Shahi Paneer

Shahi means fit for the Kings. Paneer means cheese. To make paneer at home, you take whatever amount of milk and curdle it by adding a few drops of lemon to it while it's boiling. Then, you hand it in a fine cheesecloth till most of the moisture has dripped out of it and it's taken on the consistency of cottage cheese.

This cheese dish is resplendant with a rich creamy sauce filled with cashews and raisins and spices. A quick warning: this is NOT for the weak hearted. This is a very spicy dish.

The ingredients:

8 oz container of cream, 1 tsp garam masala (available at any Indian grocery store), 2 tsp ginger powder, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup cashews and raisins, 2 medium onions, 1/2 lb paneer cubed, 2 green chillis, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup milk

Brown the paneer cubes in the oil for a couple minutes and put them aside. Put the ginger, garlic, onions, and chillis in a blender or food processor and make a paste. Put the paste in the oil and brown it till the oil separates. What does that mean. It's when the oil starts seeping out the edges and bubbles.

Add the red chilli powder, salt, turmeric and garam masala to the paste and brown for a couple minutes. Add the paneer cubes and milk and let the sauce thicken. Add the cream and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Leave the sauce a little thin because it'll thicken more as it just sits.

Yes, I tend to burn the paneer cubes :-)

Hint for the day: Make a pound or two of the ginger, garlic and onion paste and freeze it. It's really easy to unfreeze and use in any Indian dish you are making.