Paneer in Cashew Sauce ( Shahi Paneer)

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.

Shahi Paneer
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.

Watch and Learn:

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78 thoughts on “Paneer in Cashew Sauce ( Shahi Paneer)

  1. My only addition to your recipe would be using ghee instead of oil. It would add much more flavor to the dish than flavorless oil. Since I try to avoid cow’milk, I would use soy milk or rice milk instead.

  2. I want to try this recipe badly, but I don’t like paneer as much. Can you suggest me a substitute for Paneer in this recipe.

  3. Hi Hetal & Anju

    This is Jigar. First of all i want to thank you guys a lot. I am not a cooK at all, but i have tried many of your recipe…. Let me tell you i think i have become cook. It seems everything I touch becomes gold. You guys don’t know how much i appreciate.

    Please keep up the good work..
    You guys have made me cook with your recipes
    God Bless

    Thank you

  4. hi hetal & anuja,

    loved ur recipe for shahi paneer..ammmazing recipe n a great taste too..thanks for making it so simple..

    thanx..

  5. hello hetal and anuja,

    i made this shahi paneer twice and both times it didn’t really come out well. i followed all the steps of your recipe. i discussed it with my mother and she said that it could be the garam masala as they are made differently depending on what brand you buy so my question is that, is there a specific brand of garam masala that you guys use or is it home made?

    thanks. 🙂

  6. My family is Southeast Asian, but we (esp my husband) adores South Asian food. We are more inclined towards the thicker cream curries, and this does it for us. I used roasted cashews soaked in whole milk. And I didn’t have tomato sauce, so I used tomato paste and diluted it. Despite this alteration, the sauce still came out thick. This is a definite repeat in our household.

  7. Just a note: I first put all the oil in the pan, fry the paneer and then takee it out. Afterwards I proceed as you start, but with one advantage: I only need one pan.

  8. Hello Mam,
    i tried your some recipies.please send me a different recepi of paneer with cardamon and cashews.i”ll participate a compitition (husband’s office).
    kindly send me.
    thank you
    Soumana Das

    1. Hi Soumana,

      This is really a nice recipe. You can just add some cardamom powder to the gravy if you like. It will taste great!

  9. I tried this recipe .. but i think it was something to do with cashews .. the final dish tasted like a lot of raw cashews.. i must have messed something or added too much cashews..

  10. Hi Girls…..

    I tried many receipes of yours….. Everything is really amazing…Keep it up…..Can u pls show the receipe for Kharwas (Maharashtrian sweet dish) …Eagerly Waiting for it….

      1. Hi Anuja/Hetal

        My friends says me i am a good cook. All because of you. Thankyou. Waiting for Kharwas receipe.

  11. hi Hetal and Anuja,

    Iam a gr88 fan of both of both of uu..i have tried almost all your recipes.shahi paneer really rocks!!!!!

    Expecting more desert recipes…

    Resh

  12. Hi Hetal and Anuja,
    Yet another winner!!! After eating this in restaurants, I thought it was too elegant and too complex to make. Not so! I made this dish this afternoon, and I am soooooo pleased with it. It’s amazing. Wow! Simple, yet elegant and delicious. One down side. You do realize the Indian restaurants no longer have my business several times a week because now I can cook their dishes at home! Ha ha…Keep up the good work.
    Judy

  13. Hey Hetal & Anuja!

    You are doing great job.I love your recipes. I didnt knew how to cook before and now, I am learning all from your recipes.
    Well I have little suggestion regarding Paneer for those who prefer less oily food. Just dice Paneer into thin triangular slices and boil them in water for 15-20 minutes, this will make Paneer very soft, strain the liquid and add into gravy.

    Thanks….and keep it up
    Minal

    1. Hi CK,

      Yes, you can use the same recipe for Shahi Chicken. You will have to switch around the steps a bit. After the tomatoes and onions have cooked, add the chicken in and cook it until it 3/4ths way done. Then, add in the cashew paste and water and cook until the chicken is fully cooked. Let us know how it comes out!

      1. thanks a ton for u prompt reply..
        cheers.. u gurls rock!!
        love ur recipes.. they r surely mind blowin ..
        good luck.. 🙂

    1. We used the tomato sauce which comes in a small can (it is more concentrated), but you can use tomato puree as well.

        1. No, it is not ketchup. It is just tomatoes. In the US (assuming you live in the US 🙂 ), it is available in the canned foods aisle at all grocery stores — where all other tomato products are.

  14. Hey Guys
    Thanks Very Much For This Receipie. I Love Shahi Paneer & Eat It 3 Times In A Week In Restaurents. I Tried Many Other Receipies But It Doesn’t Give Me Satisfaction. Your Receipe Was So Great That I Am Eating Shahi Panner All The Week.
    Thanks Again & Keep it up

    Ashish Sharma

  15. Ladies… I made this last night for company. It rocked! With recipes like this, there is NO need to eat out. It is such a satisfying feeling to cook something special for our guests. Thanks for the effort and time that you both put into to teaching us!

    Just a FYI about my experience: I had only about a 1/4 cup of cashew pieces on hand but it still turned out very rich and creamy. Also, I sauteed the paneer and then before using it soaked it in boiling water for 15 mins. It give the paneer a wonderful consistency – soft yet formed. If you like that texture, I highly recommend doing that. Thanks again!

  16. Hello Hetal and Anuja,

    Great Receipie. I have one receipie if you want to show it. Its called Mixed vegetable subzi. Whenever I have party, it works out really well. Everybody loves it.

    Ingredients.

    1 cup flower cut in large pieces.
    1 cup of carrot cut in long medium size strips
    1 cup of bell pepper cut in long medium size strips ( get all the colors you can get) 1 each.
    1 cup red onion cut in strips
    1 tsp coriander powder
    1 tsp garam masala
    1 tsp sugar
    salt to taste
    1 tsp cumin powder
    1 tsp red chili powder
    1/2 garlic and ginger powder
    some cilantro finely chopped for garnishing.
    Method.

    In one medium heat pan deep fry all these veggies and dry it on kitchen paper towel. After it dries put in one bowl and mix all the veggies well. Now add all the dry masala in to and mix well again and just garnish it with cilantro.
    Tip: instead of frying; you can also bake it or cook in one pan with 2 tsp until all the veggies gets really soft.

    Let me know if you like it or not.
    Thanks.

  17. Dear Hetal and Anuja,

    Thanks so much for your recipes. Ever since i have been using your website my cooking has gotten ten times better!

    Thanks once again……

    Nimo

  18. 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

  19. 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?

  20. 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!

  21. 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……

  22. 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.

  23. 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!

  24. 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

  25. 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!

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