Shahi Paneer Sabzi Recipe/ Effortless Way To Make Rich Shahi Paneer At Home

AuthorAnkita
RatingDifficultyIntermediate

Sahi Paneer is indeed a merriment for paneer lovers and just watch the take off of your taste buds from the very the first bite...

Table of Contents :

1. Excerpt

2.An Insight Into Shahi Paneer

3. The Meaning Of shahi Paneer

4.. The Evolution Of Shahi Paneer

5. A Word On Authentic Indian Recipes

4. Ingredients

5. Directions

6. Some Useful Observations

7. Nutritional Value

An introduction to Shahi paneer :

Here is an yet another creamy delicacy made of paneer, (the versatile cottage cheese) which originated from the Indian subcontinent in the Mughlai cuisine that is undeniably gooey besides being lustrous and is sure to tickle your palates. It is Shahi Paneer made of sauteed paneer cubes seeped in onion cashew gravy that is made all the more delectable with fresh cream and butter.

An Insight Into Shahi Paneer :

As the name suggests, this Shahi Paneer originated from the imperial kitchen of kings during the mughal rule and it has been one of the choicest recipes since several decades in North India. With roti being the main food in the North, sabzis, dals, gravies, curries and raitas are always indispensable, wherein paneer based dishes are indeed an alluring choice. Any dish made of paneer is sure to satisfy your palates and while fulfilling your protein need, this Shahi paneer will undeniably win your heart forever with its tantalizing flavor and buttery texture. It is a party delight as it is delicious and also quite easy to prepare. Moreover, it strikes a chord with kids and adults alike and its versatility makes it all the more popular and likeable.

The Meaning Of Shahi Paneer :

The meaning of the word Shahi is being royal In Urudu, which naturally denotes the period of kings and emperors and this name Shahi Paneer also means a sophisticated dish made of paneer. Shahi Paneer is one of the enchanting dishes that was invented during the mughal period by one of the chefs in the royal kitchen. The interesting story behind this invention makes us inquisitive to know more about this dish and the kings who enjoyed this bewitching shahi paneer.

Evolution Of Shahi Paneer :

History says that once when a chef was preparing Malai Kofta, in the palace kitchen, a few cubes of cottage cheese accidentally fell into the taula ( large brass vessel like pots) and when the chef just tasted it he felt elated. He just served a sample to the king and it became his favorite ultimately. From then on it took a prominent place in the imperial cuisine and became famous as years passed by.

A Word On Authentic Indian Recipes :

 Scriptures of Indian cuisine speak a lot about the colossal richness of the bygone era which have been treasured with ardent fervor and fondness since several centuries and have been passed on to generations with pride. Exemplary recipes have been tried, cooked, practiced, modified and served in our ancestor's homes which subsequently reached our hands now in the form of astounding dishes and recipes. Lets try out these cherished dishes and gift our prized possessions to the coming generation as  responsible gourmets.

To begin with lets kick start with this regal recipe of Shahi Paneer:

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shahi paneer recipe
Yields1 Serving
Prep Time15 minsCook Time15 minsTotal Time30 mins
Main Ingredient
For The Paste
 1 tsp Cooking Oil
 1 tsp Ghee
 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
 ½ tsp Black peppercorns
 2 Nos Of Lal Mirch / Kashmiri Chili
 3 tbsp Hazel Nuts (soaked)
 1 No Of Bay Leaf
 1 Inch Of Cinnamon
 1 No Of Black Cardamom
 1 No Of Star Anise
 2 Nos Of Clove
 2 Nos Of Onion (diced)
 1 Nos Of Tomato (small)
 1 Inch of Ginger
 1 No Of Garlic Pod
 3 Nos Of Green Chili ( less spicy ones)
 2 tbsp Coriander Leaves (fresh)
 Required Amount of salt
For The Paneer Sautee
 1 Cup Of Hung Curd
 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
 1 tsp Coriander Powder
 ½ tsp Cumin Powder
 ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
 ½ tsp Sugar
 200 g Paneer Cubes
 1 Pinch Of Salt
For The Tempering
 1 tbsp Butter
 2 Nos Of Green Chili (finely chopped)
 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
 ½ tsp Coriander Powder
 1 tsp Kasuri Methi
For Garnishing
 2 tbsp Coriander Leaves
 1 tbsp Fresh Cream
Phase 1: Make The Mixture For The Base Gravy
1

