Ingredients
500 gm Paneer/ Cottage Cheese
100 gm or 1 cup Cashew nuts/ Kaju1 & 1/2 Cup Khoya/ Reduced milk
1" piece of ginger,roughly chopped
5 small green chillies(stalks removed)
5 green cardamoms/ Elaichi
2 medium sized onions,chopped
100 ml cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoon Ghee/ Clarified butter
For Garnishing
3-4 saffron strands,soaked in 1 teaspoon of water
4 almonds,slivered
1 sheet Silver leaf/Varq
How to make Zafrani Paneer
- Grind to a smooth paste Cashewnuts,Khoya,ginger, green chillies and 2 cardamoms using little water as required
- Slice paneer into 1" thick cubes.I have cut paneer into small star shapes using a cookie cutter.
- Finely dice onion.
- Heat ghee in a pan,crackle cloves and remaining cardamoms
- Add chopped onions and saute on medium heat till onions become translucent.Do not brown the onions as it will change the color of the gravy
- Add cashew-khoya paste and cook stirring continuously so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan
- Add white pepper powder and salt to taste
- Add milk and paneer pieces and cook till one boil
- Turn of the gas,add cream,sugar and mix well
- Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with drops of saffron water,slivered almonds and varq.
Quick Tips
- Do not cook gravy for long after adding paneer as it will turn paneer hard and chewy
- You can decrease the amount of green chillies to your liking if you don not like your dish spicy
- Do not skip on cardamom as it imparts the lovely fragrance to the dish.