Shahi Paneer

Shahi paneer is a North Indian curry made with tomato and cashew nut gravy. It is very rich in texture and one can find it in every menu list of a restaurant. It uses Paneer (cottage cheese) and tomato gravy laced with rich spices. But what can be more tempting if it is prepared at home to surprise everyone. It takes about 15-20 minutes to cook. So if one have the ingredients at home then giving a second thought is just waste of time.

Shahi Paneer

Ingredients used are:-

1. Paneer (200gms)
2. Tomatoes (3 for puree)
3. Onion (1 in form of paste)
4. Ginger-garlic paste (1tsp)
5. Cashew nuts (8-10 powdered)
6. Green chillies (1-2 chopped)
7. Cumin seeds (1tsp)
8. Bay leaf (1/2 leaf)
9. Yogurt/ dahi (1 cup)
10. Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp
11. Salt to taste
12. Sugar (1tsp)
13. Oil or ghee (1tsp)
14. Cream to garnish (1tsp)
15. Coriander leaf to garnish

Step by step process to cook shahi paneer:-

First of all take oil in a pan/kadhai and heat it, after it is hot add cumin seeds and bay leaf. let the seeds and bay leaf splitter.

After this add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and also onion paste. Saute it till the paste turns golden brown.

Then blend the tomatoes and make a puree out of it and in next step add the tomato puree as shown.

Once the tomato puree starts leaving the sides of kadhai it is an indication that it has been cooked properly. Now its the time to add cashew nut powder. One can soak the cashew in water and make a paste out of it or can add it in powdered form and then add little water as per requirement.

Then yogurt/ dahi is added and it is stirred continuously to ensure it binds well with the rest of ingredients. Adding yogurt gives a tangy taste to the curry. 

After this sugar is added and also some cashew nuts and raisins are added to give it an extra flavour. Though this step is entirely optional and one can even skip it as per the taste.

Then paneer which is cut in form of cubes is added, at this stage one can turn of the stove or lower the flame to slow. Mostly uncooked paneer is used in this recipe but if one likes to fry the paneer dices one can go ahead with that. 

Lastly garam masala powder is added and stirred in to leave the aroma of all the spices which are blended.

Before serving give a final touch with cream and coriander leaf. This curry is enjoyed with most of the Indian breads like Naan, Parathas, tandoori roti and also goes well with rice or pulao.

SHAHI PANEER