Korma, kurma, qorma or qurma (; ; ; ; ) is a curry dish originating in the Indian subcontinent influenced by Mughlai cuisine, versions of which later were modified to Anglo-Indian and then to British tastes. It consists of meat or vegetables Braising with yogurt, water or stock, and spices to produce a thick sauce or gravy.[ The flavours of kormas are less intense than that of other non-vegetarian dishes, and the fragrance more aromatic.]
Etymology
The English name is an anglicisation of the Hindi-Urdu qormā (क़ोरमा, قورمہ), meaning 'braising',
History
Korma has its roots in the Mughlai cuisine
Indian cooks in the 19th century prepared curries for their British masters simplified and adjusted to Anglo-Indian taste. A quarama from Lucknow contained (among other ingredients) ghee, yoghurt, cream, crushed almonds, cloves, cardamom, and saffron; whereas an 1869 Anglo-Indian quorema or korma, "different in substance as well as name",
Preparation
The korma style is similar to other braising techniques in that the meat or vegetable is first cooked briskly, or seared, using high heat, traditionally with ghee, and then subjected to long, slow cooking using moist heat and a minimum of added liquid.[ The pot may be sealed with dough during the last stages of cooking, using a technique called dum or dampokhtak.
The spices are prepared using the chaunk 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.]
File:Chicken White Qorma (Korma).JPG|A chicken korma
File:Potol ( pointed gourd) Korma.jpg|Potol (pointed gourd) korma
Serving
Korma is eaten in various contexts in the modern Indian subcontinent. In the banquets for Muslim weddings, a mutton korma is often eaten, and in the traditional wazwan, 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 in tora, dishes sent to another's home in a practice originating in restrictions on women's presentation to members outside the home.
A common food eaten with the dish is sheermal, a flatbread flavoured with saffron.
Variations
Navratan korma
Navratan korma is a vegetarian korma made with vegetables and either paneer (an Indian cheese) or nuts – or sometimes both. Navratan means "nine gems", and it is common for the recipe to include nine different vegetables.
In Indonesia
In Indonesia, korma or 'gulai kurma' is traditionally cooked with coconut milk instead of yoghurt, and it can use the sour flavouring tamarind to replace the acidity of yoghurt. The dish fuses Indian cooking with both Arabic and Minang cuisine. The word kurma means "Date palm" in Malay/Indonesian, but the dish does not contain dates.
In the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a typical korma as served in curry houses is a mildly spiced dish with a thick sauce. It often features , or other nuts, and coconut.
In the United States
A dish called chicken korma was popularly introduced to the United States with the 1954 publication of Myra Waldo's Round-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 just curry 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.
