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Shahi Paneer Recipe

Silky tomato-cashew gravy with soft paneer and cream — the royal curry, gently spiced and effortlessly rich.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: North Indian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the gravy base
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 green cardamom pods
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 1 medium onion roughly chopped
  • 4 large ripe tomatoes roughly chopped
  • 12 cashew nuts
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 1 teaspoon garlic paste
  • 1 to 2 green chillies slit
For the curry
  • 250 g paneer cut into cubes or triangles
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon kasuri methi dried fenugreek leaves, crushed
  • 1/4 cup fresh cream plus a swirl to serve
  • 1 tablespoon butter to finish
  • Salt to taste
  • Slivered almonds or pistachios to garnish (optional)

Method
 

  1. Heat the oil and butter in a pan. Add the bay leaf, cardamom and cinnamon, then the onion, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until soft and translucent, not browned.
  2. Add the ginger paste, garlic paste and green chillies; cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes, cashews and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the tomatoes are completely soft and mushy.
  3. Take the pan off the heat, remove the bay leaf and cinnamon, and let the mixture cool slightly. Blend with 1/2 cup of water into a very smooth puree, then pass it through a sieve back into the pan — this sieving is what makes the gravy truly silky.
  4. Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer. Add the chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric and sugar, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until it thickens slightly and looks glossy.
  5. Lower the heat and stir in the cream, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Simmer gently for 2 minutes without letting it boil hard.
  6. Add the paneer pieces and the finishing tablespoon of butter. Stir gently to coat, cover, and let the paneer warm through in the gravy for 3 to 4 minutes on the lowest heat — paneer only needs heating, not cooking.
  7. Taste and adjust the salt and sugar — the gravy should be balanced: mildly sweet, gently spiced, rich but not heavy.
  8. Serve with a swirl of cream and the slivered nuts over the top, with naan, roti or jeera rice.

Notes

Sieving the blended gravy is the royal touch — two extra minutes for a sauce with no grain and no skins.
Never boil paneer for long: it turns rubbery. Warming it through in the finished gravy keeps it soft.
If the tomatoes are sour, the full teaspoon of sugar matters; with sweet, ripe tomatoes, start with half and adjust.
This gravy base (without cream and paneer) keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes well, ready for paneer, koftas or mixed vegetables.