Paneer Kaju Pasanda

Last Saturday some guests were about to come my house for Lunch.So I decided to make a Paneer Curry.But We all were bored of eating same Paneer Curries, So I wanted to try some new one.This recipe I found in Sanjeev Kapoors Cookbook.I made little bit changes to the original recipe so as to suite our palate. And the end result was Lip Smacking and Yummylicious dish.Every one loved and enjoyed it .

INGREDIENTS:-

250 gms Cottage cheese (paneer)
20 Cashew nuts
1 Onion (Chopped)
1 Cup Tomato puree
1 inch Coconut piece (Chopped)
5 Red chillies
1/2 inch Ginger piece (Chopped)
2 Garlic cloves (Chopped)
Fresh coriander leaves few (Chopped)
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 tbsp Poppy seeds (khuskhus)
1 tsp Cumin seeds
3 Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon stick
Oil
1/2 cup Fresh cream (Optional)
Salt to taste




METHOD:-

1) First of all cube and saute the paneer in a tbsp of ghee till golden brown, remove into a dish and add a cup of hot water to the fried paneer cubes and let them sit in it for 5mins,then drain the water and keep aside.This makes Paneer softer.
2) Then Shallow fry half of the cashew nuts.
3) Chop onions ,coconut , ginger , garlic and coriander leaves. Remove stems and dry roast red chillies and take out in a plate.Then Dry roast poppy seeds,few Cashew nuts ,cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick.
4) Grind onion, coconut, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves, red chillies, poppy seeds, Cashew nuts,cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon in a mixer / blender to a fine paste using a little water.
5) Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a pan, add the grounded paste and fry for 5 minutes till oil oozes out or till oil comes up. Add tomato puree, turmeric ,salt and half cup of water and continue to cook on low heat for 10 minutes or till gravy is thick and nice aroma comes out of it..Keep stirring continuously to prevent burning.
6) Add the fried paneer and cashewnuts and cook further for a 10 minutes on low flame.
7) Gently stir in the fresh cream.
8) Serve hot with Rotis, Naan ,Chapatis.