SHAHI PANEER

SHAHI PANEER

My husband and I are fond of paneer (Indian Cottage cheese) which I use quite often at home. You will therefore find many recipes using paneer in this blog. For example, three amongst them are: Methi Paneer,  Achari Paneer, and Paneer Makhmali.

Today's recipe is adapted from Shahi Paneer by Master Chef Vikas Khanna, one of my favourite Chefs.  For making the royal restaurant style dish - Shahi Paneer -  we usually use a lot of butter and cream to get the richness for the dish.

Today's Shahi Paneer is part of the Saffola FitFoodies range of recipes. In this more healthy version,  butter and cream have been avoided without compromising too much on the taste.

I have used the store bought Nilgiris Paneer and not the Low Fat Paneer mentioned in the original recipe. I have also not garnished the dish with chopped cashewnuts.

We tried it out recently and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

• Paneer, (Indian Cottage Cheese), cut into cubes, 200 grams
• Saffola Oil, 2 tsp
• Ginger Garlic Paste, 1 tsp
• Cinnamon, (Dalchini) 1
• Yogurt, 2 tbsp ( lightly blended) 
• Bay Leaf, ( Tej Patta), 1
• Cloves, (Laung),  2
• Fresh Tomato Puree, 3 tbsp
• Water, 2 tsp
• Dried Fenugreek Leaves, (Kasuri Methi), 2 tsp
• Almond Cream, 2 tbsp ( 7-8 almonds ground to a paste) 
• Honey, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Cashews, coarsely chopped, for garnish
• Garam Masala, 1/8 tsp, for garnish

To Be Ground To A Smooth Paste 

• Tomatoes, chopped, 1 cup
• Onions, chopped, 1/2 cup
• Cashews, 1/4 cup ( soaked in water for 10-15 minutes) 
• Byadgi Dry Red Chillies, 2
• Water, 2 tbsp

Method:

Heat the pan (without adding any oil) and add the chopped tomatoes, onions and cashews

Add the dry red chillies, 2 tbsp of water,  and cook covered till it gets all the flavours

Take it off the flame and allow it to cool
Transfer to a blender and blend it to make a smooth paste and keep aside

Heat 2 tsp of oil in the pan and when it gets hot add the ginger garlic paste, cinnamon, bay leaf and cloves and saute for half a minute

Add 3 tbsp of fresh tomato puree, 2 tsp of water,  and dried fenugreek leaves

Cook the mixture for a couple of minutes 

To this, add the ground paste prepared earlier  and mix well

Next add the lightly blended 2 tbsp of low fat yogurt and 2 tbsp of almond cream, salt and honey 

Now add the paneer cubes, mix well  and cook uncovered for a few minutes

Lastly, garnish with coarsely chopped cashews and a bit of garam masala