If making the curry ahead, stop before adding the paneer and refrigerate the sauce with the chickpeas. Reheat gently, adding a little of the measured curry water if the sauce has thickened, then warm the paneer in it just before serving. Repeated heating can make paneer firm. Keep the cooked rice separate, chill it promptly and reheat it until steaming hot.
Main DishesShahi Paneer with Chickpeas and Brown Rice
Soft paneer and chickpeas sit in a mild, silky onion, cashew, almond and yogurt sauce. Cardamom and saffron give the pale gravy its restaurant-style aroma without tomatoes.
Ingredients
For the brown rice
For the onion-nut paste
- Dried almonds (blanched, unroasted) 20g Nutrition & impact details for Dried almonds (blanched, unroasted)
For the curry
- Boiled chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram) 240g Nutrition & impact details for Boiled chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram)
Preparation Steps
Cook the rice
Rinse the brown rice until the water runs mostly clear. Bring it to a boil with the water, cover, and cook over low heat for 30–35minutes, until the grains are tender and the water is absorbed. Fluff and keep covered while you finish the curry.
Fry the nuts and onion
Lightly crush the cardamom pods. Heat the ghee for the paste in a pan over medium heat; fry the cashew nuts, almonds and cardamom for 2 minutes, stirring, until the nuts are lightly golden. Add the onion and cook for 6–8 minutes until soft but not browned, then stir in the ginger root and garlic for 1 minute.
Blend the paste
Add the water for the paste and simmer for 2–3 minutes, until the onion is very soft. Let the mixture stop steaming, remove the cardamom husks but keep the seeds, then blend in a blender until the paste is velvety with no visible nut pieces.
Temper the spices
Heat the ghee for the curry in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the bay leaf, cumin seed and whole cloves; stir for about 30 seconds, until the cumin sizzles. Add the ground cinnamon for the last few seconds.
Cook the paste
Stir in the blended paste, garam masala, ground turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, sugar and salt. Cook over medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until the paste bubbles gently and looks slightly glossy.
Add the yogurt
Whisk some hot paste into the plain yogurt, then gradually stir the warmed yogurt into the pan over low heat. Keep stirring until the sauce is smooth and glossy with no visible curds; do not let it boil at this stage, or the yogurt may split.
Simmer the sauce
Add most of the curry water and simmer gently, uncovered, for 6–8 minutes. The sauce should be creamy and pourable, coating the back of a spoon. Simmer briefly if it is thin, or add the remaining water if it becomes too thick. Add the coconut milk (optional), It's maybe less authentic but I tried with & without coconut milk and I found the coconut milk version better !
Warm the chickpeas and paneer
Stir in the boiled chickpeas and simmer gently for 4–5 minutes. Add the paneer and black pepper; cook for just 1–2 minutes, until the paneer is warmed through, then turn off the heat.
Finish and serve
Stir the saffron into the hot sauce and remove the bay leaf and whole cloves. Divide the brown rice among plates and spoon over the curry, distributing the paneer and chickpeas evenly.
Recipe insights
Preparing the curry ahead
Swap the yoghurt
For a more planet-friendly alternative, you can swap the yoghurt for soy yoghurt or cashew yoghurt, as you wish.
And if you want BIG GAINS IN THE GYM, just swap it for skyr; it works PRETTY well.
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