Dhaniya Paneer Korma
Cooking a vegetarian dish for a die-hard Non-Vegetarian is a difficult feat to achieve. My husband always say cook whatever you want, just don’t make me miss non-veg. Hence I came up with an idea of preparing a paneer dish using a gravy usually made for a non-vegetarian preparation. Presenting a very simple yet flavourful dish of Dhaniya Paneer Korma for you all.
Being vegetarian on most days of the week, paneer or Cottage Cheese is the predominant source of protein. Hence I have to think of preparing it in new ways, in turn trying out different style of gravies. Upon our visit to my SIL’s house in Pune, she made a Chicken dish for everyone. Its interesting that even without tasting, I could recreate the dish and give it a vegetarian spin.
Usually we use Dhaniya or Coriander Leaves as a garnish to our dishes. However, using this herb as base of the gravy was a flavorful addition. This recipe uses very few powdered spices coz Coriander is the hero and it adds subtlety to the dish. I named the dish as korma as it a semi-dry gravy. The texture of the gravy is to die for even without using cream in the recipe.
Naan, Roomali roti and even steaming Jeera Rice will go well with this dish of Dhaniya Paneer Korma. So lets look into the recipe in detail. I am sure you will love it.
Dhaniya Paneer Korma
A flavorful and aromatic gravy based on coriander leaves with succulent Paneer or Cottage Cheese.
Ingredients
- 400 gms Paneer or Cottage Cheese
- 1/2 cup Peas (i used frozen in this recipe)
- 50 gms Coriander Leaves
- 1 inch Ginger
- 5-6 cloves Garlic
- 1 no. Green Chilli
- 1 no. Onion (medium, finely chopped)
- 1 no. Tomato (large, cut into quarters)
- 1 tbsp Watermelon Seeds or Magaz
- 5-6 nos. Cashew Nuts
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 1 tsp Jeera or Cumin Seeds
- 1 no. Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- To Taste Salt
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi or Dried Fenugreek Leaves
Instructions
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Boil some water in a pan. Cut the Paneer or Cottage Cheese into 1 inch cubes. Immerse the paneer in the hot water and keep aside. This will keep the paneer soft and get rid of the excess oiliness of store bought paneer.
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For the gravy, we have to make 2 set of pastes before hand. Using a little water, firstly make a fine paste of Coriander Leaves, Ginger, Garlic and Green Chilli and keep aside.
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The second paste will require us to grind the Tomatoes, Cashew Nuts and Watermelon Seeds into a smooth paste with little water if required.
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In a pan, heat the ghee and add the whole Cumin Seeds or Jeera and Bay leaf. Let it splutter. Add the finely chopped onion and saute till it becomes translucent.
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Now add in the coriander paste to the onions and fry well. Add in salt and Kashmiri red chilli powder and mix well.
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Add in the tomato- cashew nut paste to the the masala and cook for few minutes until the gravy leaves the sides of the pan.
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Add the milk and some water if required to adjust the consistency of the gravy and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
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Once the gravy is simmering, add the paneer cubes and peas and mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on low-medium flame.
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Dry roast the kasuri methi leaves for a minutes and crush them lightly. Sprinkle it on the Dhaniya Paneer Korma and serve it pipping hot with Roti or Naan alike.
