Shahi Paneer Recipe - Restaurant style Gravies

Paneer gravies like Paneer Makhani, Palak Paneer or Paneer Butter Masala are always a  hit and I am sure most of us prefer ordering at least one paneer gravy if we visit any restaurant. Another rich gravy in Paneer category is Shahi Paneer which is a royal recipe fit for special occasions. Shahi Paneer is a true rich gravy which is definitely a treat to any one.

The gravy for Shahi Paneer is not the usual tomato based one, it is prepared with less(or no) tomato and has a beautiful rich white gravy made up of onions, cashew nuts, cream, curd and milk and is scented with cardamom powder. This gravy is very aromatic and the taste of it lingers you even after a while you finish eating it.Take my words and try this Shahi Paneer recipe in your next party and I am sure everone will like it. I have mentioned few tips to make it low fat in case if those extra calories by cream is worrying you.

Shahi Paneer pairs up nicely with Naans, Kulchas or any other Indian flat breads and even with Jeera Rice, Matar pulav etc. Make sure you have the soft quality paneer to prepare this as we are even going to use the paneer in the gravy as well which is a real twist to the actual recipe and makes it even more delicious. As we are adding curd and milk in the gravy one should be careful while adding them to avoid the curdling- read the recipe carefully before you proceed to prepare the recipe.

Check out various Paneer Recipes in my blog:

• Kadai Paneer
• Palak Paneer
• Paneer Jalfrezi
• Paneer Bhurji
• Matar Paneer
• Paneer Sabzi
• Paneer Butter Masala
• Paneer Makhani 
• Grilled Corn-Palak Paneer

Shahi Paneer Recipe:

Serves 2-3

Prep time:10 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins| Total time: 40mins

Cuisine: Mughlai-Indian | Category: Gravies - Main Course

Ingredients:

200 gms Homemade Paneer (Cottage cheese) (or store bought)

1 small Tomato, finely chopped

1 tsp Coriander power

1/2 tsp roasted Cumin powder

1/2 tsp Home made Garam masala

1/2 tsp Red chili powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Kasuri Methi

3-4 tbsp. fresh cream or 1/4 cup Milk

2-3 tbsp. fresh Curd, beaten

1 Bay leaf

2 Cardamom pods, seeded and powdered

Salt to taste

2-3 tbsp. Oil/Ghee

2 tsp Coriander leaves, to garnish

to grind- Paste1:

2 Onions, roughly chopped

2-3 Green chillies

2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste

to grind- Paste2:

8-10 Cashew nuts

1/4 cup Warm milk

1/4 cup(roughly 50 gms) grated Paneer

Method:

• Cut paneer into 1 1/2" squares of 1/2" thickness and dip them in medium hot water until its usage. You can even sauté them in butter for few minutes on both sides and then keep them immersed in hot water until its usage.

• Remove the skins of cardamom pods and pound the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle to a fine powder.
• Soak cashew nuts in warm milk for 10-15 mins.

• Grind soaked cashew nuts with warm milk and paneer pieces(or grated paneer) to a smooth and creamy paste(let us say this paste no-2).

• Bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil in a vessel and add roughly chopped onions and green chillies and boil until they turn slightly soft. Drain the onions and green chillies and once they come to room temperature. Grind them along with ginger-garlic paste to a very smooth puree(let us say this is paste no-1). The ginger-garlic paste I used had some turmeric powder and hence there is a slight change in color.
• Heat oil/ghee in a pan/kadai and add bay leaf and add ground paste-1(onion paste) and fry it for 2 mins and then add chopped tomato and fry it nicely until the paste stops sticking to the pan. It takes nearly 5-7 mins.

• Now add all the spice powders- red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, roasted cumin powder and coriander powder and fry nicely until the whole mixture stop sticking to the pan. If necessary add few tbsp. of water while frying but do not let the masala burn at any stage.

• Remove the pan from the stove and add nicely beaten yogurt(curd) and mix it well. Bring it back on the burner on LOW flame and add 1/3- 1/2 cup water approx. and mix nicely and bring the gravy to a boil. Do not increase the flame from now on wards to avoid the curdling of gravy. The gravy thickens as it sits and hence make the gravy slightly thinner so that it would be of nice consistency during serving time.
• Add kasuri methi and salt to it and also the ground paste-2(cashew nut paste) and cream(milk) and mxi it nicely.

• Add paneer pieces and let the gravy comes to a boil on very low flame. It takes nearly 3-4 mins.
• Now add freshly pounded cardamom powder and give a gentle stir and switch off the flame.
• Garnish it with coriander leaves and grated paneer.

Serve it hot with flat breads like  Naan/Roti/Kulcha or Jeera rice/Bagara Rice/Matar Pulao

Notes:

1. Add nicely beaten curd and also add it to the pan by removing it from the flame to avoid curdling. From then onwards boil the gravy on low flame.
2. Do not miss the addition of paneer while grinding the cashew nuts , this really adds the richness and taste to the gravy and also you can avoid cream and add some milk instead to the gravy.
3. I love to cut the paneer pieces into squares for this gravy, you can cut them in cubes, triangles etc like the way you want.
4. I avoided turmeric powder adding to the gravy as the ginger-garlic paste already had enough turmeric in it.
5. Shahi Paneer is not a red colored based gravy. As we do not add more tomatoes and red chili powder to the gravy and also the addition of cream, cashew nut paste and milk at the end ensures that the gravy would be slightly whitish in color.
6. Add cardamom powder at the end to retain the flavor of it in the gravy.
7. You can even mash the paneer and add instead of grinding it but I prefer to grind it to get a smooth texture,You can do either ways.

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