Shahi Paneer

INGREDIENTS
main ingredients
200 grams paneer (cottage cheese)
1 to 1.5 cups strained stock (got from boiling the onions with dry fruits) + water OR 1.5 cups water
½ cup full fat fresh curd (yogurt) - whisked till smooth
1 teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)
½ teaspoon red chili powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
1 or 2 tablespoon full fat cream OR 70-80% fat cream (amul cream which is available in india can also be used), optional
a pinch of saffron (kesar) - crushed
1 or 2 drops of kewra water (screwpine water) - optional
salt and sugar as required
for the paste
1 medium sized onion - roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cashews
1 tablespoon almonds
1 tablespoon magaz or melon seeds without the skin
3 to 4 garlic - chopped
1 inch ginger - chopped
whole spices
1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
2 to 3 cloves
2 to 3 green cardamom
1 to 2 black cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
½ teaspoon shah jeera (caraway seeds)
2 to 3 tablespoon oil or ghee or butter

INSTRUCTIONS
preparation
boil onions, cashews, almonds, magaz, ginger and garlic in 1.5 cups water for 8-10 minutes till the onions become soft.
strain the stock and keep aside.
make a paste of the cooked onions, ginger, garlic along with the dry fruits adding 1 or 2 tsp of the strained water.
making shahi paneer
heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in a pan.
fry all the "whole spices" mentioned in the above list till they release their aroma in the oil.
add the ground onion-dry fruits paste and saute till the oil starts to leave the sides of the paste.
add the dry spice powders and stir.
now add the whisked yogurt, stock+water, salt and sugar.
stir well and simmer for 10-12 minutes or till the gravy thickens slightly on a low flame.
if using cream, then whisk the cream till smooth and keep aside.
add the cardamom powder and crushed saffron.
stir and add the cubed paneer. if adding cream, you can add the cream with the paneer.
simmer for 1-2 minutes till the paneer is cooked.
add the kewra (pandan) essence and stir. addition of kewea is optional.
garnish it with some coriander leaves and serve the shahi paneer with cumin rice or rotis, naan or phulkas.
Pic Courtesy: Google
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