Authentic Mutton Korma Recipe: Aromatic Slow-Cooked Curry

Mutton korma is a classic, rich and aromatic curry perfect for special occasions like Eid, family gatherings, or celebrations.

Personally I prefer mutton korma to chicken korma because the longer cooking time allows the spices and aromatics to fully penetrate the meat. This results in deeper, more intense flavours that meld together beautifully.

This recipe follows traditional techniques and authentic spices to create the true “asli zaiqa” of a Pakistani-style korma you’ll enjoy.

🤩 What makes a delicious mutton korma?

• Use fresh, high-quality mutton. Freshness dramatically affects flavour; poor-quality meat can carry an off-odour that frying won’t remove. Build a good relationship with your butcher or ask when fresh stock arrives.
• Fried onions are essential. Thinly slice and fry onions until a deep golden brown, spread them on paper to crisp, then crush and add towards the end of cooking. This step gives authentic texture and depth.

• Generous aromatic whole spices such as cloves, green and black cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon and peppercorns.
• A rich, creamy sauce — this version combines full-fat yogurt and ground cashews for body and sweetness.
• Traditional kormas use a fair amount of oil; I keep it as low as possible while maintaining the characteristic glossy finish. You may reduce the oil further if desired.

🔪 Method

Begin by frying thinly sliced onions in oil over medium heat, stirring frequently until they reach a deep golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and spread them on paper to crisp — we’ll use these later.

In the oil used for the onions, add the mutton along with minced ginger, garlic and whole spices (cloves, black and green cardamom, bay leaf, black peppercorns, cinnamon) plus ground coriander, cumin, deghi mirch (or paprika/chilli) and salt. Fry on medium-high, stirring, until the mutton is no longer pink.

Add the full-fat yogurt and the cashew paste, and fry on high while stirring continuously. The mixture will thicken and the oil will start to separate around the edges.

When the sauce is considerably reduced and glossy, add about 900ml of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 1.5–2 hours until the mutton is tender, stirring occasionally and checking liquid levels.

Near the end of cooking, crush the fried onions by hand or with a pestle and mortar. Keep some texture — don’t grind them to a paste. Add the crushed onions to the pot, stir, cover and simmer another 5–10 minutes. Top up with a little water if you prefer a looser gravy.

Finish with a splash of kewra water for fragrance, taste and adjust seasoning, then garnish with blanched almonds. Serve hot.

🥜 Substitutes for cashews

If you don’t have cashews or prefer an alternative, use one of these options. Cashews are recommended for their specific creamy, slightly sweet flavour, but these will work:

• Blanched almonds (ground into a paste)
• 2 tablespoons full-fat yogurt (extra)
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons double cream

🥩 Using a different meat

• Lamb: Reduce cook time to about 1 hour 15 minutes and use roughly 600–700ml water.
• Beef: Increase cook time and water—beef needs longer to become tender.
• Chicken: Use a dedicated chicken korma method for best results.

🍽️ How to serve

Serve mutton korma with naan (roghni naan is an excellent choice), sheermaal or taftaan. If you live outside South Asia, sheermaal can often be found frozen in Desi supermarkets.

📋 Recipe

Mutton Korma Recipe

A classic korma recipe ideal for special events such as Eid and weddings.

Cook Time:
2 hours

Total Time:
2 hours

Servings:
3 servings

Ingredients

• ¼ cup (65 ml) oil or ghee
• 1 medium onion, sliced finely
• 1.1 lb (½ kg) mutton, bone-in, cut into curry pieces
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tablespoon minced ginger
• ⅓ cup (85 g) full-fat yogurt
• ¼ cup (35 g) unsalted cashews, ground into a paste with water
• 2 black cardamoms
• 8 green cardamoms
• 7 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1½ teaspoons coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon deghi mirch (or 1 tsp paprika / ½ tsp red chilli powder)
• Salt to taste
• Kewra water, 1 tsp or more (optional)
• 15 blanched almonds, skins removed, for garnish

Instructions

• Heat the oil or ghee in a deep pot. Add the sliced onions and fry over medium-high, stirring often, until a deep golden brown (about 25 minutes).
• Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and spread on paper to crisp. Set aside.
• In the same oil add the mutton, spices, ginger and garlic. Fry over medium-high until the mutton is no longer pink (about 7 minutes).
• Stir in the yogurt and cashew paste and fry, stirring constantly, until the oil separates and the sauce looks glossy (about 10 minutes).
• Add 900 ml water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 1.5–2 hours until tender.
• When the fried onions have cooled and crisped, crush them into a textured mixture by hand or with a pestle; avoid creating a smooth paste.
• Remove the lid, stir in the crushed onions, replace the lid and cook 5–10 minutes more. Add water if you prefer a thinner gravy.
• Stir in kewra water, adjust chilli and salt, and garnish with almonds before serving.