
- ½ cup paneer cubes (approximately 225 to 250 grams)
- ▢ ½ cup curd (plain yogurt, avoid sour curd)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
- ▢ ⅛ teaspoon turmeric (optional)
- ▢ ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ▢ 1 Pinch saffron strands (optional)
- ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ▢ 2 tablespoons Ghee or oil
- ▢ 2 to 4 drops Kewra water (optional)
- ▢ ¾ cup water
- ▢ 3 tablespoons cream (optional)
Spices
- ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin or jeera or shahi jeera (optional)
- ▢ 2 to 3 cloves
- ▢ 1 to 2 inch cinnamon
for shahi paste
- ▢ 12 whole cashewnuts split or kaju
- ▢ 8 almonds or badam
- ▢ 3 green cardamoms or elaichi
- ▢ 1 green chili slit (optional)
- ▢ 1 cup onions cubed (2 medium)
- ▢ 1 to 2 tomatoes cubed (optional, refer notes)
- Heat up the same pan with the rest of the ghee or oil.
- ▢ Add cumin, cloves & cinnamon.
- ▢ When the spices sizzle, add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. This takes about 1 to 2 mins.
- ▢ Next transfer the onion cashew paste, chili powder, garam masala, turmeric & salt.
- ▢ Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes until the raw smell of the spice powders goes away.
- ▢ Meanwhile, beat the curd well in a separate bowl with a fork until smooth.
- ▢ Lower the flame completely and then add it to the pan. Mix well. Tip: Alternately, you may temper the yogurt first to avoid splitting. For this add, 1 to 2 tbsps of cooked onion nut mixture to the beaten yogurt in the bowl and mix well. Then add that to the pan.
- ▢ Mix and cook till it thickens and begins to leave the sides of the pan. Pour ½ to ¾ cup water. Add saffron if using.
- ▢ Cook till the shahi paneer gravy thickens and you see traces of oil over the gravy.
- ▢ Taste the gravy and add more salt if desired.
- ▢ Add paneer and cook for about 2 minutes on a low heat. If using fried paneer, turn off the heat immediately after adding to the gravy.
- ▢ Pour kewra water & cream if using and stir. Transfer shahi paneer to a serving bowl to prevent it from cooking further.
- ▢ Garnish shahi paneer with cream. You can also sprinkle some crushed pepper for extra heat.