 Chicken korma | |
| Alternative names | Qorma |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Mughal Empire |
| Region or state | Indian subcontinent |
| Associatedcuisine | Mughal cuisine |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | meat,yogurt |
Korma,kurma,qorma orqurma (Urdu:قورمہ;Hindi:क़ोरमा;Bengali:কোরমা;Persian:قرمه;Kashmiri:قۄرمہٕ) is acurry dish originating in theIndian subcontinent influenced byMughlai cuisine, versions of which later were modified toAnglo-Indian and then toBritish tastes. It consists of meat or vegetablesbraised withyogurt, water or stock, and spices to produce a thick sauce orgravy.[1] The flavours of kormas are less intense than that of other non-vegetarian dishes, and the fragrance more aromatic.[2]
The English name is an anglicisation of theHindi-Urduqormā (क़ोरमा, قورمہ), meaning 'braising',[3][4] the cooking technique used in the dish.[1][5] All these words, and the names of dishes such as thePersian:قورمهghormeh, theTurkishkavurma and theAzerbaijaniqovurma orkavarma, are ultimately derived from theTurkicqawirma, "[a] fried thing".[4] However, korma and modern Turkish kavurma are quite different dishes.[4]
Korma stems fromMughlai cuisine[6] of theIndian subcontinent. Kormas were prepared in the Mughal court kitchens;[7] according to the historian of food Neha Vermani, the dish is first mentioned in cookery books from the reign ofShah Alam (r. 1643–1712). During the 18th century, cooks in the Mughal court enriched thePersian-style stew with almonds, garlic, spices, and yoghurt.[8][9] InHyderabad in 1832, a "korma" variety ofpilau included thinly-sliced meat with rice.[10]
Indian cooks in the 19th century prepared curries for their British masters simplified and adjusted toAnglo-Indian taste. Aquarama fromLucknow contained (among other ingredients) ghee, yoghurt, cream, crushed almonds, cloves, cardamom, and saffron; whereas an 1869 Anglo-Indianquorema orkorma, "different in substance as well as name",[11] had no cream, almonds, or saffron, but added the then-standard British curry spices, namely coriander, ginger, and black peppercorns.[11][12]
The korma style is similar to otherbraising techniques in that the meat or vegetable is first cooked briskly, or seared, using high heat, traditionally withghee, and then subjected to long, slow cooking using moist heat and a minimum of added liquid.[1] The pot may be sealed with dough during the last stages of cooking, using a technique calleddum ordampokhtak.The spices are prepared using thebagar tempering technique, briefly fried in hot oil. in the later stage of cooking, additional spices are mixed with heated ghee and then combined with the sauce formed by the braising. The pan is then covered and shaken to release steam and mix the contents.[1] As cooking ends, butter or cream is sometimes added.[13] In modernBangladeshi cuisine, some cooks use a thickevaporated milk in place of yoghurt.[14]
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Korma is eaten in various contexts in the modern Indian subcontinent. In banquets for Muslim weddings, a mutton korma is often eaten, and in the traditionalwazwan, a banquet produced by Hindu and Muslim cooks for a range of celebrations, lamb and chicken kormas are common elements. Korma is also a common dish intora, dishes sent to another's home in a practice originating in restrictions on women's presentation to members outside the home.[10] Korma is among the most popular dishes in Pakistan, where it is commonly eaten at lunch, and at feasts that end days of fasts during Ramadan.[15]
A common food eaten with the dish issheermal, a flatbread flavoured with saffron.[10] InAwadh, a historical region of Northern India now corresponding withUttar Pradesh,silver leaf (vark) is a common garnish, andPushpesh Pant writes that "no korma or pulao can be served without it".[2] In areas ofNew Delhi,jaggery is often served with korma in winter months, based on the belief that it can help "the ghee go down".[16]
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Navratan korma is a vegetarian korma made with vegetables and eitherpaneer (an Indian cheese) or nuts – or sometimes both.Navratan means "nine gems", and it is common for the recipe to include nine different vegetables.[17][18]
In Indonesia, korma or 'gulai kurma' is traditionally cooked withcoconut milk instead of yoghurt, and it can use the sour flavouringtamarind to replace the acidity of yoghurt. The dish fuses Indian cooking with both Arabic andMinang cuisine. The wordkurma means "date" in Malay/Indonesian, but the dish does not contain dates.[19]
In the United Kingdom, a typical korma as served incurry houses is a mildly spiced dish with a thick sauce. It often featuresalmonds,cashews or other nuts, andcoconut.[20] In the early 21st century, chicken korma has repeatedly been cited as amongst the most popular curries in the UK.[21][22][23] The celebrity cookJamie Oliver uses kormacurry paste andcoconut milk in his recipes for quickly-prepared fish curry and spiced prawn soup.[24]
A dish called chicken korma was popularly introduced to the United States with the 1954 publication ofMyra Waldo'sRound-the-World Cookbook. Waldo modified a dish of marinated chicken and sauteed chicken that was then popular in America by adding black pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and chilli powder blend, or justcurry powder. Though it was unlike the korma eaten in India, it was perceived as exotic, as many of these spices had only just been introduced to the American diet.[25]
Hindi & Urdu qormā, of Turkic origin; akin to Turkish kavurma fried meat, from kavur- to fry, roast
This, without exception, is one of the richest of Hindoostanee curries, but it is quite unsuited to European taste, if made according to the original recipe, of which the following is a copy:
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