Shahi paneer

Shahi Paneer has become one of our regular special treat…it is so popular at home, I often joke to my kids that if it is made too often it will stop being so special. Usually this is one of the ‘rich’ items in restaurants and at many of my friends’ place because they use lots of butter/oil and quite a bit of cashews to get the rich creamy taste. I started preparing it without cashews out of necessity (as kids are allergic to nuts) but it comes out quite creamy. Best part is we all can enjoy it guilt-free as it is not heavy. It is also one of the easiest items to make if you use store bought paneer (if you make your own paneer it needs quite a bit of planning ahead). It is quick on the stove, but long on the waiting time required to cool and then grind it. Why wait…let’s see how this is made…

 

 

Medium sized 2 onions peeled and sliced.

A small piece of ginger, 2 cloves of garlic and 2 green chillies.

4 to 5 medium sized tomatoes washed and chopped.

Heat a pan with 2 tbsps of oil add chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, and onions.

Once onions are fried, add chopped tomatoes. Add salt, turmeric, chilli powder, shahi paneer masala (and little bit of whole masala powder if you prefer) .Cook until soft.

Once cool enough, grind to smooth paste.

Meanwhile shallow fry cubed paneer in a tsp of oil. Add to the ground paste and let it cook for another 2 minutes.

 

 

Ingredients:

Paneer                 –              400 gms pack

Onions                  –              3 medium

Tomatoes            –              5 medium

Ginger                  –              1 inch piece

Garlic                     –              2 cloves

Garam masala   –              ½ tsp

Shahi paneer

masala                  –              2 tsp (according to your taste)

Turmeric              –              ½ tsp

Chilli powder      –              1 ½ tsp (according to your taste)

Salt                         –              as required

Oil/butter            –              2 tbsp (according to your preference)

 

Method:

• Peel, wash and slice the onions.
• Peel skin of two cloves of garlic and chop. Peel the skin of the giner. Wash and slit the green chillies.
• Wash and chop the tomatoes.
• Heat a pan with 2 tbsps. of oil ,add chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, and onions.
• Once onions are fried, add chopped tomatoes. Add salt, turmeric, chilli powder, shahi paneer masala (and little bit of whole masala powder if you prefer) .Cook until soft.
• Once cool enough, grind to smooth paste and place the paste back in the pot.
• Meanwhile shallow fry cubed paneer in a tsp of oil.
• Add paneer cubes to the ground paste and let it cook for another 2 minutes.
• Enjoy!!

Serving suggestion: Serve with steamed rice, jeera rice, vegetable rice, naan or roti.