Shahi Mixed Vegetable & Paneer Curry

I made this creamy and colorful mixed vegetable curry to go with the Khamiri rotis. 'Shahi' literally means regal or royal, so any dish with that in the name means it's going to be rich and flavorful.

This shahi vegetable curry is great to make for parties or when you have company. Like most other Indian gravy curries, this curry tastes even better as it sits. So make it ahead of time and warm slightly when ready to serve.

I made this curry couple of times already and it was quite a hit every time. Recipe is from Lubna's site, I changed it just a little bit. Head over to her blog to drool over her pictures and see how she made it.

Recipe from Lubna's space:

Ingredients: Serves 2~3

Mixed Vegetables - 1cups (Carrot, green beans, green peas, potato, cauliflower etc. would work great)
Red pepper - 1 small, chopped
Yellow pepper - 1 small, chopped
Paneer - ½cup, cubed
Onion - 1 medium, thinly sliced
Tomato Puree - ½cup
Cashew Butter - 1tbsp (dry roast 1tbsp cashews until golden and then grind to a smooth paste)
Ginger+garlic paste - 1tsp
Kashmiri red chili powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder - ¼tsp 

Ground coriander - 1tsp
Ground cumin - ¼tsp
Cream - 2~3tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Bay leaf - 1
Cilantro - 3tbsp, finely chopped
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Parboil/ microwave the veggies until slightly tender and keep aside.
• Heat 1tbsp oil in a pan, add the onions and saute till browned around the edges and starting to caramelized. Remove onto a plate, cool and grind to a paste.
• Add 1tbsp oil to the same pan, add the peppers and cook till tender. Add the remaining boiled veggies and saute till lightly crisp around the edges. Remove onto a plate. You can skip this step all together and add the veggies directly to the gravy but I find that the veggies hold shape better in the curry if fried.
• In the same pan, add more oil or ghee if needed, then add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the onion paste, ginger+garlic paste and cook for 1~2 minutes.
• Next add the tomato puree along with red chili powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, garam masala and salt. Mix well and cook for a minute. Add some water if the spices start to burn. 
• Now add the cooked veggies and paneer; mix well to coat with the spices. Cook for 2~3 minutes.
• Stir in the cashew butter (or roasted cashew paste) and mix well. Add more water if needed and cover and cook for 7~8 minutes.
• Lower the heat and stir in cream and cook till heated through. Finally sprinkle the chopped cilantro and turn off the heat. Serve with khamiri roti or any other Indian bread or Pulao.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56.