Shahi Paneer Korma

Made with milky paneer (unaged indian cheese), yogurt, fried onions and a medley of sweet smelling indian spices, shahi paneer korma is a mughlai style paneer curry fit for the royalty, literally! Perfect to serve for special occasions or festive gatherings on Diwali or Holi.

With its exotic saffron-infused, luxuriously creamy, cashew laden korma sauce, this delectable north-indian main course dish requires about 30-35 minutes to prepare. It pairs exquisitely with naan, poori, or fragrant cumin rice (jeera rice) for a delicious vegetarian meal.

My Diwali menu each year consists of a few decadent curries such as malai aloo curry, khoya matar or methi matar malai. When it comes to vegetarian main course, paneer dishes like paneer lababdar, palak paneer, or paneer kali mirch are always a hit whenever I have guests over.

This decadent paneer korma stands out from the everyday fare. Whenever I make it, I stick to the traditional and indulgent way.

About Shahi Paneer Korma

In indian cuisine, korma refers to a creamy dish with vegetables or chicken, meat or paneer in a sauce made using yogurt, white poppy seeds, ground nuts (like almonds or cashews) and heavy cream.

Originally, in the royal kitchens of the mughals, korma used to be prepared with either meat or chicken. With time, besides mutton korma or murgh korma, many vegetarian variations got popular across the country. In this paneer korma recipe, instead of meat or chicken, paneer is used.

Shahi (means royal) so this north indian paneer curry is known for its deliciously comforting taste and aroma. It is a mild & delicately flavored with flavor of sweet smelling spices like mace, saffron, green cardamom and kewra.

What Brings the Royal Taste

• I cook paneer korma in ghee for a rich, nutty taste.
• The taste of korma is mellow and mild. Mughlai dishes aren't overwhelming in terms of heat or spiciness, they are luxirious, smooth on the palate and comforting!
• I go generous on heavy cream in this recipe.
• Use of fragrant ingredients like saffron and kevra water (sweet pandan water) that give a unique, heady aroma to mughlai dishes.

More About My Recipe

• Fried onions or browned onions are non negotiable in any kind of korma I make. You could make your own at home (I am writing the instructions), or use pre made from stores.
• This paneer korma recipe has a mild tanginess and has hint of sweet. You could increase oe decrease the amount the sugar as per your taste.
• You may make the fried onions and cashew paste a day or two ahead if you are planning to make it for a party. This saves a lot of time since those two are the key steps. The korma comes together in a jiffy once you have the paste ready to go.
• The spice selection across my korma recipes consists of sweet smelling indian spices. Spices like mace or green cardamom carry forward the delicate taste of this dish.
• Traditional mughlai korma uses only almonds, however, modern kitchens reinvented the korma to include cashews or a combination of both almonds and cashews. I like using cashews in the korma base, you could use almonds if you wish.

If You Want to Make White Gravy Paneer Korma

One of the most popoular korma version is the white korma or white paneer korma. As the name suggests, in the original korma recipe, the sauce has a ivory color. The color of white korma sauce is preserved by not adding red chilli powder.

I like to make red korma becauce I feel that it contrasts the milky creaminess of paneer. Since paneer doesn't have any taste of its own, the korma becomes quite mild and one toned. However, if you enjoy white paneer korma, skip the red chilli powder and instead add a paste made of fresh green chilies for a mild heat in this recipe.

Paneer Korma Ingredients

• Paneer - Homemade paneer (indian cottage cheese) is the best. Or you could purchase paneer from indian grocery stores. In the US, it is easily available at retailers like Costco or whole foods.
• Ghee - A decadent dish like this calls for ghee. However, I also use bit of oil in which I deep fry the onions to carry forward the umami taste of onions in the sauce.
• Whole Spices - mace, green cardamom, shah jeera(caraway seeds), black pepper (ideally white peppercorns are used in korma, however I was out), cinnamon, and fennel seeds
• Spice Powders - coriander powder, red chili powder, salt, turmeric powder(can be skipped, it is used to bring out the color of red chilli powder)
• Garlic Paste and Ginger - If you dont like to bite into ginger julinnes, use ginger garlic paste.
• Fried Onions - I use homemade. You could use premade ones from the brands you trust. The biggest probem with packaged fried onions is the bad smell of oil. Always check before using it in the recipe.
• Yogurt - I use indian style dahi which is a slightly sour. However plain, whole miilk greek yogurt works fine too! Don't use very sour yogurt.
• Other Ingredients - Saffron, heavy cream, raw cashew nuts, kewra water

