PANEER KESARI KORMA

PANEER KESARI KORMA

Ingredients

To Soak

To Dry Roast

For Korma Paste

For Yogurt Mixture:

To Shallow-Fry Paneer

For Paneer Korma

Instructions

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.