mughal cooks ENRICHING the Persian-style stew with ALMONDS, garlic, spices and yoghurt, which is the dish arriving.
THE YOGHURT GOES IN OFF THE HEAT AND IS BROUGHT UP SLOWLY. Five hundred grams, whisked. As with every yoghurt braise here: dropped into a hot pan it splits.
THE ONIONS ARE FRIED GOLDEN AND GROUND INTO THE SAUCE. Not browned dark -- dark onions give a sweetness and a colour that belong to another dish.
IT BRAISES AT A BARE SIMMER FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF. Lamb shoulder in large pieces. The sauce should barely move.
IT IS NOT STIRRED HARD AFTER THE YOGHURT. A gentle shake of the pan.
THE CREAM IS LAST AND OFF THE BOIL. A hundred millilitres.
ITS ARTICLE IS CLEAR THAT THE BRITISH VERSION IS NOT THIS. It records an 1869 Anglo-Indian korma, "different in substance as well as name", with NO cream, almonds or saffron and the standard British curry spices added instead.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes