The poor old Korma gets a bit of a bad press in Britain. The obsession among some people in eating ever hotter curries means the Korma gets lumped with the “curry novices” tag because it is mild and creamy. And to be fair, the quick and easy Kormas some restaurants turn out have hardly done anything to raise its status. The pale dish that most diners are familiar with uses very little spice – garam masala and perhaps a little turmeric – which is mixed with puréed onions, garlic, cream, cream coconut and ground almonds.

And, yet, a well-cooked Korma can be one of the tastiest dishes on a menu – it was certainly highly regarded by the courts of the Moghuls and is said to have been served at the inauguration of the Taj Mahal. Korma actually refers to a style of cooking where the chef starts by frying ingredients with oil and avoids using adding water until towards the end of the process. The water must be fully evaporated by the end of the cooking. As such there is no reason why a Kormas has to be mild at all – and indeed there are many Kormas which use chillies.

The Spice Card offers savings on curries, including on takeaways at many venues. You can get your Spice Card here.