PANEER KAJU PASANDA

PANEER KAJU PASANDA

Preparation Time : 25-30 minutes

Cooking Time : 20-25 minutes

Servings : 4

Ingredients

Cottage cheese (paneer) : 400 grams

Cashewnuts : 15-20

Onions : 2 medium

Coconut : 2 inch piece

Ginger : 1 inch piece

Garlic : 2-3 cloves

Fresh coriander leaves a few sprigs

Kashmiri red chillies : 5-6

Poppy seed (khuskhus) : paste 1 tablespoon

Cumin seeds : 1 teaspoon

Coriander seeds : 1 tablespoon

Cloves : 2

Cinnamon : 1 inch stick

Sunflower seeds (charoli/chironji) : 2 tablespoons

Oil : 3 tablespoons + to deep fry

Tomato puree : 1 cup

Sugar : 1 teaspoon

Salt : to taste

Fresh cream : 1/2 cup

Method

Cut cottage cheese into one and a half inch sized cubes. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry the cottage cheese cubes till light golden. Drain onto an absorbent paper and set aside. Deep-fry cashewnuts in the same oil till light golden. Drain onto an absorbent paper and keep aside. Peel, wash and roughly chop onions. Wash and roughly chop the coconut. Peel, wash and roughly chop ginger and garlic. Clean, wash and roughly chop coriander leaves. Remove stems and dry roast Kashmiri red chillies along with poppy seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves and cinnamon. Combine onion, coconut, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves, Kashmiri red chillies, poppy seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon and sunflower seeds and grind to a paste using a little water. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a kadai, add the ground paste and fry for four to five minutes till it emits a nice aroma or till oil leaves the masala. Add tomato puree, sugar, salt and half cup of water and continue to simmer on low heat for ten to fifteen minutes or till gravy is thick. Add the fried cottage cheese and cashewnuts and cook further for a minute. Gently stir in the fresh cream and serve hot.