paneer pasinda

in a frying pan or kadai take 1.75 cups roughly chopped tomatoes, 10 to 12 cashews, halved or roughly chopped, 1/2 inch cinnamon, 2 green cardamoms,2 cloves and 1 cup water.

on a low to medium flame, stir and simmer this mixture till the tomatoes soften. when the tomatoes soften, switch off the flame. some stock will be left in the pan and we will use it while grinding the tomatoes. let this mixture become warm or cool down completely before you grind. add the cooked tomatoes-cashews-spices mixture along with the stock. no need to add any extra water while grinding.

grind to a smooth paste. there should be no cashew chunks or pieces in the paste. keep this paste aside. making onion paste for paneer pasanda gravy: meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add 1 cup heaped chopped onions. stir and saute the onions on a low flame. add a pinch of salt for the onions to brown faster. once the onions turn to light golden, switch off the flame. let the onions cool. now in a grinder jar, take the fried onions. add 4 to 5 tbsp water.

then grind the fried onions to a smooth paste. keep this paste aside. assembling, stuffing and frying paneer sandwiches: in a bowl or plate, take 2 to 2.5 tbsp crumbled or grated paneer (can substitute grated cheese instead of paneer), 1 tbsp raisins, chopped, 6 to 8 cashews, finely chopped or 2 tbsp finely chopped cashews, 1 or 2 green chilies, chopped, about 1 tsp chopped green chilies, 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and 1/2 tbsp chopped mint leaves.

now add 1/4 tsp red chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder and 1/4 tsp salt or add as required. mix everything and keep aside. slice the paneer in triangles. now slice each triangle into two halves gently. slice all triangles this way. now place some of the stuffing on the paneer triangle. cover it with its top slice gently. don't press. one paneer sandwich is ready. make all paneer sandwiches stuffed with the filling this way. in a bowl,

turn over and coat from all sides. you can also use a spoon or small tongs to coat the slices. place the paneer slices in a medium hot oil for shallow frying. dip eacn triangle this way and then place more paneer triangles in the hot oil. when the base is golden, turn over and continue to shallow fry. you can also deep fry these paneer triangles. now drain the fried paneer sandwiches on paper towels. keep aside.

in the same pan, in which we cooked the tomatoes, add oil. add 1 tej patta and 1/2 tsp shahjeera. saute till the shahjeera crackles. substitute cumin/jeera if shahjeera is not there. add 1 to 1.5 tsp ginger garlic paste. stir and saute till raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.

now add the tomato-cashew-spice paste. stir and saute for 3 to 4 minutes on a low to medium flame. stir and then add the fried onion paste. stir very well and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.

add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder and 1/2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch. stir very well. then add 1 cup water. stir again very well. simmer paneer pasanda gravy on a low flame.

if the gravy splutters a lot, then cover the pan with a lid. simmer or saute the paneer pasanda gravy till you see some oil specks on the top. the gravy will also thicken. about 4 to 5 minutes on a low to medium flame. then add salt as required. add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar as required.

stir and then add 1/4 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp kasuri methi, crushed and 2 tbsp low fat cream. stir till the cream is mixed evenly with the rest of the paneer pasanda gravy. now you can place the paneer triangles or pasanda in the gravy. or else you can place them in a serving tray or plate!!