What is the liquid ingredient in a korma? I recently saw a pseudo-recipe for an authentic Lucknow korma on TV. After infusing whole spices in ghee, adding an onion puree, chilli powder and chicken, the cook added a creamy looking mixture of what he said was desiccated coconut, cashew nuts and poppy seeds.

This mixture looked too liquid to be made up of just those ingredients. What would be the liquid base? I am thinking it is either cream, yoghurt or coconut milk, but I don't know, and each of those has a distinct flavour.

Also, in what proportion would the dry ingredients be?
Authenticity is often in question when it comes to curry.

Korma covers a fairly broad range of South/Central Asian curries, their common feature being their creaminess.

The creaminess can come from cream, coconut cream, yoghurt, or ground nuts - or a mixture of these.

In the case of ground nuts, water might be added to add liquidity, although you may be surprised at how much liquid nuts contain. Just think how gloopy peanut butter can be.