Shahi Paneer (Paneer in Royal Cashew and Cream Gravy)
شاہی پنیر (کاجو اور کریم کے شاہی شوربے میں پنیر)
*Shahi* means royal, and this is paneer dressed for a wedding: a creamy, ivory-coloured Mughlai gravy of boiled onions, cashews, yogurt and cream, perfumed with cardamom, saffron and a drop of kewra. It's the vegetarian cousin of chicken qorma and white karahi, gentle in heat but rich in flavour. If you're feeding guests who don't eat meat at a dawat, this is the dish to make.
- ⏱ Total: 45 min
- Prep: 15 min
- Cook: 30 min
- Medium
- Serves 5
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Simmer the onions, cashews, green chillies, ginger and garlic in the water for 10 minutes until the onions are soft. Cool slightly and blend to a smooth, pale paste.
Heat the ghee in a karahi and fry the cardamom, cloves and bay leaf for 30 seconds. Add the onion-cashew paste and cook on low for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until it thickens and the ghee shines at the edges. Don't let it brown.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the yogurt, salt and sugar so the yogurt doesn't split. Return to low heat and cook for 4 minutes.
Add ½ cup water and the paneer and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the cream, saffron milk and cardamom and heat gently without boiling.
Turn off the heat, add the kewra, and garnish with pistachios. Serve with naan or pulao.
Kitchen notes
Boiling the onions instead of frying them keeps the gravy pale and sweet, the hallmark of a shahi dish.
Use full-fat yogurt at room temperature and add it off the heat.
Kewra is strong; a few drops are enough.
From the Mughal kitchens
“Shahi” dishes trace their style to the royal kitchens of Mughal Delhi and Lucknow, where cooks used nuts, cream, saffron and floral waters to make food that was rich but subtle. The same tradition gave Pakistan and North India qorma, rezala and white karahi. Shahi paneer is the vegetarian dish in that family, served at Hindu weddings and festivals where meat isn’t eaten.
A pale, silky gravy
The colour should be ivory or pale gold, never red. That’s why the onions are boiled and blended rather than fried brown, and why there’s no tomato or red chilli. The flavour comes from cashews, ghee and whole spices, with saffron and kewra at the end.
Rich but balanced
A spoonful of yogurt gives gentle tang, and a pinch of sugar rounds it out. Heat comes only from green chillies, so it suits children and guests who prefer mild food.
Serving
Serve with naan, zeera rice or matar pulao. For a tangier, tomato-based paneer, see paneer butter masala.
Questions people ask
Can I make shahi paneer without cream?
Yes. Use extra cashews and a little milk; it will still be rich.
Is shahi paneer sweet?
Slightly. The onions, cashews and cream make it mild and rounded; a pinch of sugar balances the yogurt. It shouldn't taste like a dessert.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 480
- Protein
- 17 g
- Fat
- 39 g
- Carbs
- 15 g
