When I was a kid growing up in Boston we went to an Indian restaurant that had the most delicious, creamy tomato paneer curry. This recipe is about as close as it gets to that dish, or as close as my memory will allow. Adapted from The New York Times and Swasthi’s Recipes and Madhur Jaffrey.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb paneer
• 4 T ghee
• 2 t freshly grated ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 8 cardamom pods, gently crushed
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 t Kashmiri red chile powder
• 2 t garam masala
• 4 c tomatoes, fresh or canned (Note: if you are looking for more of a tomato punch, you can roast the tomatoes beforehand and/or add a few T of tomato paste. I plan to play around with this to see how I can get a deeper flavor.)
• 60 g raw cashews
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1 T canola (or another neutral) oil
• 6 T heavy whipping cream (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Rice or roti, for serving

Instructions

1. Soak the paneer in hot tap water for 10 minutes, then drain.
2. Cut paneer into 3/4″ cubes and set aside.
3. In a large pot, heat ghee on high until it melts, 30 to 90 seconds.
4. Stir in ginger, garlic, and cardamom. Cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.
5. Add onion and cashews and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Add chile powder and half of the garam masala and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
7. Add in the tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to break down, 10 minutes.
8. As the curry mixture cooks, heat butter and oil in a large pan (cast iron works great) until melted. Add paneer cubes in a single layer and cook until they brown lightly on at least two sides. Side aside on paper towel lined plate.
9. Once curry mixture is done cooking, turn off heat, remove cardamom pods, and let cool a bit.
10. Using a hand blender, blend with 1 cup water until smooth and creamy.
11. Heat tomato curry mixture back up over medium-low heat. Once warm, add paneer cubes and simmer for 5 minutes, until flavors have melded.
12. Serve with rice and assorted chutneys.