Shahi Paneer is an easy paneer recipe that is so rich and delicious. Soft malai paneer or Indian cottage cheese is wrapped in a mellow cashew-yogurt gravy along with saffron and cream. Lush and creamy, it is a perfect vegetarian dish for a feast or a special dinner. Goes well with warm naan or roti and comes together in just 40 minutes!
Another delicious paneer dish is the ever popular palak paneer, a restaurant-style recipe with creamed spinach and spices in addition to paneer.
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What is Shahi Paneer?
'Shahi' means 'royal' and indeed Shahi Paneer is just that. A dish that will win over the most hardened of hearts, it is perfect for those special occasions when you need to impress. The beauty of this paneer recipe is that it is mild yet flavorful and rich. Paneer cubes are cooked in a lush, velvety sauce that's truly irresistible!
One paneer recipe that tastes as good as shahi paneer is malai kofta in white gravy. Malai kofta also has a mild, rich gravy, but unlike our recipe here, it's a little more involved.
The stars in this shahi paneer recipe are ground cashews and cream. Both these ingredients give the dish a wonderful smoothness and body. The combination of yogurt + fresh red chilli saves it from being bland and boring, and the saffron gives it that warm golden colour and that signature saffron taste. The result? A warm, mellow paneer dish with a perfect balance of taste and texture.
Make shahi paneer when you have company or when you are in the mood for something slightly indulgent. You will be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is!
If you like paneer in sauce, try these recipes too: chilli paneer, paneer butter masala, and matar paneer.
Ingredients
Note: exact amounts are given in the recipe card further down.
INGREDIENT NOTES
Paneer: Choose the best paneer you can find. Paneer is available in most supermarkets as a frozen block. If buying frozen paneer, you will need to thaw it in hot water before cutting it in small bite-sized cubes. You can also make your own paneer if you want to go the extra mile. Here is a recipe for making paneer in the instant pot.
Cashews: Go for raw unsalted cashews in this recipe. The nuts need to be soaked for 10 minutes before grinding them with the onions so that there are no little bits of cashew in the sauce to make it gritty.
Yellow onions: Unlike my go-to red onions for most recipes, I use yellow onions for making shahi paneer because they are mild and white in colour unlike red onions. They work best for dishes where you want to preserve the color of the dish.
Fresh red chillies: Fresh red chillies are available in most supermarkets. They add a mild heat that is further tempered down with cream in the last step of the recipe.
Ginger-garlic paste: Ginger and garlic pastes are readily found in most supermarkets in separate bottles., but making your own batch is infinitely preferable! All you do is put equal quantities of both ginger and garlic in a blender along with a little water and blend until you get a smooth paste.
Cooking oil: Any neutral cooking oil will suffice. Avoid using coconut or olive oil as these add their own flavor to the dish.
Saffron: Ah, saffron! In the case of this spice, less is always more. Don't add more than a few strands as too much saffron can easily overwhelm the other flavors. Also, choose good quality saffron for maximum impact. When used in moderation, it adds a very pleasing flavor and colour to any dish.
Garam masala powder: This is a very common spice in Indian cooking, and it is, in fact, a mix of many different spices like cardamom, cloves and black pepper. It adds a punch to anything it is added to, but like saffron, it is best used in small amounts. As in very small amounts, just ⅛ of a teaspoon in this recipe. Since shahi paneer is a mild dish (all that yogurt and no other spices except saffron), a pinch of garam masala gives it a little more dimension.
Salt and sugar: Salt, of course, makes everything taste better, and sugar (again, just half a teaspoon) balances out all the other flavors.
Plain yogurt: Well-whisked, room temperature yogurt is key to this recipe. Use plain yogurt (also called dahi), no flavoured or Greek yogurt situation going on here.
Cream: I use half and half cream in this recipe to cut down on the heaviness, and it works pretty well. Cream takes off the sharp edges and makes the sauce pleasantly mild and rich, so don't skip it.
Instructions
Preparing the paneer: If using a frozen block of paneer, soak it in hot water for about 10 minutes, and when it thaws, cut it into bite-sized cubes or triangles. If using fresh paneer (available in Indian groceries), there is no need to soak it.
Preparing the sauce:
1. Peel and cut the onions into large chunks and cook them in water. Add just enough water (approximately one cup) to a saucepan, add the onions and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the onions for 10 minutes or until they soften and most of the liquid is absorbed.
