The literal translation of Shahi Paneer is ‘Royal Paneer’ which is very appropriate name for this dish, fit for a king. Paneer, a home made cheese, is accompanied with a rich and creamy sauce made from cashews. Try this delectable and flavorful Indian dish which is a restaurant favorite.

Ingredients:
Paneer – 14oz block (home-made or store bought), cubed
Oil – 3 tbsp
Onions – 2 small, finely copped
Tomato Sauce – 1, 8oz can
Garlic – 3 cloves, finely chopped
Ginger – 1 tbsp, grated
Green Chili – to taste, finely chopped
Cumin Powder – 2 tsp
Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
Garam Masala – 2 tsp
Cashew Pieces – ¾ cup
Milk- 1 cup
Water – 1 1/2 cup
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Cilantro – 5 sprigs, finely chopped for garnishing
Method:
1. Soak cashews in milk for about 15 min or until ready to use.
2. Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a medium size non-stick wok on medium to high heat.
3. Add Onions and fry until they start to dry out.
4. Add Ginger, Garlic and Green Chili and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add Tomato Sauce, stir well and cook until oil separates..
6. While Onions/Tomato Sauce is cooking, blend soaked Cashews and Milk in a blender until smooth.
7. Once Onion/Tomato mixture is ready, add Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder and GaramMasala - mix well.
8. Add Cashew and Milk mixture and mix well. There should be no lumps in the gravy.
9. Add Water, Salt and Sugar and bring to boil.
10. While waiting for the gravy to boil, sauté cubed Paneer in 1 tbsp oil, on medium to high heat in a non-stick pan.
11. Once Paneer is light gold/brown in color, take it out on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
12. Once gravy comes to a boil, add in Paneer and mix.
13. Garnish with fresh cilantro or with additional broken cashews.
14. Serves 6.
Tips:
1. Paneer is very delicate. Take care to handle it gently or it will break up very easily.
2. If you like thicker or thinner gravy, adjust the amount of water.
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July 8th, 2007 at 12:23 am
Hey Girls you made my life happy!.. I’m mexican and my boyfriend is indian and he asked me to cook some shahi paneer. Of course I got a little scared because I have tried some other indian recipes and it didn’t work well. But I found you girls in youtube.com and I saw your video and was so helpful for me. I tried your recipe and what a night I got as a reward! he he he he… Now I will try the chicken curry and I will let you know how was it. Thanks again girls and keep doing it because you are doing in Fantastic!.. Congrats!
October 26th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Hi u two are really good.I tried ur palak paneer it tasted amazing.I didnt know how to cook….But was really suprised how easy it was.Pls keep it up
November 21st, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Hi - I made this the other day and it was sooo yummy and so easy to make! Thank you for keeping all of your recipes simple and easy to make. Keep up the good work and can’t wait to try other recipes from your website.
Thanks!
November 27th, 2007 at 2:30 am
Thank you soo soo much.I tried shahi paneer n it came out really well.Now I recommend your site to evreyone
December 6th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Hi,
Is the tomato sauce the same as tomato puree, n can we use blended tomatoes instead? thanks
December 6th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Tomato sauce is not the same as tomato puree. It takes a lot (really, a lot) of tomatoes to make sauce and therefore the flavor is more concentrated. In a bind, you can grind up some tomatoes and use them, but the flavor as well as color will be sacrificed.
December 6th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Thanks Hetal for your prompt response..
December 30th, 2007 at 3:37 am
I absolutely love this recipe! It’s perfect.
Thank you so much.
February 3rd, 2008 at 11:04 pm
excellent recipe!
great work!!
thank you very much
February 26th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Oh my God………I am rocking already. U all don’t get scared nothing wrong happened.
I followed the exact same recipe of Hetal and Anuja to make Shahi Paneer and at the end added a pinch of grinded green elaichi and the Shahi paneer turned out exactly the same way they sell it in indian restaurants…I added little less cashews….but it was awesome.
Hetal and Anuja we love you guys a lots and God bless you infinite times……
February 26th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Hetal/Anuja,
Could you please tell where do you guys buy all the utensils ( containers). Like when you guys were making rava ladoo, I saw the marble khandvi where you crushed the elaichi..Please please please provide me with the address either here or in india, so when I go their I can buy it….I just love cooking and your recipes are really adding not a pinch but handful of spice in my life…….LOVE IT!
June 11th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Hi,
I love the both of you….I am officially a great cook because of you. Thank you for the great job and your helpful videos.
I wanted to ask you a question: do you raw or roasted cashwes for the Shahi Paneer?
June 12th, 2008 at 4:16 am
Hi Suheida,
You can use raw cashews, but soak them in milk for 15-20 minutes before grinding.
September 4th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
HELLO LADIES:
THIS IS A FANTASTIC RECIPE. GREAT. THANKS. I MADE IT AND EVERYONE LOVED IT.
WONDERFUL WEBSITE, GOOD AND EASY AND DELICIOUS RECIPES. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
OK. BYE
October 13th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Hi,I love your website - I’ve been married to an Indian man now for 10 years and there are still some vegetables that are in the stores that I do not know how to use or even what they are. Could you explain some of them for me please? I’d love to widen my repetoire but I need a bit of help!
Thanks again,
Elizabeth
November 19th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
this recipe ROCKS! made it for dinner for friends they simply loooved it ,thanx . Please tell how to make bharwa baigan!