What Does Korma Actually Mean?

If you've eaten much Indian food, you've probably encountered korma--Chicken Korma, Lamb Korma, Vegetable Korma, Navratan Korma. In many Western restaurants, the word has come to suggest something creamy, mildly spiced, and perhaps a little sweet.

But korma doesn't actually mean "mild curry."

In fact, it doesn't originally describe a particular flavor or spice blend at all.

Korma Is a Way of Cooking

The word korma--also written qorma--comes into the cooking of the Indian subcontinent through the Persianate and Mughal culinary tradition. Its roots refer to braising: cooking meat or vegetables slowly and gently with fat, spices, aromatics, and a relatively small amount of liquid.

So historically, calling something a korma tells you more about how it was cooked than exactly what it tastes like.

Think of the difference between saying "beef stew" and "beef with stew seasoning." There isn't one essential "stew spice." The technique defines the family of dishes.

Korma works much the same way.

The Mughal Connection

Korma became particularly associated with the sophisticated court cooking of the Mughal Empire, where Persian and Central Asian culinary traditions mingled with the ingredients and cooking traditions of India.

These were often luxurious dishes: meat gently cooked with browned onions, yogurt, fragrant spices, nuts, seeds, or other enrichments until the cooking liquid became a deeply flavored sauce.

Typical spices might include:

But that list isn't a formula. Change the region, household, period, or cook and the spices change too.

That is one of the important things to understand about korma: there is no single historically definitive "korma spice blend."

Does Korma Mean Mild?

Not necessarily.

The familiar restaurant-style korma found in Britain and elsewhere in the West is frequently creamy, nutty, slightly sweet, and deliberately mild. It has become the dependable choice for someone who wants Indian food without much chile heat.

Traditional kormas can be quite different.

They may be intensely aromatic, deeply savory, strongly spiced, and sometimes fairly hot. "Spiced" and "hot" aren't the same thing, either--a korma can contain an impressive quantity of cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, coriander, and other spices without being dominated by chile.

What generally unites the family is slow cooking and a rich, concentrated sauce, not a particular level of heat.

What About Yogurt, Cream and Nuts?

All three are strongly associated with korma, but none individually defines it.

Yogurt is particularly important in many traditional meat kormas, adding richness and acidity while becoming part of the braising liquid.

Ground almonds, cashews, or other nuts and seeds appear in many versions and can give the sauce extraordinary body.

Cream appears in some preparations, particularly the richer restaurant styles familiar today.

And then there are dishes such as Navratan Korma, the famous vegetarian "nine jewels" preparation, traditionally made as an especially rich mixture of vegetables and other prized ingredients, often including nuts and fruit.

The result is that two perfectly legitimate kormas can look--and taste--surprisingly different.

So What Is "Korma Seasoning"?

Today you'll certainly find spice mixtures sold as Korma Masala or Korma Seasoning, and they're useful things to have in the kitchen.

But it's worth understanding what the name means.

A korma seasoning is essentially a modern spice blend designed to reproduce the aromatic profile commonly associated with korma dishes. It isn't the culinary equivalent of a centuries-old fixed recipe.

Traditionally, the cook selected and combined spices appropriate to the particular korma being prepared.

That distinction is part of what makes Indian cooking so interesting. Names that we sometimes assume refer to a particular "curry flavor" can actually describe technique, geography, ingredients, or culinary tradition.

And korma is a particularly good example.

The next time you see Chicken Korma, don't read it simply as "chicken in a mild creamy curry sauce."

Think instead:

Chicken, gently braised in the korma tradition.

That gets much closer to what the name originally meant.

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