Shrimp Korma

Korma… There is no better curry in the world than korma when it’s cooked right!!! Yes, yes this comes from a curry aficionado who was born with curry in her mouth. Who has tasted curry from Indian restaurants in the smallest corners of the world.

My mouth still salivates when that perfect korma comes to the table. Today, I decided to whip up shrimp korma in nostalgia to the old times. Shrimp braised in a yogurt and nut based velvety sauce laced with mild spices, this korma is the perfect starter curry for all the curry curious out there…

If you’re looking to make an authentic korma, you have come to the right place. There are many quick fix “kormas” on internet that you can whip up under 30 minutes. This is NOT such a thing!!

This would require little bit more prep time, mostly for making the brown onion paste that is the most crucial part of any authentic korma. So more time to make that perfect korma base.

But the end result would be every single drop of sauce getting polished off from the plate. Get ready to know how to cook restaurant quality Shrimp, aka Prawn, Korma, right in your very own kitchen.

What is Korma?

Korma literally means braising the meat. In this case, it is braised in a velvety, yogurt based sauce enhanced with ground nuts, cream and butter. End result? Kormas are rich and mild, yet finger licking delicious.

Korma is believed to have originated in the lavish Moghul cuisine. The Moghuls, who ruled the Indian subcontinent from the 16^th to 19^th century, were originally from Turkish Persia. They brought many cooking techniques and dishes from their native land, and then incorporated Indian ingredients.

In contemporary Korma recipes, cream or yogurt is often used in the making of the curry. Sometimes, usually in Southern India, the creaminess comes from coconut milk.

There are as many Korma recipes in the subcontinent as there are regions. Every region has a different base, garnish or spice combination, but the eventual creamy onion curry outcome is referred to as Korma.

Ingredients for Shrimp Korma

• Shrimp – Use jumbo style, large shrimp for this curry.
• Onions – You will be frying them till they are caramelized to dark brown.
• Tomatoes
• Spices – Kashmiri red chili powder or paprika, coriander powder, turmeric, garam masala powder.
• Ginger paste
• Garlic paste
• Yogurt
• Cashew nuts
• Coconut milk
• Cilantro
• Ghee and oil
• Some green or red chili pepper – for garnish.
• Salt

How to Make Shrimp Korma

Before making any Indian curry, there is a lot of prep work to do. Cleaning the shrimp, making ginger garlic paste, chopping onions, tomatoes, cilantro and keeping your spices ready.

For korma, there’s one more step, caramelizing the sliced onions and grinding them to a paste.

I make this brown onion paste along with cashews, so they don’t need to be ground separately. Soak the cashews for at least 30-40 minutes so they turn into smooth paste.

TIP: if you are short on time, you can microwave the cashews for a minute or two with water before grinding.

Heat oil over medium heat and sauté sliced onions till they are dark brown in color. This would take at least 15 minutes, as you need to caramelize them without burning. For that you need to always keep an close eye on your onions.

Once they are brown, grind your onion paste along with cashews and a dash of water. Keep it aside. Once this is done, the rest of the curry is quite easy.

Start making a korma base by heating up ghee. Add in ginger and garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add in red chili powder, turmeric and coriander powder. Sauté for a few seconds. Add in tomatoes along with salt and cook for 3-4 minutes. Time to add in the brown onion + cashew paste to the pot. Mix well.

Mix in the shrimp and cilantro, and simmer for a minute. Stir in the yogurt, incorporate well, and cook for 5 minutes. Add in garam masala powder along with coconut milk and cook for another 5-8 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked. Add in little pinch of chili flakes and green chili pepper for a final garnish and cook for a minute.

Serve immediately, garnishing with more cilantro.

What to Serve Shrimp Korma With 

1. Our first choice is, of course, piping hot basmati rice.
2. One has to have some hot buttery naan bread, rotis or parathas for this beautifully flavored shrimp curry.
3. Have some Indian accompaniments like raita or salad and you have one well rounded, nutritious meal.

How to Store Leftover Indian Korma

It’s great refrigerated for the next couple of days, stored in an air tight container. It tastes even better, as all the flavors have time to mingle with each other. Since it has shrimp and coconut milk, we don’t recommend freezing it for a long time.

You really don’t need to find the nearest Indian restaurant when those curry cravings hit hard. Most of the times, you might not get this cracking delicious curry there in the first place.

So why not make your own? It will taste absolutely divine when you master a few Indian cooking techniques.

Try our tasty shrimp korma the next time you eye some jumbo sized shrimp. Make that curry night happen with all the family. Share it with your friends and family and spread your curry love…

Shrimp Korma, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

Try these other great Indian dishes!
Chicken Masala
Pork Vindaloo
Paneer Jalfrezi
Vegetable Korma
Dal Tadka
Aloo Palak
Beef Kheema
Gobi Matar

Shrimp Korma

Yield: 4-6 servings

This Shrimp Korma is a creamy cashew based curry with a succulent gravy perfect for soaking up with naan or rice.

Print

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs shrimp
• 2.5 large onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup oil (for frying onions)
• 2 Tbsp ghee
• 2 Tbsp garlic paste
• 2 Tbsp ginger paste
• 3 tsp kashmiri red chili powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 3/4 cup yogurt
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1/2 - 1 cup coconut milk (depending on how thick you want the sauce)
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 green or red chili pepper for garnish
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil over medium heat and sauté sliced onions till they are dark brown in color. This would take at least 15 minutes, as you need to caramelize them without burning. For that you need to always keep an close eye on your onions.
2. Once onions are brown, make an onion paste along with cashews and a dash of water. Keep it aside.
3. Heat ghee in a pan. Add in ginger and garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add in red chili powder, turmeric and coriander powder. Sauté for few seconds. Add in tomatoes along with salt and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add brown onion + cashew paste to the pot. Mix well.
4. Mix in the shrimp and cilantro, and simmer for a minute. Stir in the yogurt, incorporate well, and cook for 5 minutes. Add in garam masala powder along with coconut milk and cook for another 5-8 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked well.
5. Add in a little pinch of chili flakes and green chili pepper for a final garnish and cook for a minute. Serve immediately, garnishing further with cilantro.

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Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.