Soft, creamy Mughlai Restaurant-Style Shahi Paneer is a true celebration of rich flavours and treasured spices. Scoop this vegetarian curry up with hot paratha, naan or roti.
If you’re not a bread lover, this Shahi Paneer also pairs beautifully with rice, should you wish to opt for a simple curry and rice bowl for dinner.
Make it as a stand-alone hero dish, or as a spectacular addition to any North Indian-style thali.
There’s a world of different recipes for Shahi Paneer and everyone has their own favourite way of making it. My version is made with aromatic spices like cardamom, saffron and cloves, nuts, dried mango and butter-soft paneer.
Meme culture has made a joke out of the similarities between these dishes for years. Shahi Paneer, Paneer Butter Masala, Paneer Makhani, Paneer Tikka Masala, Paneer Lababdar, Kadai Paneer, Nawabi Paneer, the list goes on.
Some restaurants generally tend to serve one of the aforementioned paneer dishes.
However, many will serve them all. It’s when the menu lists 10 similar-sounding paneer dishes that brain melt occurs and choices become difficult.
Which one do you go for?
Of course, each restaurant will have its own takes on these dishes, but there are some subtle differences that can help identify one paneer dish from another. Here are a few of them:
A right royal affair. Expect nuts, fruitiness, saffron, cardamom and copious amounts of cream. Khoya (milk solids) may even be added. Fewer tomatoes than its counterparts — the sauce is often more yellow than orange. Some preparations can also be white in colour.
The clue is in the word “Makhani”. In Indian cookery, “makhan” refers specifically to white butter.
White butter is different to the more commonly-sourced yellow butter we use in our homes today.
It’s made from the “malai” or uppermost fatty layer of boiled and cooled milk, i.e. The cream.
This cream is churned clockwise and anti-clockwise to separate the whey and butterfat. What you’re left with is a white butter that is free from the same sodium and preservatives found in yellow butter.
However, the two types of butter are used interchangeably these days and are the reason why makhani dishes are so luxuriously silky.
Expect lots of tomatoes, mild spices and of course, a great deal of makhan or butter.
Paneer Butter Masala is the yellow butter sister to Paneer Makhani. Again, the focus is on butter in this dish.
Usually yellow butter is used but each recipe and preparation will vary. The finished dish is a burnt orange colour, similar to makhani gravy.
Generally speaking, the spices are mild and the gravy is rich in tomatoes. The final tadka (tempering) is prepared in butter. Find my Paneer Butter Masala here.
True Paneer Tikka Masala should include *drumroll please* paneer tikka. That is, paneer that has been marinated in spices and grilled in a tandoor (for restaurants), oven or pan (if you’re cooking it at home).
After grilling, the tikka pieces are folded into a silky reddish-orange makhani-style sauce. Expect smokiness, sweetness and tangy tomato goodness. Find my Tofu Tikka Masala recipe here.
Finally, one thing all of these dishes have in common is that they are all typically finished with cream and kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves).
Simply switch the paneer with medium-firm tofu, use oil instead of butter/ghee and finish with oat cream for a silky finish.
Since the bulk of the creaminess in my Shahi Paneer recipe comes from the cashews and almonds, it can easily be made vegan with delicious results!
Of course. Feel free to substitute any cooked vegetables or protein in place of the paneer in this recipe.
Indeed, some delicious options include: Cauliflower, pumpkin, courgette, mushrooms, turnips, chickpeas, white beans or tempeh.
Mughlai cuisine is rich in many ways. Hero ingredients include nuts, fruits, cream and spices. Most recipes for Restaurant-Style Shahi Paneer will include a sweetening element (often sugar) to balance the heat of the spices, and compliment the richness of the dish.
As dried fruits are such an integral part of recipes from India’s historical royal kitchens, it makes sense to include them.
My preferred options are either soft dried mango or apricots, for they lend sweetness as well as a subtle, yet welcome tang.
If you have neither of these options to hand, you can use the same measure of golden sultanas (not raisins), or simply add a tablespoon of sugar to the dish. I don’t use raisins as they will affect the colour of the Shahi Paneer.
Make your saffron work harder. It’s expensive stuff and a little goes a long way if you try this nifty trick. Simply dry roast it in a pan or microwave it for 30 seconds.
This will make it brittle enough to grind into a powder. When you add this saffron to your dish, the colours will be a beautiful shade of sunflower, and the flavours as intense as can be.
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I am astounded! We made this for friends last night and the pot was mopped clean. A novel idea to add mango. It will be a regular in our meal rotation now. Thanks for sharing your beautiful recipe with us.
Just made this shahi paneer recipe for my little one and my wife and they both loved it. Best recipe in a long time. Thank you so much for all that you do.
Incredible recipe. I made it today for my family and there’s nothing left. The mango makes all the difference. A stroke of genius!
This is one the first recipes I have tried after seeing all the recipes on the blog. It is one tasty gravy recipe. The flavour of saffron and the creamy texture of the gravy is a delight to the taste buds. My family loved it too. Unlike the restaurant gravys, this one isn’t harsh on the stomach and super easy to prepare as the recipe is well explained .
This is one the first recipes I have tried after seeing all the recipes on the blog. It is one tasty gravy recipe. The flavour of saffron and the creamy texture of the gravy is a delight to the taste buds. My family loved it too. Unlike the restaurant gravys, this one isn’t harsh on the stomach and super easy to prepare as the recipe is well explained .
Absolutely in love with this recipe! Luscious velvety creamy rich gravy – tastes great with both rice and breads. Thank you for sharing!
That silky silky gravy is what transforms this into a restaurant style dish! Was a big hit with everyone at home. Thank you!
That silky silky gravy is what transforms this into a restaurant style dish! Itvwas a big hit with everyone at home. Thank you for this recipe!
Great recipe – super easy to make and tasted amazing, and loved the fact that i didn’t need to hop everything too finely or precisely as it was going to be blended up.
It was absolutely amazing! Amazing flavor with less masala! I have not yet made a Punjabi sabji without garam masala and this recipe did not require it whatsoever. I was in awe of the bursting flavors of EVERYTHING with saffron lacing in the back. 10/10 recommended! I can’t wait to try Sanjana’s other recipes!
I made this last week, and though it was more laborious than my usual weeknight dinners, it was sooo worth it! Amazing flavour, really impressed the partner, and the leftovers were even better the next day. The only thing was after sieving I felt there was a lot of chunkiness left over – but Sanjana told me I could put it in her tofu dopiaza – so I have frozen it and will use it soon!
Thanks for such an awesome recipe, really easy to follow too 🙂
Excellent recipe!! I have tried other shahi paneer recipes but none were as easy to follow or as tasty as this one.
My family can’t get enough of this dish. It tastes and smells like a top quality Indian restaurant dish. I make it ever feel weeks because everyone in the house requests it. Even my kids are fans. The mango addition is quality!
Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.
By far the tastiest curry I’ve ever made. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. They are very unique.