Healthy shahi paneer
A luscious, creamy and delicious paneer preparation, without the calories! My yummy shahi paneer is all that you want even without using cream. Perfect with any Indian flatbread and rice recipes
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