Restaurant Style Paneer Korma
Bring the restaurant flavors at home with this rich and creamy paneer korma.
Equipment
- Blender or stab mixer
Ingredients
- 1 big white onion
- 1-2 green chilies (adjust to preferred spice level)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 cm piece of ginger
For the spice mix:
- 1 cup (200 grams) Full fat yogurt
- ½ tsp green cardamom powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon powder
- ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp deghi/ Kashmiri red chili powder
- ¼ tsp white pepper powder
- 1¼ tsp salt
Other ingredients:
- 1 tsp + 1 Tbsp ghee (separated)
- 300 grams paneer
- 10 pieces (20 grams) cashew nuts
- 2 cups (500 ml) water
- ½ tsp kasuri methi
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 1 cup (200 grams) cream with 30% fat (schlagsahne)
- 1-2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
- 1 tsp kewra water
Instructions
Preparation: 10 minutes
- Peel and roughly dice the onion, garlic and ginger. Slice the green chili. Cut the paneer into bite-sized cubes.
- Mix all the ingredients listed under 'spice mix' together to make a homogenous mixture. Keep aside.
Cooking: 30 minutes
- Put a big, non-stick pan on medium heat and add 1 tsp of ghee into it. Once hot, place the paneer pieces all over and fry until golden brown on at least 2 sides. Transfer to a plate and keep aside.
- Put the pan back on medium heat and add 2 Tbsp of ghee. Once its hot, add the chopped onion, chili, ginger and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes on medium heat until the onion starts to develop brown edges. (Do not fully brown the onion).
- Add the prepared spice mix. Saute and cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes until all liquid evaporates.
- Once the liquid has evaporated and the mixture looks glossy, add the cashews along with 500 ml of water. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.
- Once 5 minutes are up, transfer to a bowl and let it cool down. Once it slightly cools put into a blender and blend until smooth. (If using a stab mixer you don't have to wait for the mixture to cool down).
- Transfer the blended mixture back to the pan and turn heat on low. Once it starts to bubble, add the cream, kasuri methi and garam masala. Mix well.
- Add the fried paneer and mix gently. Do a taste check at this point and adjust the seasoning or add more chili or garam masala if needed. Optionally, you can also add some sugar at this point to balance out the flavors. Let cook on low heat for 2 minutes, then turn off heat.
- Add the kewra water and mix gently to combine.
- Sprinkle some kasuri methi for garnish and serve with naan, chapati or rice.
Notes
You can make this dish ahead of time. In that case store the paneer (after frying) and the prepared curry sauce separately. Before serving heat the curry and add the paneer. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then serve.