A rich, flavoursome and buttery paneer dish is possibly the best accompaniment with roti. My best memories of eating a paneer dish is at those road side dhabas in India. It’s loaded with flavour, it’s high on calories and it leaves a memorable taste that’s hard to forget. Cutting through the soft paneer and relishing it with the spicy gravy is a joy altogether.

Today’s dish is similar to Paneer Butter masala but I have used Cashews for the ‘Buttery’ part 🙂 Trust me, its ‘Finger-licking’ good – Literally 😛

So here is the recipe for – Paneer Kaju Masala 🙂

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

Oil – 2 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Ajwain – 1/2 tsp

Cloves – 2 to 3

Cinnamon – 1/2 inch

Bay leaf – 1

Garlic – 1 clove

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp

Crushed Kasuri methi – 1 tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Paneer cubes – 1 full cup

For the gravy:

Warm Milk – 1/2 cup

Cashews – 10-15 whole pieces or equivalent

Tomatoes – 3 big ones

METHOD:

Soak the cashews in the warm milk for about 10-12 minutes.

Grind the tomatoes along with milk and cashews into a fine paste.

In a deep bottomed pan/kadai, heat oil and add the chopped garlic and whole spices – cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, Cumin seeds, Ajwain. Sauté till done.

Now add the ground tomato-cashews paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and cumin powder. Mix well.

Allow the gravy to boil well till the oil separates from the sides.

Now add the chopped paneer cubes, crushed kasuri methi and sugar. Mix well.

Allow to cook covered on medium flame for about 10 minutes.

Cashew based paneer masala is ready to be served with some ‘garma garam’ rotis 🙂