shahi paneer

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

shahi paneer - rich mughlai dish with cottage cheese.

shahi paneer recipe with step by step photos – shahi paneer is one of the popular paneer/cottage cheese recipe and also requested by many readers. 

shahi means royal and as the name suggest this is a royal paneer dish. literally translated to royal cottage cheese. dry fruits, yogurt, saffron, whole spices and sometimes cream is added to make this dish royal and rich. the shahi paneer gravy or sauce is onions-almonds-cashew-melon seeds based. so this is very rich with the dry fruits in there. plus there is also yogurt. the result is a creamy, aromatic, semi sweet gravy with soft paneer cubes.i have not added tomatoes to this dish since i have used yogurt. but you can substitute yogurt with tomato puree in the same proportions as mentioned in the recipe and still make a delicious shahi paneer. if adding tomatoes, then do add cream as both tomatoes and cream really go well with each other.
note: vegans can make the same shahi paneer recipe with tofu and cashew yogurt. i won’t advise using soy or peanut yogurt for this dish as these will ruin the taste. if using cashew yogurt than you don’t need to add cashews while making the paste.

Author: MRIDUL

Recipe type: main

Cuisine: indian, mughlai

Serves: 4

Ingredients

main ingredients:

• 200 gms paneer (cottage cheese)
• 1.5 cups strained stock (got from boiling the onions with dry fruits) + water or 1.5 cups water
• ½ cup full fat fresh yogurt/curd/dahi, whisked till smooth
• 1 or 2 tbsp full fat or 70-80% fat cream (optional) (amul cream which is available in india, can also be used)
• 1 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
• ½ tsp red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
• ¼ tsp garam masala powder
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
• a pinch of saffron/kesar, crushed
• kewra essence/vetiver, 1 or 2 drops, optional
• salt and sugar as required

for the paste:

• 1 medium sized onion, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped cashews (kaju)
• 1 tbsp almonds (badam)
• 1 tbsp magaz or melon seeds without the skin
• 3-4 garlic/lahsun, chopped
• 1 inch ginger/adrak, chopped

whole spices or garam masala:

• 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
• 2-3 cloves (laung)
• 2-3 green cardamom (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
• 1-2 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
• 1 inch cinnamon (dal chini)
• ½ tsp shah jeera/caraway seeds
• 2-3 tbsp oil or ghee or butter

lets start step by step shahi paneer recipe:

1. cook onions, cashews, almonds, magaz/melon seeds, ginger and garlic in 1.5 cups water for 8-10 minutes.

2. simmer till the onions become soft. strain the stock and keep aside.

3. make a paste of the cooked onions, ginger, garlic and dry fruits, adding 1 or 2 tsp of the strained water.

4. fry all the whole garam masala till they release their aroma in the oil.

5. 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.

6.  stir well.

7. now add the whisked yogurt, the strained stock+water, salt and sugar.stir well and simmer for 10-12 minutes on a low flame or till the gravy thickens slightly.

8. add the cardamom powder and crushed saffron.

9. stir and add the paneer cubes. 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 (optional step).

10. garnish shahi paneer with some coriander leaves and serve the shahi paneer with jeera rice or rotis or naan.

CHICKEN TIKKA

CHICKEN TIKKA

The word Tikka means bits, pieces or chunks. Chicken Tikka is an easy-to-cook dish in which chicken chunks are marinated in special spices and then grilled on skewers. This is one of India's most popular dishes. Chicken Tikka can also be made into Chicken Tikka Masala, a tasty gravy dish.

• Prep Time: 720 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutesh

• Total Time: 750 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4-6 people

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup fresh unsweetened yogurt (should not be sour)
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
• 2 tbsps ginger paste
• 3 tbsps garlic paste
• 3-4 tbsps garam masala
• 6 peppercorns/ 2 dry red chillies
• 3 tbsps lime/ lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp orange food coloring
• 1 kg chicken (breast or thigh) skinless and cut into 2" chunks
• 1 large onion cut into very thin rings
• Lime/ lemon wedges to garnish
• 1 tsp Chaat Masala (available at most Indian groceries)

PREPARATION

• Grind the chopped coriander (keep some aside for garnishing) and all other marinade ingredients (except yogurt) to a smooth paste in a food processor.
• Pour the above mix into a large bowl and add yogurt. Mix well. Add the chicken pieces and mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate. Allow to marinate overnight.
• Thread the chicken onto skewers and keep ready.
• Preheat your oven or grill to a medium high temperature (200 C/ 400F/ Gas Mark 6).
• Place the skewers on the grill racks in your oven with a tray underneath to catch drippings. Roast open till the chicken is browned on all sides and tender.
• Remove from skewers and put the chicken in a plate.
• Put the onion rings in a separate bowl and squeeze lime juice over them. Now sprinkle the chaat masala over them and mix well so the onions are fully coated.
• Garnish the Chicken Tikka with these onion rings and serve with Naan.

fruit kesari recipe

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

fruit kesari recipe - rich south indian sweet made with cream of wheat, mixed fruits and dry fruits.

