Paneer in Sundried Tomato Curry

I saved some of the pistachio paneers I had prepared for Vincey’s film screening to put into this sundried tomato curry. I love sundried tomatoes and have been wanting to make a curry out of them for some time. Their tangy and salty flavor is very complimentary to Indian spices. I added in some ground cashews to thicken the sauce and also used some nice heirloom tomatoes I had gotten from my CSA. If you want to make this recipe healthier, you can substitute the paneer with tofu.

Lately, I’ve really been into using dried fenugreek leaves and put some of these into the curry as well. You can buy a bag of these leaves at the Indian store where they may be labeled in Hindi as methi leaves. They are good to throw into sauces and curries and carry a little bitter taste to them. I really don’t like bitter tastes but for some reason these leaves are not too overpowering for me. The seeds of these leaves are sometimes used to make chutneys, pickles and spice powders and are much more bitter.

I served this curry with rice and some corn tortillas at a dinner party.

Paneer in Sundried Tomato Curry

Ingredients

14 oz paneer or tofu, cubed

1 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons ghee or oil

10 sundried tomatoes (not in oil)

2 medium tomatoes, rough chop

2 small onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 inch piece ginger, grated

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste

2 pinches dried fenugreek (methi) leaves

3 tablespoons ground cashews

2 tablespoons cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

salt to taste

cilantro for garnish

Method

*To powder the cashews, I use a coffee been grinder.

Fry your paneer or tofu cubes in 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan. Set aside.

Soak sundried tomatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes. Blend the sundried tomatoes and tomatoes into a puree – adding the soaking water as necessary. Set aside.

In a pan under medium heat, put ghee or oil and onions. Fry the onions for about 10-15 minutes, stirring so they do not burn. I like the onions to be a little carmelized. Then stir in the garlic and ginger and fry for a minute.

Add in the tomato puree and mix. Next add in the spices – garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, dried fenugreek leaves. Fry until the oil separates from the tomato.Add in the cashew powder and 1/2 cup of water (you can use the soaking water from the sun dried tomatoes if you have left). Add more water if you want your curry to be more liquidy. Bring to a boil.

Add in the cream, sugar and salt. Stir well. Add in the fried paneers and make sure they are all covered with curry sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro.