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Tamatar Kaju Paneer

vindhyadesai

A thick and creamy gravy made from tomatoes with lightly toasted soft paneer pieces to accompany rotis or naans. Tomatoes form a base for most gravies and generally never get highlighted. Thick, red, tangy and juicy, tomatoes add body and volume to any gravy. Here I have exclusively used tomatoes for the paneer pieces to float in and absorb all the flavour and tanginess.

Tamatar Kaju Paneer
 
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Lightly toasted paneer pieces in a thick creamy tomato cashew gravy
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
For Ground Spices:
  • ½ Tsp jeera/cumin seeds
  • ½ Tsp saunf/fennel seeds
  • ¼ Tsp shahjeera/caraway seeds
  • 1 Tsp black pepper
  • 2 laung/cloves
For Tomato and Cashew paste:
  • 7-8 cashews
  • ½ Kg or 5-6 roughly chopped tomatoes
For Gravy:
  • 100-120 Gm of paneer
  • 1" piece finely chopped ginger
  • 1-2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
  • 2 finely chopped green chillies
  • 1 Tsp garam masala
  • ½ Tsp red chilli powder
  • ½ Tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 Tsp kasuri methi
  • 1 Tbsp single cream
  • Chopped coriander to finish
Method
  1. Soak cashews in lightly warm water for 15 minutes
  2. Toast the spices under 'for ground spices' section for a minute
  3. Grind them coarsely using a mortar and pestle or in a small grinder. Keep aside
  4. Drain and grind cashews into a coarse paste
  5. Add chopped tomatoes and grind to a fine paste along with the cashews
  6. Heat oil, add the spice powder and fry for a minute
  7. Add chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies
  8. Pour tomato, cashew paste into the pan. Mix well and let it simmer
  9. Once oil starts to come to the top, add salt and mix well
  10. Add red chilli powder and garam masala. Mix well
  11. Meanwhile chop up paneer pieces to any shape you like. Here I have chopped them into bite sized diagonal pieces. Sprinkle some salt on the paneer pieces
  12. In another pan, add a little oil so that it coats the bottom of the pan, add the paneer pieces in a single layer
  13. Toast lightly, on all sides of the paneer pieces (upto 10 seconds per side)
  14. Add paneer pieces to the tomato mixture
  15. Add kasuri methi
  16. Add cream and mix everything well together
  17. Finish with chopped coriander
  18. Serve hot with rotis or naans with some cream on top
Notes
Cream can be substituted with cashew paste or a tbsp of butter

Do not let the paneer pieces to be on the pan for a long time, they will become hard and chewy

Adjust green chillies and red chilli powder as per your liking

While chopping paneer, I prefer to use a serrated knife, this will create more surface area on the paneer pieces and the gravy settles better on top the pieces
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 Stepwise:

  1. Soak cashews in lightly warm water for 15 minutes
 

  2. Toast the spices under 'for ground spices' section for a minute
 

  3. Grind them coarsely using a mortar and pestle or in a small grinder. Keep aside
 

  4. Drain and grind cashews into a coarse paste


  5. Add chopped tomatoes and grind to a fine paste along with the cashews


  6. Heat oil, add the spice powder and fry for a minute 

  7. Add chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies
     

  8. Pour tomato, cashew paste into the pan. Mix well and let it simmer
 

  9. Once oil starts to come to the top, add salt and mix well

  10. Add red chilli powder and garam masala. Mix well


  11. Meanwhile chop up paneer pieces to any shape you like. Here I have chopped them into bite sized diagonal pieces. Sprinkle some salt on the paneer pieces
 

  12. In another pan, add a little oil so that it coats the bottom of the pan, add the paneer pieces in a single layer
 

  13. Toast lightly, on all sides of the paneer pieces (upto 10 seconds per side)


  14. Add paneer pieces to the tomato mixture


  15. Add kasuri methi


  16. Add cream and mix everything well together


  17. Finish with chopped coriander


  18. Serve hot with rotis or naans with some cream on top
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