Heat a wok and tip in a teaspoon of groundnut oil and ghee each and when it is heated just lower the flame and toss over some cumin seeds and black peppercorns. When it splutters, just add one or two roughly torn Kashmiri red chili followed by a bay leaf, cinnamon, anise, clove and black cardamom when it turns aromatic, gently drop in some diced onion and stir for a while. Then add some chopped tomatoes and keep stirring for a minute or two. Tip in a little piece of ginger, few garlic pods and one or two fresh green chilies. Finally, throw in some fresh coriander leaves along with some salt and mix altogether. At last, plop in the soaked hazel nuts and alter the flame to medium mode.Pour in a cup of hot water and simmer. Let it boil in low flame for about ten minutes and turn off the flame.

Sautee The Paneer
2

Meanwhile, heat the wok again and add a little butter and sautee the paneer cubes with some spice powders. Take a large bowl and plop in a cup of hung curd and sprinkle a pinch of salt in it. Dust in the measured quantities of red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and cumin powder and gently whisk for a few seconds. Now plunk in a bowl of paneer cubes with a nice stir. Combine altogether and let this mixture rest for a while. In the mean time, blend the tempered ingredients to make the gravy.

Make the Paste
3

When the base gravy mixture cools down, transfer the ingredients to a blender after taking out the aromatic spices. Then blitz for four to five pulses until it becomes a fine paste. Filter the paste using a colander in order to make it still more smooth and keep aside.

Do The Tempering
4

Heat the wok again and tip in a lavish spread of butter and when it melts down, toss over some finely chopped green chilies and saute well. Add a little red chili powder along with some coriander powder as well. When it turns aromatic, plop in the fine puree with a nice stir. Let the flame be in low medium mode throughout the process.

5

Let it boil in low flame for about ten minutes approximately. When the aroma starts wafting out from the wok, gently plunk in the marinated paneer cubes and combine. Pop the lid on and let it cook in low flame for about ten minutes approximately. When it turns aromatic, just open the lid and see to it that the oil gets separated at the sides. Garnish with a spoon of fresh cream and coriander leaves. Now the shahi paneer is ready to eat. Serve it hot with tandoori roti along with a cup of chilled chaas.

Some useful tips to make shahi paneer recipe:

  • The base paste can be made in both colors either light brown or white. For the white paste, just add onion and cashews with green chili and here we have made the light orange version as we have added tomatoes.
  • It goes well with any type of roti like phulka, butter naan, tandoori roti, paratha and stuffed roti.
  • It also goes well with basmathi rice based dishes like jeera rice, masala rice, mint rice, pulao and briyani and brown rice too.
  • You can use both store bought and home made paneer to make this dish. If you use home made paneer just fill the paneer scramble inside a circular plate and freeze for two hours approximately. Then slice them into even sized cubes and use them.
  • Store bought paneer should be washed well in tap water and need to be soaked in lukewarm water for about ten to fifteen minutes to soften it up.
  • Be a little liberal about the usage of cashew nuts and fresh cream in the making of Shahi Paneer as this dish is basically rich and creamy.
  • While you saute the onion and tomato, do not blanch it for too long as it may darken the color of the base paste.
  • Half the job is done if you get the base paste in the right color and texture.
  • After blending the base paste, filter the paste to make it finer and blemish less.
  • Pick out all the aromatic agents using a chimta, before blending because the flavor may get too strong if you grind it along.
  • Adding a small teaspoon of sugar is optional and similarly squeezing out half a lemon before serving is also a choice.
  • Paneer can be chopped even in other shapes like triangles, rectangles, hexagons and diamonds. It is just up to our creativity to give it a modern twist.
  • If you opt for the white base paste, then white onion, garlic, cashews and green chilies will give you the best result.
  • Garnish with onion rings, sliced green chili and a lavish spread of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Ingredients