How To Make Paneer Korma

Preparation

Make the Crispy Fried Onions (You can do this in advance)

1. 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.
2. 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. (Images 1 & 2)

Tip - Save the oil in which you deep fry the onions and use it for cooking any kind of savory dish that uses onions. We will also use a little bit in making the sauce.

Nut & Spice Paste (You can do this in advance)

3. In a small pan, dry roast the cashew nuts, white poppy seeds and whole spices - mace, peppercorns, fennel seeds and green cardamom. (Image 3)
4. In a small blender jar, add the roasted nuts and spices along with fried onions (Image 4). Add ¼ cup water and make a smooth paste (Image 5 & 6). You can make this paste 1-2 days ahead and keep refrigerated.

Make Paneer Korma

5. In a wide, medium-sized saucepan or cooking pot, add 1.5 tablespoon ghee on low flame.
6. 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.

Tip - Place the paneer in hot water and let soak while you make the sauce. This optional step keeps the paneer soft.

7. To the the pot, add 2 tablespoon oil in which you fried the onions and remaining ghee. Let heat up on low heat.
8. Temper with cinnamon stick and shah jeera taking care not to burn(image 9).
9. Add the garlic paste and ginger next. Make sure the flame is low, if garlic burns, taste of korma will be spoiled (image 10).
10. Add the spice powders next along with the onion paste (images 11 & 12). Add ¼ cup water to the blender jar to catch every bit of the onion paste. Add it back to the pan (image 13). Combine everything and fry for a minute or so (image 14).
11. Continuing on low heat, add the whisked yogurt (image 15). Stir constantly for the next 1-2 minutes on low heat to heat up the yogurt, this makes sure it won't curdle.
12. At this point you will notice that the sauce starts spluttering, add salt & sugar, mix and then cover the pan. (image 16) Let cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes. We want to cook out the yogurt until fat seperates.
13. Once you see small shiny bubbles(image 17), add the fried paneer cubes, soaked raisins(if using), heavy cream, kevra water and few strands of saffron(image 18).
14. Let simmer on low heat for few minutes (image 19) and then switch off the heat.
15. Dish out and serve warm shahi paneer korma(image 20).

Serving

• With Indian Flatbreads- Like naan, roti or paratha. Add a fresh crunchy salad like kachumber on the side.
• Pair with steamed basmati rice or indian cumin rice.
• Festive Menu - Serve paneer korma with dal bukhara, methi puri, boondi raita, paneer moti pulao and a dessert like gajar halwa or mango burfi.

Recipe Tips

• 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 kevra water, add 1 teaspoon of crushed kasuri methi and ½ teaspoon garam masala to finish the korma.
• Consistency - Avoid adding lot of water 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.

Making Ahead, Storing & Reheating

Make Ahead Instructions

If you wish, you could prepare the korma sauce a day ahead. Don't add paneer and heavy cream. Whenever you want to make it, fry the paneer, add the korma sauce along with heavy cream, raisins (if using), saffron and kevra water.

Storing Leftovers

You may store leftover paneer korma refrigerated for 3-4 days in an air-tight container.

Reheating

Always reheat on a low heat. Such creamy sauces as korma can curdle or become oily (due to fat separation) on high heat. If you are using a microwaver for heating, heat in intervals of 10 seconds and keep a close eye.

Freezing

I don't recomnend freezing paneer korma. After thawing, such dairy based sauce taste quite flat.