Shahi paneer is a royal Mughlai style dish where paneer is cooked in a rich yogurt, nuts and seeds gravy. This restaurant style shahi paneer is super delicious and quick to make. Serve it with roti, naan, plain basmati rice or with flavored rice.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 · 4 people
  • Category: Side
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • 12 (23 grams) whole cashew nuts
  • 10 (12 grams) almonds ((or silvered or blanched or almond flour))
  • 2 to 3 green cardamoms ((elaichi))
  • 1½ cup (170 grams) yellow or white onions ((diced or sliced, 2 medium, avoid purple onions))
  • 1 inch (8 grams) ginger ((peeled & sliced roughly))
  • 4 large (12 grams) garlic cloves
  • 1 to 2 small tomatoes ((diced, optional, refer notes, I don't use))
  • 1 green chili slit ((deseeded if preferred, optional))
  • ⅓ cup (80 ml) water ((to blend))
  • 225 to 250 grams paneer ((cut to ¾ inch or 1½ to 2 cups))
  • 3 tablespoons ghee or oil ((divided 1+2))
  • 1 bay leaf ((tej patta, omit if you don’t have))
  • ½ teaspoon shahi jeera ((Indian caraway seeds, or sub cumin seeds, optional))
  • 2 inch cinnamon piece ((omit if you don’t have))
  • 2 cloves
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder ((optional, use to color & heat preference))
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric ((optional, I use for yellow color))
  • ½ teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala ((adjust to taste preference))
  • ½ cup (130 grams) plain yogurt ((Indian curd))
  • ¾ to 1 cup water ((to cook the sauce, I use 1 cup))
  • ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ((adjust to heat preference))
  • 1 pinch saffron strands ((optional))
  • 2 to 4 drops Kewra water (or 1 teaspoon rose water (optional))
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream ((whipping cream, optional))

Method

Make Shahi Paste

  1. On a medium flame, fry cashews, almonds and cardamoms in 1 tablespoon ghee or oil, for 2 to 3 mins (read notes 1). Stir in onions, ginger, garlic and green chili if using.
  2. Saute for 5 to 6 mins, deglaze with 3 to 4 tablespoons water and cook further for 3 to 4 mins. Remove the green chili for a low heat option. Cool down and blend with water to a smooth puree/paste.

How to make Shahi Paneer

  1. On a medium flame, heat the rest of the ghee in the pan and add bay leaf, jeera, cinnamon and cloves (if using). When they begin to sizzle, add the puree along with chili powder, garam masala, turmeric and salt.
  2. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile whisk yogurt in a bowl and add 1 to 2 tbsps of the sautéed paste. Mix well to a smooth mixture.
  3. Reduce the heat to low and incorporate it to the rest of the sautéed paste/sauce in 2 batches, mixing between each addition.
  4. Saute on a medium heat for 3 to 4 mins and pour water. Mix well and cook covered until thick, creamy and traces of fats are visible on top. (takes me about 10 mins, depends on the cookware)
  5. Optionally, remove the whole spices (except jeera) at this stage and taste test to adjust salt. Add the paneer and black pepper for spice/heat or more garam masala for flavor. Cook for a minute and turn off the heat. Stir in the heavy cream if using.
  6. Sprinkle crushed saffron, kewra/ rose water and cover. Rest for a minimum of 5 to 7 minutes.
  7. Shahi Paneer goes well with Saffron rice, Turmeric rice, Jeera rice, plain basmati, roti, naan or plain parathas.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.