2. Leave the cashews to soak in a bowl of plain water for 10 minutes.
3. Put the onions (along with any liquid), cashews and red chillies into a blender and blend to get a very smooth puree.
Cooking:
4. Heat oil in a deep pan or pot and add the onion puree prepared above plus the ginger-garlic paste. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a few splashes of water as required.
5. Crush a few strands of saffron between your fingers and add it to the above masala. Add the salt and sugar too.
5. Lower the heat, and slowly add whisked yogurt (one tablespoon at a time), stirring continuously to incorporate the yogurt into the sauce. The whole process should take another 10 minutes.
6. The gravy is now almost ready. Stir in the paneer cubes, garam masala and cream, and cook gently for 2 minutes on gentle heat. Garnish the shahi paneer with a light sprinkle of garam masala and saffron strands and serve warm with some Indian bread or rice.
Top Tips
1. Aim for a smooth sauce: The sauce needs to be very smooth, so when you are blending the ingredients for the sauce, aim for an even, lump-free consistency with no solid bits.
2. Stir, stir, and stir: Stir the sauce continuously on gentle heat, especially after adding the yogurt. You don't want the yogurt to split, as it can, if not mixed in properly with the sauce.
3. Use all ingredients in moderation: Don't be tempted to add anything more than specified since it can upset the balance of the final dish.
4. Add the yogurt in small batches: Don't dump all the yogurt at once as it can be difficult to manage and might split. Instead, add it one tablespoon at a time, stirring vigorously all the time until it becomes one with the sauce.
5. Don't overcook the sauce after adding cream: To preserve all the flavors, cook the sauce for one or two minutes only after adding the cream. Don't allow it to bubble.
Serving Suggestions
Shahi paneer can be served with roti smeared with ghee, or warm whole wheat naan to mop up all that sauce.
It also tastes good with rice, both plain rice and cumin rice.
Storing and Reheating
Keep leftovers in the fridge for a day or two only. Since shahi paneer has cream, it does not freeze too well, so cook it in small batches.
When kept in the fridge, the sauce will become thick and clumpy. To loosen it, add a little water and gently stir it back to an even sauce-like consistency on low heat, never high. Or add water, and reheat it in the microwave. You might have to take it out once to stir, but microwaving it does the job too.
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📖 Recipe
Shahi Paneer
Equipment
- Blender
- Saucepan small
- Deep pan or pot
Ingredients
- 14 oz paneer Indian cottage cheese, cut into cubes
- 12 cashews soaked in water
- 1 yellow onion large, cut into thick chunks
- 3 whole fresh red chillies chopped roughly
- 3 tablespoon ginger-ginger paste
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- ¼ teaspoon saffron reserve a few strands for garnishing
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp white sugar
- ½ cup yogurt whisked
- ¼ cup half and half cream
- ⅛ tsp garam masala powder reserve a little for garnishing
Instructions
Preparation
- For store-bought, frozen paneer, soak it in hot water for 10 minutes, drain the water, and cut paneer into desired shapes.
- Soak the cashews in ½ cup water (10 minutes).
- Peel and cut the onion into large chunks. Add 1 cup water to a saucepan and add the onions. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the onions simmer in the liquid until most of it evaporates and the onions are soft (10 minutes)
- When the onions cool down, add them to a blender along with any remaining liquid. Add drained cashews and fresh red chilli. Blend to a smooth sauce.
Cooking
- Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion-cashew-chilli paste and ginger-garlic paste. Mix well and cook this sauce over low-medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The sauce is cooked when the raw smell goes away and the sauce is thick and smooth.
- Crush the saffron between your fingers and add it to the sauce along with the salt and sugar.
- Add the yogurt one tablespoon at a time, stirring vigorously to avoid the yogurt from splitting or forming lumps. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes. If the sauce is too thick and clumpy, add ¼ cup warm water to thin it out.
- Finally, add the paneer, cream, and garam masala powder. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes more. Garnish with the remaining saffron and garam masala and serve hot with roti or any Indian bread of your choice.
Notes
- Paneer is easily available in Indian grocery stores or even big chain supermarkets like Walmart and Superstore in Canada.
- The red chillies adds a very mild heat to the dish, so don't be afraid to add them.
- You can substitute the red chilli pepper with 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder as well. It will add the same red colour and mild flavor to the gravy.
- Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature and whisked well before you add it to the sauce. This is so it doesn't split when it hits the hot sauce.
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