Nawabi Paneer (Restaurant Style Mughlai White Gravy)
Soft paneer cubes in an ivory cashew-almond-poppy gravy, finished with cream and a little saffron or kewra.
Equipment
- Blender
- Heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai
- Small bowl
Ingredients
For the white nut paste
- 1 medium yellow onion cubed, about 1 cup
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 10-12 raw cashews
- 6-8 almonds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white poppy seeds (khus khus)
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1 cup water for boiling
- 1/4 cup water for blending, plus more as needed
For the paneer
- 10 oz paneer about 280 g, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon oil or ghee for a light sear, optional
For the gravy
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1/3 cup full-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt whisked, room temperature
- 1-2 green chilies slit, use one for mild
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3/4 cup whole milk plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream plus 1 tablespoon to swirl
- 2-3 drops kewra water or 1 teaspoon rose water
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed, optional
To finish
- pinch saffron threads soaked in 1 tablespoon warm milk
- fresh cilantro chopped, optional
- slivered almonds or a few extra saffron strands
Instructions
Prep
- If the paneer is packaged, soak the cubes in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
- Soak the almonds in hot water for 15 minutes. Slip the skins if you want a paler gravy.
- Whisk the yogurt until smooth. Leave it on the counter so it is not cold.
- Soak the saffron in 1 tablespoon warm milk.
Make the paste
- Add the onion, ginger, garlic, cashews, almonds, poppy seeds, 2 cardamom pods, and 1 cup water to a pan. Cover and boil over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Do not let it brown.
- Cool 5 minutes. Blend with 1/4 cup fresh water until completely smooth. The paste should look pale, almost white. If it is gritty, blend another 30 seconds or strain.
Optional paneer sear
- Heat 1 teaspoon oil in the kadhai over medium-high. Sear the paneer 1 to 2 minutes until the edges take a little color. Lift out and set aside. Skip this if you want the cubes fully soft.
Cook the gravy
- Heat the ghee and butter in the same pan over medium. Add cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon, and the remaining cardamom. Let them smell fragrant, about 20 seconds.
- Add the white nut paste. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring, until a few oil specks show at the edges. If it sticks, splash in a tablespoon of water. The paste should stay ivory, not gold.
- Take the pan off the heat. Add the whisked yogurt and stir fast until it disappears into the paste.
- Return the pan to low heat. Add salt and the slit chilies. Stir 20 seconds.
- Add 3/4 cup milk. I swirl that milk in the blender jar first so no paste is wasted. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes until the gravy looks smooth and coats a spoon.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons cream. Add the paneer. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes on low, just until the cubes are hot. Do not boil hard or the paneer tightens.
- Crush kasuri methi between your palms if using and stir it in. Take the pan off the heat. Add 2 to 3 drops kewra or 1 teaspoon rose water. Stir in the saffron milk. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if the nuts taste shy.
Serve
- Spoon into a warm bowl. Swirl a little cream, scatter cilantro or slivered almonds, and add a few extra saffron strands. Serve hot.
Notes
Boil the paste. Brown onions make a beige korma, not nawabi paneer.
Yogurt must be full-fat, whisked, and room temperature. Add it off the heat.
Kewra is 2 to 3 drops. More turns bitter.
No tomato and no turmeric if you want an ivory gravy.
No poppy seeds: add 4 extra cashews and continue.
For a Jain plate, skip onion, ginger, and garlic. Bloom a pinch of hing in the ghee, blend extra cashews and almonds (about 16 cashews and 10 almonds) with poppy and a splash of yogurt, then carry on.
Vegan: extra-firm tofu in place of paneer, unsweetened plain plant yogurt, cashew cream instead of dairy cream, and unsweetened plant milk. Skip kewra if it tastes harsh with coconut. Rose water is gentler.
Some restaurants add green peas or a spoon of fresh coconut. That is a Hyderabadi hotel variation, not this gravy. Keep it for a second night if you want it.
Gravy keeps 2 days in the fridge without paneer. This dairy-heavy gravy does not freeze well. Add fresh paneer when you reheat.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!