Kaju Curry

Two kinds of restaurant style cashew curry What gives the Kaju Curry rich and creamy texture?

First, gravy is cooked in the butter (of course the name of the dish is kaju butter masala). Second, the addition of heavy cream (malai) at the end.

Step By Step Photo Instructions.

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan and roast the cashews in it.
2. Roast them with string continuously till it becomes nice golden brown. Then remove it to a plate and keep aside.
3. In the same pan, heat another 1 teaspoon of oil on medium heat. Once hot add chopped onion, ginger and green chilies.
4. Saute them till onion becomes translucent and let it cool down a bit.
5. Once it gets cooled, grind into smooth paste.
6. Also, make a smooth puree of tomatoes. Note: for the picture purpose I made tomato puree earlier and removed it to a bowl. Otherwise, I would puree tomatoes while onion paste is cooking.
7. Now the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and butter on medium heat. Oil is added here, so the butter doesn’t get burnt.
8. Once the butter starts to melt, add bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon stick. Saute till you get a nice aroma of the whole spices, about 30 seconds.
9. Then add onion paste, mix very well. Add some salt.
10. Cook till all the moisture goes away.it starts to leave the sides of the pan about 7-8 minutes.
11. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, and kasoori methi. Crush methi leaves between your palm, so it will release lots of flavors.
12. Mix well and cook for a minute.
13. Add tomato puree.
14. Stir it, as it starts to boil, it will splutter a lot. Partially cover the pan, means half covered, half open.
15. Cook till oil starts to ooze out from the sides and all the moisture evaporates.
16. Add enough water to make a gravy consistency, simmer for 5 minutes. Then mix in roasted cashews and let the gravy comes to a simmer.
17. Add heavy cream.
18. Mix it well, taste the gravy and adjust the salt and spice level.
19. Finally, add lots of chopped cilantro.
20. Stir it in and serve. Make in your kitchen and let me know how you like it in the comments below.

Serving Ideas:

Serve with paratha or garlic naan or jeera rice. Serve sliced onion with lemon wedges and salted lassi on the side to complete the meal.

Expert Tips:

Always use good quality, fresh cashew nuts. The taste of the entire dish mainly depends on the nuts. If used stale or rancid ones then it will ruin the taste and all your efforts. So taste few cashew nuts before adding to the gravy, if they taste bad (means nuts went rancid). Lots of chopped cilantro or coriander leaves added at the end of the process. It gives really good flavors to the dish. It also gives a vibrant and fresh look to the curry. So please do not skip it. For a variation, cut down the amount of cashews and add some paneer cubes. And you will have kaju paneer masala ready.

Check out more restaurant style gravy recipesPaneer butter masala // Paneer bhurji (gravy version) // Veg makhanwala // Veg handi // Malai kofta