fruit kesari recipe with step by step photos – rich south indian pudding made with rava, mix fruits and dry fruits.

sharing one more sweet recipe for diwali. kesari is the south indian versionof sooji halwa. there are some variations in making halwa or kesari. this fruit kesari is one of them. i have also shared a few more kesari varieties – pineapple kesari, milk kesari and rava kesari.

we have had fruit kesari in south indian weddings and what i like is the fruity flavor that comes in the kesari. use seasonal fruits or whatever you have. avoid citrus fruits and melons though. here i used apple, pear, pineapple, banana and pomegranate.

i have also used less ghee and sugar than what is generally added to kesari. the fruits do contribute their own sweetness to the kesari and thus there is no need to add more sugar. i have used about 1.75 cups of mixed fruits in this recipe.there is no color added and hence you do not see a bright yellow or orange colored kesari. if you want to add color, then use natural color extracts. kesari is always loved by my folks and even this fruit kesari was much much appreciated.
serve fruit kesari hot or warm or at room temperature. the leftovers can be refrigerated. during the diwali pooja, you can make this kesari as a naivdeyam and offer to the deities. fruit kesari can also be served as an after meal dessert. do note that the recipe can be doubled as well as tripled.

Author: Mridul

Recipe type: sweets

Cuisine: south indian

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• ½ cup fine rava/sooji/ cream of wheat
• 1 tsp ghee for roasting sooji
• 4 to 5 tbsp ghee or 2 tbsp ghee + 2 tbsp oil or 4 tbsp oil (use a neutral flavored oil)
• 12 to 15 cashews
• 1 tbsp raisins
• ½ cup chopped apple or 1 small apple, chopped
• ½ cup chopped pear or 1 small pear, chopped
• ½ cup chopped pineapple
• ⅓ cup chopped banana
• ¼ cup pomegranate arils
• ½ tsp cardamom powder or 3 to 4 green cardamoms, crushed to a powder in mortar-pestle
• a generous pinch of saffron strands
• 6 tbsp sugar or about ⅓ cup sugar
• 1.5 cups water
• 
  

step by step fruit kesari recipe:

1. heat 1 tsp ghee in a thick bottomed kadai or pan.

ghee for fruit kesari recipe

2. add ½ cup fine rava (sooji or cream of wheat).

rava for fruit kesari recipe

3. stir very well.

rava for fruit kesari recipe

4. roast the rava very well stirring often on a low flame.

rava for fruit kesari recipe

5. roast till the rava become fragrant and look crisp. takes about 5 to 7 minutes on a low flame. switch off the flame.

rava for fruit kesari recipe

6. remove the rava in a plate and keep aside.

rava for fruit kesari recipe

7. now rinse, peel and chop 1 small apple, 1 small pear, 1 small banana (i used elaichi banana) and 2 to 3 pineapple slices. remove the pomegranate seeds from a small pomegranate. pomegranate is optional. you can also use your choice of fruits. mangoes and chickoo (sapota) also tastes good.

fruits for fruit kesari recipe

8. heat 4 to 5 tbsp ghee in the same pan. add 12 to 15 cashews. you can also add 2 tbsp ghee + 2 tbsp oil or 4 tbsp oil (use a neutral flavored oil).

kaju for fruit kesari recipe

9. fry the cashews in ghee till golden. then remove them with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

kaju for fruit kesari recipe

10. next add 1 tbsp raisins.

raisins for fruit kesari recipe

11. as soon as you add the raisins, they will start to swell up.

raisins for fruit kesari recipe

12. stir and fry the raisins till they swell and become plump. remove and keep aside.

raisins for fruit kesari recipe

13. next add the chopped mixed fruits.

fruits for fruit kesari recipe

14. stir very well.

making fruit kesari recipe

15. saute the fruits on a low to medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes.

making fruit kesari recipe

16. add ½ tsp cardamom powder and a generous pinch of saffron strands. stir.

cardamom for fruit kesari recipe

17. now add 6 tbsp sugar or about ⅓ cup sugar. you can add sugar as per your taste.

sugar for fruit kesari recipe

18. add 1.5 cups water.

water for fruit kesari recipe

19. stir very well.

preparing fruit kesari recipe

20. bring this mixture to a vigorous boil on a medium flame.

preparing fruit kesari recipe

21. now lower the flame and add the ghee roasted rava. you can also add the rava in parts.

rava for fruit kesari recipe

22. as soon as you add the rava, quickly stir and mix very well. there should be no lumps in the halwa.

making fruit kesari recipe

23. add the fried cashews and raisins. reserve a few for garnish. allow for the water to be absorbed by the rava.

making fruit kesari recipe

24. do stir at intervals. the rava will soften up. you should not see any whitish or creamish tiny specks on the rava. this means that the rava is not cooked well.

making fruit kesari recipe

25. here the fruit kesari is done and ready to be served. if you want to slice fruit kesari like barfi or serve them like i have done, then pour the hot mixture in a tray or in small to medium tart moulds or small bowls. press with a spatula to even. once warm, slice them or unmold them.

making fruit kesari recipe

26. serve fruit kesari garnished with the reserved fried cashews and raisins.