Korma originates from the Indian sub-continent and features meat (or vegetables) braised in a thick sauce/gravy of yogurt and spices. Korma is anglicized from qorma meaning "braise" in Urdu. It is a dish introduced by Mughals in their incursions into then India.

My introduction to authentic korma was in Islamabad in the winter of 2006/2007 (stories here and here). Thus, I looked for a Pakistani recipe to follow for my made-from-scratch effort. I used the following recipe distilled from several sources:

1. Marinate 1.5 kg lamb (I used a bone-in shoulder cut), or mutton in:
   Yogurt   200 g.
   Ginger and garlic paste, 1 tablespoon of each .
   Leave for at least an hour or better, overnight in the refrigerator.
    

2. Finely blend 2 large red onions .
    

3. In oil or ghee (use as much as necessary - this can be scooped off after cooking to a level of your preference) fry:
   
   The blended red inions until browned, then add:
   
   Black pepper corns  1/2 tsp
   Clove   5
   Green cardamon   5
   Cinnamon stick   1
   Star anise   2
   Black cardamon   1
   Bay leaves   2
   
   and fry for a few seconds.
    

4. Add the marinated lamb to the spices and hard fry for ten minutes.
   Fry until all visible water is removed.
    

5. To the fry, add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, 2 tablespoons Kashmiri Chilli powder (or similar to taste), and 1 tablespoon coriander powder.
    

6. Lower the heat and cook for another ten minutes to lose the raw spice taste of the marinate (the fry should become aromatic).
    

7. Add 1 cup of water and cook under low heat until the meat is tender (may be a couple of hours depending on the quality of the meat).
   Salt to taste.
   To make this process faster, use a pressure cooker.
    

8. When ready, add 1/2 tsp of garam masala to taste.
    

9. Do a test taste and add ingredients as necessary (yoghurt; chilli; salt, water).
   A korma is a fairly dry dish and so you may need to boil off water if your preparation is too liquid.
    

10. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves just before serving.

 

Note that almost every korma I came across in Islamabad, had a thick layer of oil on top. When I once was at a stall there to buy a korma takeaway, the chef did this and that to prepare it and at the end just before he packed the serving up, he ladled some of the korma oil from a pot and slathered my takeaway portion with it. Have a look here for what I mean.