We all love paneer. Whether vegetarians or non-vegetarians, paneer dishes are a favourite. And the beauty with this Indian cottage cheese is that, you can make a plain paneer dish or team it up with spinach, green peas, bell peppers etc – and they all taste heavenly. Now, while some of them are not very rich, some are. Likewise, shahi paneer, is one rich and royal preparation – shahi itself means royal. So, this prep has got butter, fresh cream and cashews – deterring a lot of health conscious people, like us, from making and having it. But my recipe of the healthy shahi paneer, has got none of these calories and all of the taste. The magic of this healthy shahi paneer recipe is that, while I have not used the butter and cream, I have used other ingredients in their place, to make it taste as creamy and luscious.
This dish is a treat for vegetarians and a delight of meat lovers as well. And believe you me, while I love my chicken and fish, this paneer recipe is one of my all time favourites too.
Also see,
Chaenar dalna – Bengali style curried paneer
Matar paneer (no onion garlic)
Healthy shahi paneer
This paneer recipe, has an onion-tomato sauce base. It is only mildly spicy, making it perfect even for kids. However, if you wish, you can leave out the chilis and the chili powder completely, too. Coming to how my shahi paneer is healthier. I have replaced cream in the original recipes with zero fat yoghurt and have also added roasted cashews and almonds to it. And these ingredients work wonders. Unless you know, you wouldn’t be able to tell that there’s no cream in the curry! In case zero fat yoghurt isn’t available, you could use that you have at hand. While cashews are a part of the original recipe too, mine has them in a lower in quantity than that. The rest is compensated for with the almonds in my healthy shahi paneer recipe. These nuts together make the curry very creamy. You won’t miss the cream at all!
Yet, another healthy step that I have taken here is by not frying the paneer cubes too much. I have only pan fried them, with some ginger, for added flavour. You could, however, choose to not fry them at all. Since paneer doesn’t take much time to cook, when you poach them in the gravy, they will be completely cooked even then.
Serving suggestions
Besides being healthy and lower on calories, this is a quick and easy recipe. Something that you can make instantaneously, if you have the cheese with you. Your healthy shahi paneer will be ready under 30 minutes. So, you could make this for a special weekend lunch, without spending too much time cooking! Also, you are not going to need too many ingredients to whip this up as well. Just about a handful of them and you are sorted. This amazing side dish pairs very well with any kind of Indian flatbreads. I especially love it with naan. Therefore, I generally make my whole wheat garlic naan whenever I am making this curry. Additionally, even pulaos/Indian fried rice preparations go well with it.
Do give this lovely looking and calorie conscious recipe a shot soon! I am sure you will throughly enjoy it. Also, if you do I’d love to know it came out for you. You could share your pictures with me on Instagram an/or drop a comment and a rating below. I will await your feedback. 🙂
Eat hearty!
Healthy shahi paneer
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
Ingredients
- 500 g paneer cubed
- 4 tbsp yoghurt whisked
- 2 tbsp tomato paste or tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ inch cinnamon
- 2-3 cardamoms
- 2-3 cloves
- 1 dried red chilli
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tbsp ginger cut in juliennes
- 2-3 tbsp coriander leaves
- 2 tsp kasuri methi dried fenugreek leaves
- 3 tbsp oil
- salt to taste
For the curry paste
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 1 medium tomato roughly chopped
- 2-3 chillis roughly chopped
- 4-5 cashews
- 4-5 almonds
Instructions
- Over medium flame, dry roast the almonds and the cashews for 4-5 minutes. Remove and keep them aside
- In the same pot, add the tomatoes, onions and chilis along with half cup of water. Over medium flame, simmer until the onions and tomatoes soften
- Remove from heat and cool the onions, tomato, chilis completely. Then grind it to a smooth paste along with the roasted nuts
- Now, heat a tablespoon of oil and add the julienned ginger and the paneer cubes. Fry them until light golden. Drain and set aside*
- In the same pan add the remaining oil and the whole spices. Once fragrant, add the ginger garlic paste and sauté until they don't smell raw
- Next add the ground onion mixture, tomato paste, spice powders (not the garam masala) and salt along with ¾ cup water. Cook until oil surfaces on top
- Then lower the flame and mix in the yoghurt. Let this simmer for another 5-7 minutes and then add the paneer cubes, kasuri methi and coriander leaves. Mix gently, cover and cook for 5 minutes
- Turn the flame off and add the garam masala powder. Let it sit covered for 3-4 minutes before serving
- Serve the creamy, yummy and healthy shahi paneer fresh with buttered naan and/or any Indian rice preparation. Enjoy!
Notes
- *This is an optional step. You may could add the paneer cubes directly in step 7 too, without frying. It will take the same time to cook through
- If your tomatoes are sour, you add 2 teaspoons of sugar when cooking the curry, to balance the flavours
- Make sure the yoghurt you are using, isn't sour. If it is, use some more sugar to balance the acidity out
- You can add water (more or less to what I have added) to adjust the consistency of the curry as per your preference
- The curry will thicken as it cools
- g - grams
- tbsp - tablespoon
- tsp - teaspoon
