Paneer Begum Bahar|| पनीर बेगम बहार|| Restaurant Style

A one of a kind Restaurant style dish, Paneer Begum Bahar is a vegetarian twist to royal Mughalai style of cooking. Delicate paneer layered with rich, luscious, sweet yet crunchy stuffing and seasoned with richer and luxurious cashew gravy. A balanced combination of sweet and savoury. Check out the recipe down below Ingredients: Paneer- 250 to 300 gm Ghee -- 50 gm Khoya- 150 gm Cashew- 20 gm crushed, 50 gm purée Raisin- 20 gm Saffron - A pinch Milk - 100 ml Curd - 1/2 cup Onions - 100 gm Tomato purée -- 80 gm Tumeric- 1 tsp Degi Chilli Powder- 1 tsp Cardamom- 2 kernels Cloves - 2-3 Cinnamon stick- half Bay leaves- 2-3 Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp Garam masala- 1 tsp Cumin- 1 tsp Chilli Coriander paste- 3 Tbsp Ginger paste- 1 tbsp Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp Food color Yellow - optional Pistachios- for garnishing Almonds- for garnishing Salt to taste water 70 mil Recipe- 1. Sauté the Khoya( I have used sweetened khoya from the market) in the pan until soft and golden brown. Add milk to loosen the khoya into paste. Add crushed cashews, raisins, 1 tbsp or chilli coriander paste and mix evenly. Take off the heat and upon cooling add 1 tbsp of Saffron- milk into the paste. Our stuffing is ready. 2. Cut the paneer into slices and coat the slices with Saffron milk solution. Let it dry . Later scoop out a spoonful of Khoya paste and layer onto the Paneer slices. Cover it with another layer of Paneer slice and make a sandwich. Even out the edges for better aesthetics. 3. Spread a spoonful of ghee on a pan and toast the Paneer on both the sides. This will add bit of texture to the Paneer. But don't toast too much as it will make the paneer very chewy. 4. For the gravy, add 1 tbsp of ghee into a pan, saute chopped onions until translucent. Throw it into the blender and make a fine paste. Boil 50 gms of cashew for 5 mins and make a separate cashew paste. Also separately make tomato purée. 5. Into a pan, add 3 tbsp of ghee and throw in cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and half a cinnamon stick, 1 tsp cumin seeds. Add ginger paste and garlic paste into the pan, sauté. Then add the onion paste into the pan and sauté until it releases the oil. Add tomato purée and saute until oil is released. Add 1 tbsp of salt, Tumeric , coriander powder, garam masala, degi red chilli powder, 2 tbsp of Chilli- coriander paste and mix evenly. Add Cashew paste into the pan and cook until thickened. Add 1/2 cup of curd and cook untill thick. Add 50 mil of milk and cook until thick. Add Saffron mixture and food color(optional). Upon being thick and thoroughly cooked add water to adjust consistency. Adjust salt at the end. 6. Place the paneer sandwiches on a platter and layer it with the gravy. Season with chopped Pistachios, cashews, coriander leaver and Silvered cardamom (as per choice). And Voila, your mughlai dish is ready to be served. Combine with Laccha paratha or Naan to enjoy.