Indian cuisine · Vegetable Dishes

Shahi Paneer

Paneer in a pale Mughal sauce of cashews, cream and cardamom, only gently perfumed with saffron and rose water.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 400 g paneer
• 100 g cashews
• 3 onions
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 200 g cream
• 5 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp rose water
• Salt, white pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the cashews in hot water for 20 min, dissolve the saffron in 2 tbsp warm milk or water, and cut the paneer into 2 cm cubes.
2. Cut the onions into wedges and sweat them in 2 tbsp ghee over low heat for 8 min until soft and pale gold – they must not brown, or the sauce turns dark.
3. Puree the onions with the drained cashews and 150 ml water until very fine, then pass through a sieve.
4. Heat the remaining ghee, let the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick sizzle in it for 1 min, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2 min until the raw smell is gone.
5. Stir in the cashew-onion puree and simmer over low heat for 8 min until the sauce thickens, then add the cream, saffron milk, sugar, salt and white pepper.
6. Add the paneer cubes, let them just heat through for 5 min, season with the rose water, and remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving.