Mushroom Paneer Corn Masala is a comforting dish has three of my favorite ingredients: mushrooms, paneer and corn.
Soft paneer, earthy mushrooms and sweet corn are enveloped in a velvety cashew cream sauce resulting in a perfectly balanced dish. This dish instantly reminds me of warmer months because of the sweet corn addition. I love how quickly it comes together and the combination is simply fantastic. It starts off with a tomato onion gravy to which slices of mushroom, pan seared paneer and corn is added. The creaminess comes from soaked cashews. I love having this dish with flakey parathas, sirke wale pyaaz and dahi.
Because this dish uses such minimum items I’m going to share some details on the ingredients and the ones I like best:
Mushrooms:
- For this recipe I would lean towards either cremini or white mushrooms. These two varieties are pretty interchangeable in most recipes. If you want a milder flavor go for the white mushrooms and if you want a deeper, richer flavor, go with the cremini.
Paneer:
- I used Sach Foods Paneer for this dish and it was wonderfully soft and creamy.
- When I’m cooking a paneer gravy dish I pan wear my paneer in a pan with a spoon of oil on medium low heat until all sides are light golden in color. I love the slight char on the outside and creamy this creates.
Corn:
- My absolute favorite corn to use in this recipe is the fresh, sweet summer corn. If you don’t have that in hand you can easily swap it out for frozen or canned corn. If using canned, be sure to drain out the water.
- The flexibility in using fresh, canned or frozen corn Is perfect for when you’re trying to use up freezer and pantry ingredients!
The creaminess in this dish comes from a handful of raw cashews that have been soaked in water. Having them soak allows them to plump up and expand which results in the most velvety cream sauce once you run the masala through an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender feel free to use a blender or food processor.
If you are allergic to cashews you can do the same with blanched almonds or if you have a nut free home, you can add in 1/3 cup of heavy cream.
- 1 cup paneer, cubed
- 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
- ½ cup corn kernels
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 10-12 cashews
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
- ½ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder or tandoori masala
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon kasoori methi, crushed
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon salt; adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- Heat ½ a tablespoon oil in a large pan or wok. Once hot sear paneer on both sides until light golden in color. Remove paneer and cut into one inch cubes.
- Add remaining oil to the pan and add in cumin seeds. Once they begin to sputter add in diced onions.
- As the onions become translucent, add the chopped tomatoes, soaked cashews and ginger garlic paste.
- Once the tomatoes become soft, blend the ingredients using either an immersion blender or a food processor.
- In the same pan with the blended masala add your tomato paste, mushrooms and salt. Mix and let cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Next you’ll add in the coriander powder, kashmiri or tandoori powder and turmeric.
- Give it all a good mix and add in your corn followed by paneer.
- Check for salt and adjust as needed. If the masala looks too thick add in ⅓ cup of hot water.
- Allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes before adding garam masala, crushed kasoori methi and turning off the heat.
- Mix and garnish with fresh cilantro
- Enjoy it with rotis or parathas.
Enjoy,
Found the recipe while searching for paneer recipes. Made it and WOW! Fantastic! I used heavy cream as I didn’t have raw cashews handy along with frozen roasted corn (can’t wait for fresh corn!). The flavors intensified the next day. Delicious!