This Shahi Paneer is creamy and deliciously rich, making it one of the most popular dishes in Mughlai cuisine. The creamy, non-melting cheese is accompanied by a creamy sauce, perfect for serving with naan or roti. “Shahi” means “royalty” and I can assure you that this dish is fit for a king!
If you are looking for a comforting vegetarian dish to serve for dinner, look no further. Shahi Paneer is one of my favorite dishes and will surely become one of yours.
What are you waiting for? This delicious dish fit for royalty can be on your table tonight. Go ahead and indulge yourself! More comfort foods are the order of the day than ever. This Shahi Paneer is sure to fill your stomach and warm your souls. See you guys next time. Hope you stay safe, happy and well fed.
What is Shahi Paneer?
Shahi Paneer can closely be translated as “royal cottage cheese”.
In Indian cuisine, paneer is a very popular cream cheese. It is form by curdling milk with a food acid (often lemon juice), then squeezed into cubes. The most remarkable thing about paneer cheese is that it doesn’t melt, providing a texture similar to tofu.
Also Read: Paneer Lababdar
Ingredients
For cooking onions and nuts
▢ ½ cup chopped onions or 1 medium onion
▢ 2 tablespoons chopped cashews
▢ 1 tablespoon of almonds
▢ 1 tablespoon of magaz or melon seeds without the skin
▢ ½ teaspoon chopped garlic or 3 to 4 small to medium garlic
▢ ½ teaspoon of chopped ginger or 1 inch of ginger
▢ 1.5 cups of water
Other ingredients
▢ 3 tablespoons of Ghee (clarified butter) or oil or butter
▢ 1 teaspoon ground coriander (ground cilantro)
▢ ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
▢ ½ teaspoon red chili powder
▢ ½ cup Curd (yogurt), 125 grams – whipped until smooth
▢ 1 to 1.5 cups of filtered broth (obtained by boiling onions with walnuts) + water or 1 to 1.5 cups of water
▢ ½ to 1 teaspoon of sugar or add as needed
▢ salt as needed
▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
▢ 15 to 20 saffron strands – lightly crushed
▢ 200 grams of Paneer (cottage cheese)
▢ 1 tablespoon heavy cream or add as needed – optional
▢ 1 teaspoon of kewra water (pine water) or rose water – optional
Whole spices
▢ 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
▢ 2 to 3 cloves
▢ 2 to 3 green cardamoms
▢ 1 black cardamom
▢ 1 inch of cinnamon
▢ ½ teaspoon (caraway seeds) shah jeera
Instructions
Preparation
- Take the nuts and seeds in a bowl and rinse them several times with water. Drain all the water and set aside.
- Cook the almonds, cashews, onions, magaz or melon seeds, ginger and garlic in 1.5 cups of water for 8 to 10 minutes until onions are tender.
- Filter the broth and set aside. Let the onions cool to room temperature.
- Make a fine paste of the cooked onions, ginger, garlic with the dried fruits by adding 2 to 4 tablespoons of filtered water.
- Whisk fresh curd (yogurt) until smooth and set aside.
Brown the onion paste
- Heat the ghee in a skillet over medium-low to medium heat.
- Fry all the whole spices (listed in the ingredients above) until they release their aroma into the ghee. Be very careful here, as the spices are delicate and can burn quickly if you are not careful.
- Add the ground onion paste and mix well. Over low heat, sauté, stirring constantly, for 7 to 8 minutes or until the fat begins to leave the sides of the paste.
- Add the red chili powder or cayenne pepper, garam masala powder and cilantro powder. Mix well.
Add the curd and simmer more
- Reduce the heat to a minimum or turn off the heat. Add the whipped yogurt, 1-1.5 cups of filtered broth, and additional water, sugar and salt as needed.
- Mix well and simmer the sauce for 10 to 12 minutes until it thickens.
- Add the cardamom powder and the crushed saffron.
- Stir and add the cubed paneer and cream.
- Mix gently and turn off the heat.
- Add the kewra water and stir. You can even add rose water.
- Garnish the Shahi Paneer with a few coriander or mint leaves or a few sprigs of saffron. Serve the Mughlai Shahi Paneer with cumin rice or naan, paratha or roti.
