Shahi Paneer (Cottage cheese cooked in creamy gravy)
Shahi is a Persian word meaning “royal”, shah means king so
shahi foods get the richness with such things as cream, cashew almonds nuts,
rosewater, and saffron flavor.
Shahi Paneer is a North Indian dish which is prepared by
cooking paneer (Indian cheese) in
a thick gravy made up of cream, tomatoes and spices. It can be enjoyed with
roti, naan, rice and other breads at parties’ lunch or dinner or at any
festival or to celebrate a special day.
In India we have so many paneer curry dishes like kadhai
paneer, paneer butter masala, matar paneer and the preparation also starts the
same way but kadhai paneer includes slices of bell peppers, fresh tomatoes and
cumin to create dish that has a spicier taste and paneer butter masala has butter
in it and a lot creamier gravy. Today I am going to share the recipe of shahi
paneer and soon I will add other paneer curry recipes too. I hope you will like
it. (I have not used any heavy
cream, if you want you can add two tablespoons of cream to the gravy along with
the paneer cubes)
Ingredients
- 250 gm of Paneer (Cottage cheese)
- 1 big Onion sliced
- 2 big tomatoes sliced
- 2 whole red Chili soaked in water
- 2 tbsp. Cashew nuts soaked in water for 3-4 hours
- 2-3 Bay leaves
- 2 whole green Cardamoms
- 1 tsp. Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp. Ginger-Garlic paste
- 1 tsp. Cumin powder
- A pinch of Turmeric
- 1 tsp. of Red chili powder
- 1 tsp. of Garam masala powder
- 1 tsp. Coriander powder
- ½ tsp. cardamom powder
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ¼ cup beaten Yoghurt/curd
- ½ cup Milk
- 2 tbsp. Oil or butter
- Salt to taste
- Chopped coriander leaves to garnish
Method
- Cut the paneer into cubes of 1-2 inch pieces
- Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan and add the sliced onions sauté
for a few minutes then add soaked whole red chili and cashews and let fry for 2
minutes
- Add tomatoes and cook 4-5 minutes, covered till tomatoes
gets soft
- Let the mix cool and then grind to smooth paste
- Now again heat oil in pan and add cumin seeds, bay leaves
and whole green cardamoms to it let them fry then add ginger garlic paste fry
for a minute
- Then add the pureed tomato-onion-cashew paste then all the
spices and salt to taste, let cook till oil starts to separate from sides
- Add the yoghurt and milk and mix well, then add paneer
cubes, cardamom powder and sugar mix well and let cook for a few minutes on sim
flame to boil to a thick gravy (like melted ice cream consistency)
- Pour into a serving platter, decorate with fresh coriander
and beaten yoghurt.
- Your creamy and tasty shahi paneer dish is ready, enjoy! Best served fresh and hot.
Note:
- Some recipes also call for the paneer to be cubed and then browned in the oil as well it’s up to you how you like your dish.
- I have not used any heavy cream, if you want you can add two tablespoons of cream to the gravy along with the paneer cubes.
- If you want to make healthier dish you can use low fat paneer instead of regular paneer, and also soak some poppy seeds and almonds with cashews to make paste for gravy.
- Always use fresh paneer to make shahi paneer homemade paneer is best. Click here to know how to make paneer at home.
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