Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Mughlai korma
A rich braise from the Mughal royal kitchens of Delhi and Lucknow: meat cooked slowly in yogurt with fried onions, ground nuts and gentle whole spices. It is mild and fragrant rather than hot, and not sweet in its original form.
Same steps, different flavour base MildRecipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.
This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Mughlai korma. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.
Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Mughlai korma
See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map
The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.
Main ingredient: 750 g Mutton or chicken on the bone.
Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.
Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.
Mughlai korma: do thisSlice the onions thinly. Use only one or two green chillies, slit.
Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.
Mughlai korma: do thisFry the onions in ghee until deep golden brown, and lift out half for later. Add ginger garlic paste and the whole spices (steps A and B).
Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.
Mughlai korma: do thisUse the meat.
Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.
Mughlai korma: do thisAdd the meat and fry until it changes colour all over.
Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.
Mughlai korma: do thisAdd ground coriander, a little turmeric and only a little chilli powder (Kashmiri, for colour).
Base step: do not useKeep frying until just before they start browning.
Mughlai korma: do thisStir in the whisked yogurt a spoon at a time and fry until the oil shows.
Base step: do not useAdd some water.
Mughlai korma: do thisAdd a little water, the nut paste and the fried onions you kept, crushed.
Add salt.
Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.
Mughlai korma: do thisSimmer covered until the meat is tender (mutton takes about an hour). Finish with garam masala and a few drops of rose or kewra water.
Serve: With naan, sheermal or plain rice.
For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.
This page is not in that language yet. More languages are coming soon.
This page is available in:
English · Deutsch · 日本語 · Español · हिन्दी · ગુજરાતી · Bahasa Melayu · Türkçe · 简体中文 · 繁體中文（香港） · اردو · العربية
More languages are coming soon.