A No onion,garlic,versatile curry that can be used as a base for any Indian meal, be it Paneer Makhanwala/Butter paneer, Palak Paneer, Malai Kofta, Shahi Gobhi,Rajmah,Chana or even Butter chicken or any meat dish.
I made it recently for my Lauki Ke Kofte that I made in the appe pan. It tasted so rich and creamy, just like what you get in the restaurants, but there was no cream! The richness and thickness which is normally associated with an onion and cream based gravy, actually comes from the cashews that are ground into a paste with the tomatoes.
It tastes just as good if not better than the traditional curry and so easy to customize to what ever you are adding it to. If using for chana/rajma, add garam masala,anardana/pomegranate seeds. If using it for meat dishes,add a bit of yogurt, for palak paneer add coriander powder!
Moving on to the recipe,here is the written recipe followed by the step by step pictorial one-
No Onion,Garlic or Cream Curry
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Cashews
- 1 cup Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 tsp Green Chilies minced
- 2 tsp Ginger minced
- 2 tsp Cumin/Jeera
- 1 tsp Paprika optional for additional color
- 4 Green Cardamoms/Elaichi crushed
- 1 tbsp Kasoori Methi/dry Fenugreek leaves
- 1 cup Milk Full fat preferred. I used 2 %(For vegan option, use water)
- 2 Tbsp Butter/Ghee/Oil For vegan option use oil
- 1/2 cup water for grinding
Instructions
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Blend Cashews, Crushed tomatoes and 1/2 cup water till smooth.
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In 3 tbsp Butter/Ghee/Oil add Cumin/Jeera and let it crackle.
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Add crushed Green Cardamoms, stir and add ginger and green chili paste till the raw smell of ginger goes away.
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Add tomato-cashew paste and stir for few minutes.
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Add paprika and Kasoori Methi and continue to stir.
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Add milk and bring to a boil and continue to cook till fat separates.
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The curry will thicken upon keeping,so add milk/water as needed per the recipe that you are going to use this basic curry for.
Notes
Here is the step by step pictorial recipe-
Ingredients
Blend cashew,tomatoes and water into a smooth paste
In Ghee/Butter/Oil add Cumin/Jeera and let it crackle. Add crushed Green Cardamoms/Elaichi
Add ginger and green chilies and cook till raw smell of ginger goes away
Add tomato/Cashew paste and cook for a few minutes
Add kasoori Methi and paprika and cook till fat separates
Add milk/cream(water for a vegan option). I used low fat milk.
Cook and continue to stir till fat floats on top,that means the curry is ready!
Use as a curry base for all Paneer dishes,Koftas,Rajma,Chana and all meat dishes as well.
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Disclaimer: The nutritional information shared here is approximate. Variations may exist due to ingredients and brands used. Please refer to a Registered Dietitian
or Nutritionist if you have any health issues or questions.
*I have made these recipe following the fasting rules observed in my family. If there are certain things that you don’t consume during fasting, please tweak the recipe and make without it*
Madhura punyarthi
Please alag alag sabjiyoki har tarha ki gravi
Aanchal Gupta
Hi Madhura, will definitely share how to customize this basic gravy for different dishes. Thanks for visiting my blog.