If you are new to Indian cuisine you may be wondering

What is Paneer Korma?

Paneer korma is an Indian dish where Paneer, aka Indian cheese is simmered in a fragrant and delicious kurma gravy. Korma also known as kurma is a South Asian curried dish where meat or vegetables are cooked in a curry base made with nuts, seeds, yogurt, coconut and spices. In Paneer korma recipe, vegetables & meat is replaced with paneer. This resulting dish is simply delicious with soft paneer in an aromatic and rich gravy. In India, every region and even every household has a different recipe to make korma. In North Indian cuisine it is known as korma and is mostly made with onions, seeds, nuts and yogurt as the base, while the South Indian version uses coconut or coconut milk with a unique combination of spices and herbs. Paneer korma is popular on the restaurant menus and you find many kinds like shahi paneer korma, Hyderabadi paneer korma, Chettinad paneer kurma, Nawabi korma etc. Each of these have their own special flavors. Every version has a thickener used, some recipes use nuts like almonds or cashews. While some use seeds like melon seeds or poppy seeds. A few recipes also use fried onions, yogurt, seeds, nuts and coconut. So every version has a different taste and flavor.

My Recipe

In this post I have shared a generic recipe from my mom. It has delicious flavors from the whole and ground spices, herbs like mint. I have used poppy seeds and coconut here. You can also substitute them with nuts like almonds and cashews or with yogurt and nuts or with just coconut milk. This dish is light and not heavy as the white shahi korma you get in the North Indian restaurants. On special occasions I have also made this with 1/3 cup of split cashews to make cashew paneer korma. If you love cashew curry you will love that version as well. More Paneer RecipesPaneer butter masalaKadai paneerMatar paneer

How To Make Paneer Korma (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

  1. Skip this step if you intend to use coconut milk. Add 12 cashew nuts (24 split) or 2 tablespoons poppy seeds to a grinder jar. Make a fine powder. Then add ¼ cup coconut and grind to a smooth paste with 6 to 8 tablespoons water. Ensure this paste is very smooth and do not have grits in it. Keep this aside.

Make Paneer Korma

  1. Heat a pan with 2 tablespoons oil on a medium heat. When the oil becomes slightly hot, add whole spices

1 bay leaf 2 inch cinnamon piece1 star anise2 to 3 cardamoms 2 to 3 cloves¼ teaspoon Shahi jeera or cumin. When they begin to sizzle, reduce the heat to low and add ½ tablespoon ginger garlic paste. Saute till the ginger garlic turns fragrant for a min or 2. Do not burn this.

  1. Add 1 ¼ cup chopped onions and sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt. On a medium heat, fry till onions turn golden and transparent. Stir occasionally so the onions cook evenly.
  2. Add ¾ cup chopped tomatoes and ¼ teaspoon turmeric. Saute till the tomatoes turn mushy. If they are too dry, splash little water and cook covered on a low heat.
  3. Add

1 to 1¼ teaspoon garam masala powder 1 teaspoon coriander powder¾ to 1 teaspoon red chili powder10 chopped mint leaves or coriander leaves. I also add half teaspoon fennel seeds powder at this stage. Saute for 2 to 3 mins on a low heat without burning.

  1. Add the ground paste (cashew/poppy seed & coconut paste) or coconut milk.
  2. On a medium flame saute for about three to four minutes stirring occasionally. It must begin to release a nice aroma of coconut and poppy seeds.
  3. Pour 1 and ¼ cup water. If using coconut milk you will need only ¾ cup water. Mix well and bring it to a boil. If required, add little more water to adjust the consistency.
  4. Cook on a medium flame till the korma gravy turns thick and specks of oil are visible on top. At this stage, taste test and add more salt and garam masala if required. If you want to add cashews, add 1/3 cup ghee fried cashews and let simmer for a while.
  5. Add panner to the korma and turn off the stove. Give a good mix and keep the paneer korma covered. Garnish paneer korma with coriander leaves.

Faqs

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

This Paneer Korma Recipe post was first published in July 2014. Updated and republished in January 2022.