Shahi Paneer Korma (Mughlai Style)

Made with milky paneer, yogurt, fried onions and medley of sweet smelling indian spices, shahi paneer korma is a mughlai style paneer curry.

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings

1 medium onion , sliced, (130g-150g)
1.5 cup oil for frying, we will later use 2 tablespoon of this oil while cooking the sauce

Make the Crispy Fried Onions (You can do this in advance)
Peel the onions and wash them. Pat dry. Using a sharp knife, halve the onion. Slice each half into evenly sized slices for this helps in even crisping.
Heat up oil in a cooking pot. Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onion and without altering speed or stirring much (else they start releasing their water and wont get crispy), fry the onions to golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and let cool completely.
Nut & Spice Paste (You can do this in advance)
In a small pan, dry roast the cashew nuts, white poppy seeds and whole spices - mace, peppercorns, fennel seeds and green cardamom. In a small blender jar, add the roasted nuts and spices along with fried onions . Add ¼ cup water and make a smooth paste. You can make this paste 1-2 days ahead and keep refrigerated.

In a wide, medium-sized saucepan or cooking pot, add 1.5 tablespoon ghee on low flame.
Once the ghee is warm, place the paneer pieces in a single layer (image 7) and fry lightly on both sides till you see brown spots on paneer(image 8). This step helps the paneer retain its shape in the sauce and adds a nice flavor. Transfer paneer to a plate or soak in hot water.
To the the pot, add 2 tablespoon oil in which you fried the onions and remaining ghee. Let heat up on low heat.
Temper with cinnamon stick and shah jeera taking care not to burn.
Add the garlic paste and ginger next. Make sure the flame is low, if garlic burns, taste of korma will be spoiled.
Add the spice powders next along with the onion paste. Add ¼ cup water to the blender jar to catch every bit of the onion paste. Add it back to the pan. Combine everything and fry for a minute or so.
Continuing on low heat, add the whisked yogurt. Stir constantly for the next 1-2 minutes on low heat to heat up the yogurt, this makes sure it won't curdle. At this point you will notice that the sauce starts spluttering, add salt & sugar, mix and then cover the pan. Let cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes. We want to cook out the yogurt until fat seperates.
Once you see small shiny bubbles, add the fried paneer cubes, soaked raisins (if using), heavy cream, kewra water and few strands of saffron.
Let simmer on low heat for few minutes and then switch off the heat. Dish out and serve warm shahi paneer korma.

- Saffron - I want to highlight that this paneer korma recipe has a distinct taste of saffron. If you or your guests are sensitive to the taste of saffron, please skip. You could use fresh grated nutmeg or a pinch of green cardamom powder instead.

- Give it a punjabi flair - Instead of saffron and kewra water, add 1 teaspoon of crushed kasuri methi and ½ teaspoon of garam masala to finish the paner korma.

- Consistency - Avoid adding water, or add cautiously. Reason being that such creamy sauces taste best on a thickish side.

- For a dairy free version - Use tofu instead of paneer. Use non-dairy yogurt like cashew yogurt. Skip the heavy cream at the end. You could use coconut cream at the end, however then the korma will have a coconut taste.

- Smooth Gravy - This korma sauce turns out pretty smooth, however for a silkier version you can strain it through a fine mesh sieve before adding the paneer.

Servimg Ideas

With Indian Flatbreads- Like naan, roti or paratha. Add a fresh crunchy salad like kachumber on the side.

Festive Menu - Serve paneer korma with dal bukhara, methi puri, boondi raita, paneer moti pulao and a dessert like gajar halwa or mango burfi

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!