Shahi Paneer

Method

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1. Put the onions, cashews, melon seeds, whole spices, garlic and ginger in a pan with 400 ml water.

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2. Bring to the boil and simmer 15 minutes until the onions are completely soft and the cashews swollen.

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3. Fish out the cinnamon stick and cloves, then blend everything to a very smooth paste.

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4. Pass the paste through a fine sieve, pressing hard. This step is what separates a restaurant gravy from a home one.

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5. Heat the ghee in a wide pan, add the sieved paste, and cook 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring, until it thickens and the ghee begins to separate. Do not let it colour.

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6. Add the ground coriander, white pepper, salt and sugar and cook 2 minutes.

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7. Loosen with 150 ml water to a pourable gravy and simmer 5 minutes.

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8. Add the paneer and warm through for 4 minutes — do not boil it hard or the paneer toughens.

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9. Stir in the cream, garam masala, crushed kasuri methi, saffron milk and rose water. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

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Chef’s Tips

• Boil the onions, do not brown them. Colour in the base means it is no longer shahi paneer.
• Sieve the paste. It takes two minutes and transforms the texture.
• Rose water is powerful — a teaspoon perfumes, a tablespoon ruins.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Double cream won't whip if you swap it, but for the cooking itself, full-fat crème fraîche or a lower-fat single cream works in its place.
• A quarter-teaspoon of ground ginger per tablespoon of fresh is the standard ratio if you are working from the spice rack rather than a fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• Naan or laccha paratha
• Jeera rice
• A cucumber raita

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat gently without boiling. Freezing splits the cream.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.