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Paneer Korma (No Onion No Garlic)

By: Jigna
Paneer Korma is rich, creamy, full of flavors, delicious, and without onion and garlic.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 5
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Jain, No Onion No Garlic, Vegetarian

Ingredients
  

To Soak

  • 12 cashews
  • 2 tablespoon melon seeds
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (Khus Khus)
  • 1 cup hot water

To Dry Roast

  • 3 cloves
  • 1- inch cinnamon stick
  • 8 black peppercorns
  • 3 green cardamoms
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 piece of mace (javitri)
  • 6 almonds (optional)

For Korma Paste

  • 1 tomato roughly chopped
  • 1- inch ginger peeled and chopped
  • 1 green chili chopped
  • Soaked and drained cashews, (melon seeds, and poppy seeds)
  • ½ cup water or as needed
  • Dry roasted spices

For Yogurt Mixture

  • 1 cup yogurt
  • 1-2 teaspoon red chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder

To Shallow-Fry Paneer

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 350 g paneer cubes

For Paneer Korma

  • 2 tablespoon ghee
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Prepared Korma Paste
  • Yogurt mixture
  • Shallow-fried paneer
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ cup Water or as needed
  • 8-10 saffron strands (soaked in 1tbsp milk)
  • ½ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (Kasoori Methi)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Instructions
 

Soaking

  • Soak cashews, melon seeds, and poppy seeds in one cup of hot water. Set it aside for at least 10 minutes.
  • Then drain the water completely and set aside the mixture of cashews, melon seeds, and poppy seeds.

Dry Roasting

  • Add cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, green and black cardamoms, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, mace, and almonds into a thick-bottomed frying pan.
  • Roast the whole spices on low-medium flame for 3-4 minutes or until they are fragrant.
  • Turn off the heat and allow the spices to cool down.

Making Korma Paste

  • Add soaked and drained cashews, melon seeds, and poppy seeds into a blender. To this, add tomato, ginger, green chili, dry roasted spices, and ½ cup of water.
  • Blend everything into a smooth paste and set aside. To make the paste smooth, add more water if you need to.

Making Yogurt Mixture

  • Whisk the yogurt until smooth. Add red chili powder, cumin powder, and coriander powder. Mix well and set aside.

Shallow Frying Paneer

  • Heat oil in a pan, and add paneer cubes.
  • On medium heat, shallow fry the paneer cubes until they are lightly golden.
  • Remove from the pan and set aside.

Making Paneer Korma

  • Heat ghee in a pan and add bay leaf. Saute for few seconds.
  • Then add prepared Korma paste, and mix well.
  • Cook this paste for 4-5 minutes or until the fat starts to separate.
  • Add yogurt mixture, and mix well.
  • Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes.
  • Add paneer cubes, salt, and ½ cup of water (or as needed to adjust the consistency).
  • Mix well, cover the pan and cook Paneer Korma for 4-5 minutes or until Paneer is soft. Stir occasionally and add more water to get the desired consistency.
  • Add dried fenugreek leaves, sugar, and soaked saffron strands. Mix well.
  • Turn off the heat, transfer Paneer Korma into a serving bowl and garnish it with fresh coriander leaves.

Serving Suggestions

  • Serve this delicious curry with any Indian flatbread of your choice.
  • It goes well with Roti, Tandoori Roti, Naan, Kulcha, Paratha, or this whole wheat kulcha.
  • You can also serve it with plain rice, Jeera rice, or Pulao.
  • If you want to make a festive meal, pair Paneer Korma with other Dal preparations and accompaniments like Boondi Raita or Cucumber Raita.

Notes

  1. If you do not have poppy seeds, you can skip them and use only cashews and melon seeds.
  2. The Korma paste will be thick and will get thicker upon cooking. So make sure to add water to adjust the consistency as per your preference.
  3. Instead of ghee, you can use oil or use half oil and half ghee.
  4. Make sure that yogurt is not sour. Tangy yogurt may ruin the taste of the curry.
  5. If your yogurt is very thin, you can add 2-3 teaspoon of chickpea flour into yogurt to keep the gravy thick.

Nutrition (Approximate Values)

Calories : 361kcalCarbohydrates : 10gProtein : 13gFat : 31gSaturated Fat : 18gPolyunsaturated Fat : 1gMonounsaturated Fat : 4gCholesterol : 68mgSodium : 80mgPotassium : 185mgFiber : 2gSugar : 4gVitamin A : 179IUVitamin C : 2mgCalcium : 442mgIron : 1mg
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