- 200 gms paneer (cottage cheese)
- 1.5 cups strained stock (got from boiling the onions with dry fruits) + water or 1.5 cups water
- ½ cup full fat fresh yogurt/curd/dahi, whisked till smooth
- 1 or 2 tbsp full fat or 70-80% fat cream (optional) (amul cream which is available in india, can also be used)
- 1 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- ½ tsp red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- 1 tsp Rakesh Shahi Paneer Masala
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
- ¼ tsp garam masala powder
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
- a pinch of saffron/kesar, crushed
- Kewra essence/vetiver, 1 or 2 drops, optional
- Salt and sugar as required
- 1 medium sized onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped cashews (kaju)
- 1 tbsp almonds (badam)
- 1 tbsp magaz or melon seeds without the skin
- 3-4 garlic/lahsun, chopped
- 1 inch ginger/adrak, chopped
- 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
- 2-3 cloves (laung)
- 2-3 green cardamom (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
- 1-2 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
- 1 inch cinnamon (dal chini)
- ½ tsp shah jeera/caraway seeds
- 2-3 tbsp oil or ghee or butter
- Boil onions, cashews, almonds, magaz, ginger and garlic in 1.5 cups water for 8-10 minutes till the onions become soft.
- Strain the stock and keep aside.
- Make a paste of the cooked onions, ginger, garlic along with the dry fruits adding 1 or 2 tsp of the strained water.
- Fry all the whole garam masala or whole spices mentioned in the above list till they release their aroma in the oil.
- Add the ground onion-dry fruits paste and saute till the oil starts to leave the sides of the paste. add the dry spice powders and stir.
- Now add the whisked yogurt, stock+water, salt and sugar.
- Stir well and simmer for 10-12 minutes or till the gravy thickens slightly on a low flame.
- If using cream, then whisk the cream till smooth and keep aside.
- Add the cardamom powder and crushed saffron.
- Stir and add the cubed paneer. if adding cream, you can add the cream with the paneer.
- Simmer for 1-2 minutes till the paneer is cooked.
- Add the kewra (pandan) essence and stir - optional step
- Garnish shahi paneer with some coriander leaves and serve the shahi paneer with jeera rice or rotis, naan or phulkas.
Prep time | cook time | total time |
20 mins | 20 mins | 40 mins |
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian, Mughlai
Serves: 4
Ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
main ingredients: