Paneer Kurma Recipe (White Paneer Korma)

Paneer Kurma recipe is a creamy, rich and delicately flavored curry in a white curry base made with almonds, onions, yogurt and spices. You can also call this recipe as Paneer Korma. The exotic flavors of this Mughlai style paneer curry is best savored with naan or tandoori roti.

About Paneer Kurma Recipe

As is with the Indian cuisine, there are many ways a dish is prepared and so is it with this paneer korma recipe. My recipe is a North Indian dish and inspired from the rich and luxurious Mughal cuisine.

This paneer kurma has a faintly sweet taste with a touch of sourness. The sweetness in the gravy comes from the almonds and onion paste and sour hints coming from yogurt. There are no tomatoes added in the recipe.

The gravy is mild to taste and thus goes well with kids or with folks who cannot eat spicy food. Though for a bit of heat, I have added one green chili, but you could skip it too.

There is some prep work required like making almond paste and onion paste. After preparing these two pastes, the recipe is easy to make. To the same gravy base, you can also add steamed veggies or make a curry with both veggies and paneer.

Almonds give a subtle sweet flavor and creaminess to the dish. In place of almonds, you can use cashews too. But keep in mind that with cashews the taste will be different.

White korma with paneer or veggies is a childhood favorite. Dad would get us this white colored curry with naan or roti from a few restaurants in Mumbai. I have really good memories of food with dad getting us awesome food or taking us to dine out in restaurants.

Those were the days when there were no pizza huts, mc donalds’s or fast food chains. The only pizza we would occasionally have was from the Udupi restaurants in Mumbai.

A largely Indianised version with tomato ketchup as the base sauce and the popular Indian brand of Amul cheese as the cheese topping, with the usual onions, capsicum and tomatoes as the veggies. A favorite till today.

Coming back to this creamy paneer kurma, serve it with naan, tandoori roti, chapati or paratha. It also pairs nicely with biryani, cumin rice or veg pulao.

If you love korma curries, then do have a look at these recipes of Vegetable Kurma and Navratan Korma.

How to make Paneer Kurma

Preparation

1. First rinse and then blanch the almonds in hot water. Soak 20 to 22 almonds in ½ cup of hot water for 30 to 40 minutes. Cover and keep aside.

You can heat the water in an electric heater or microwave or in a small pan. If you have time, you can soak the almonds for an hour.

2. In a pan, take ¾ cup roughly chopped onions and add ¼ cup water.

3. On a low to medium heat, cook the onions and water together stirring at intervals.  if in case the water dries up while cooking onions, then add some more water.

4. Simmer till the onions soften. Remove pan from the stovetop and set it aside for the onions to cool.

5. After 30 to 40 minutes, peel the almonds and set them aside.

6. Add the blanched and peeled almonds and ¼ cup of the soaking water to a grinder or small blender.

7. Make a smooth paste from the almonds without any tiny bits or chunks. Remove the almond paste in a bowl and set aside.

8. To the same blender, add the cooked onions together with the remaining water/stock.

9. Grind or blend to a fine, smooth paste and set aside.

10. Take 6 tablespoons of full fat fresh curd (yogurt) in a bowl or measuring cup and whisk well till smooth. The curd should be fresh and preferably homemade.

If using store brought yogurt, then do check the taste. The curd should not be sour or khatta as we call it in Hindi.

Make White Gravy

11. Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a pan. Lower the heat as the ghee melts.

12. Add the following whole spices and fry the spices for some seconds till fragrant.

• ½ teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds)
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 to 3 green cardamoms
• 4 cloves
• 2 to 3 single strands of mace
• 1 small to medium tej patta (Indian bay leaf)

13. Now add the ground onion paste and mix very well with the spices and ghee. Be careful as the mixture splutters.

14. Add 2 teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste. Stir and mix again.

15. Sauté the onion paste stirring often on a low to medium-low heat until you see some fat releasing from the sides and the paste thickens.

We don’t need to brown this paste as we are preparing a white colored curry. But make sure the onion paste is cooked well.

16. Now add the ground almond paste.

17. Stir continuously and saute for two minutes on a low heat.

18. Then add 1 slit green chili, ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder or white pepper powder and ½ teaspoon coriander powder.

19. Stir and mix again to combine the spices with the sautéed paste.

20. Saute for a minute on a low heat.

21. Now first add 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of the beaten curd (yogurt) on a low heat.

22. Briskly stir and incorporate the curd with the rest of the mixture.

23. Then add again 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of the curd.

24. Stir quickly again. Adding yogurt in small amounts like these does not allow it to get curdled or split in the gravy.

25. Finish off all the curd (yogurt) this way and keep on stirring.

26. Here’s the gravy after all the yogurt has been added.

Make Paneer Korma

27. Then add ¾ to 1 cup water or as required.

28. Mix very well so that the whole gravy has an even consistency.

29. Add salt as required.

30. Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer on a low heat for about 4 to 5 minutes.

31. Then add the paneer cubes – 200 grams paneer which has been chopped into cubes. Stir and mix the paneer cubes gently with the gravy.

32. Switch off heat.

33. Then add 3 tablespoons of light cream (low-fat cream or cooking cream). Swap light cream with 1 to 2 tablespoons of heavy cream of whipping cream.

34. Stir to combine evenly until the cream is mixed with the rest of the kurma gravy.

35. Lastly, add 1 teaspoon of rose water or kewra water (pandanus water) or ½ teaspoon of each. Mix with the gravy gently.

Serve White Paneer Korma garnished with a few pinches of crushed saffron or ground saffron powder.

The Paneer Kurma pairs well with naan, tandoori roti, chapati or paratha or rumali roti. It can also be served with jeera rice or veg pulao.

FAQs

Paneer Kurma recipe from the blog archives was first published on Jan 2015.