Creamy Paneer and Baby Corn Masala

I was over excited when I saw some bottled baby corns in a super market. I have never seen anyone selling this delicious vegetable where I am staying right now. Thanks to my best friend "Hamsi" for suggesting this store. I have never dealt with this vegetable before. First time made Chilli Baby Corn in Hamsi's house a few days ago. I love the taste of this yummy vegetable and this is another stuff which I am going to experiment with in next few days.!!! And ya, my sweetheart also loves it. So, I thought of preparing a gravy for my masala flaky parathas. I googled a lot of recipes, combined many recipes and ended up with "my own version" of this dish.
This gravy is very rich, creamy and delicious. In short, my first experiment with this vegetable was a great hit at my place.

So, here I am posting the recipe of the same.

Ingredients

To grind

• Onion - 1, roughly chopped
• Tomato - 1 , roughly chopped
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Garlic - 3 cloves (If too small, take 4 or 5)
• Green chillies - 3 or 4 (according to your spice preference)

To Soak and Grind

• Cashews - 8 or 9
• Almonds - 8 or 9 (De-skinned )
• Melon seeds - 1 tblspn
• Warm milk - 1/2 cup

Other Ingredients

• Oil/ butter - 1 tblspn
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Onions - 1, finely chopped
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Yoghurt - 1/4 cup
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Kitchen king masala - 1 tsp
• Dried fenugreek leaves/ kasuri methi - 1 tsp, crushed
• Cream - 1 tblspn
• Coriander leaves- to garnish

Method

To Grind

Grind all the ingredients under "To Grind" heading in the ingredients list in to a fine paste. Add little water if necessary. Make sure the mixture is not too watery. Keep aside

To Soak and Grind

• Take some warm milk in a bowl and combine cashews, almonds and melon seeds. Let it soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Then grind in to a smooth paste. Keep aside

How to Proceed

• Heat 1 tsp of oil/ butter in a pan. Shallow fry the paneer cubes until it becomes golden brown from all the sides. Remove from the pan. In the same pan, add 1 mre tsp of oil/ butter and shallow fry the baby corn until it is golden brown here and there. This step is completely optional.

• In a bowl, combine well beaten yogurt, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder and kitchen king masala powder. Mix well and keep it aside. Let it sit for 20 minutes

• Heat the remaining oil/ butter in a pan and add cumin seeds. When it starts changing the color, add onions. Saute till it becomes transparent. Add salt and sugar.

• Now add the onion, tomato paste, 1/4 cup water. Mix well.

• Cover the lid and cook for 15 minutes. Keep stirring every 5 or 6 minutes. It will become dry and the raw smell of the onion and tomato will vanish away. Make sure to keep the heat in medium.

• Now add the yogurt mixture and some water. Let it come to one boil.

 

 

• Now add the cashew, almond and melon seeds paste

• Add the crushed kasuri methi

• Add the fried paneer and baby corns. Give it a stir. Cover the lid and let it cook for 20 minutes in a medium-low flame. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning at the bottom. Let the paneer and baby corn absorb all the flavors from the gravy.

 

• Open the lid and check whether the baby corn has cooked well. If not, cover the lid again and cook for some more time. If it is done, check the consistency of the gravy and add the cream.
• Cover the lid again. Cook for a minute and turn off the heat.
• Let it sit for 5 minutes before transfering in to the serving dish.
• Now, serve garnished with coriander leaves and some cream(optional).
• It goes well with chapathi/naan/roti/phulka or even with any mild pulaos.

 

Notes

• To de-skin the almonds, soak them in hot water for 20 minutes. Try to peel off the skin. you can easily de-skin them