Main Ingredient
For The Paste
 1 tsp Cooking Oil
 1 tsp Ghee
 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
 ½ tsp Black peppercorns
 2 Nos Of Lal Mirch / Kashmiri Chili
 3 tbsp Hazel Nuts (soaked)
 1 No Of Bay Leaf
 1 Inch Of Cinnamon
 1 No Of Black Cardamom
 1 No Of Star Anise
 2 Nos Of Clove
 2 Nos Of Onion (diced)
 1 Nos Of Tomato (small)
 1 Inch of Ginger
 1 No Of Garlic Pod
 3 Nos Of Green Chili ( less spicy ones)
 2 tbsp Coriander Leaves (fresh)
 Required Amount of salt
For The Paneer Sautee
 1 Cup Of Hung Curd
 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
 1 tsp Coriander Powder
 ½ tsp Cumin Powder
 ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
 ½ tsp Sugar
 200 g Paneer Cubes
 1 Pinch Of Salt
For The Tempering
 1 tbsp Butter
 2 Nos Of Green Chili (finely chopped)
 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
 ½ tsp Coriander Powder
 1 tsp Kasuri Methi
For Garnishing
 2 tbsp Coriander Leaves
 1 tbsp Fresh Cream

Directions

Phase 1: Make The Mixture For The Base Gravy
1

Heat a wok and tip in a teaspoon of groundnut oil and ghee each and when it is heated just lower the flame and toss over some cumin seeds and black peppercorns. When it splutters, just add one or two roughly torn Kashmiri red chili followed by a bay leaf, cinnamon, anise, clove and black cardamom when it turns aromatic, gently drop in some diced onion and stir for a while. Then add some chopped tomatoes and keep stirring for a minute or two. Tip in a little piece of ginger, few garlic pods and one or two fresh green chilies. Finally, throw in some fresh coriander leaves along with some salt and mix altogether. At last, plop in the soaked hazel nuts and alter the flame to medium mode.Pour in a cup of hot water and simmer. Let it boil in low flame for about ten minutes and turn off the flame.

Sautee The Paneer
2

Meanwhile, heat the wok again and add a little butter and sautee the paneer cubes with some spice powders. Take a large bowl and plop in a cup of hung curd and sprinkle a pinch of salt in it. Dust in the measured quantities of red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and cumin powder and gently whisk for a few seconds. Now plunk in a bowl of paneer cubes with a nice stir. Combine altogether and let this mixture rest for a while. In the mean time, blend the tempered ingredients to make the gravy.

Make the Paste
3

When the base gravy mixture cools down, transfer the ingredients to a blender after taking out the aromatic spices. Then blitz for four to five pulses until it becomes a fine paste. Filter the paste using a colander in order to make it still more smooth and keep aside.

Do The Tempering
4

Heat the wok again and tip in a lavish spread of butter and when it melts down, toss over some finely chopped green chilies and saute well. Add a little red chili powder along with some coriander powder as well. When it turns aromatic, plop in the fine puree with a nice stir. Let the flame be in low medium mode throughout the process.

5

Let it boil in low flame for about ten minutes approximately. When the aroma starts wafting out from the wok, gently plunk in the marinated paneer cubes and combine. Pop the lid on and let it cook in low flame for about ten minutes approximately. When it turns aromatic, just open the lid and see to it that the oil gets separated at the sides. Garnish with a spoon of fresh cream and coriander leaves. Now the shahi paneer is ready to eat. Serve it hot with tandoori roti along with a cup of chilled chaas.

Shahi Paneer Sabzi Recipe/ Effortless Way To Make Rich Shahi Paneer At Home

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