Sorry that it has been so incredibly long since I last posted. I am finishing up law school in a few weeks and graduating, so I have been consumed with class, bar preparations, etc. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking, however. I have continued on my quest to learn to cook decent Indian and Moroccan food. I have also tracked down a great Indian market in Orlando with the most amazing aged basmati rice. Below is a recipe which almost exactly replicates one of my favorite dishes from a local Indian restaurant in Orlando. This recipe is a mild tomato curry/gravy with a slight sweetness to it and contains paneer, onions, and green peppers. It’s a great go-to lunch and vegetarian (which I honestly can’t say about many of my recipes). 

This recipe can use either home-made paneer, such as mine found here, or store-bought paneer. Also, I apologize for no photo, but I quickly gobbled it all up. I will try to take a photograph next time I make it. Also, I serve this with a simple basmati, which I will post the recipe for next.

Ingredients:

4 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and pods discarded
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup whole cashew nuts
2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
2 bay leaves
1-inch piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green serrano chilis, seeded and sliced in lengthwise
4 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon desi ghee (sub unsalted butter if you do not have this)
4 tablespoons honey
1 package paneer
2 small yellow onions, cut into 1-inch sections
1 green pepper, cut into 1-inch sections

Directions:

1. Using a mortar and pestle (or a spice grinder), pulverize the cardimom seeds and then place them in a medium saucepan. Add the diced tomatoes to the saucepan as well as the nuts, salt, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaves, ginger, garlic, and chili.
2. Cook over medium-high heat, uncovered until thick and mostly reduced. The texture should still be a little saucy. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Discard the bay leaves and let the sauce cool. When cooled, transfer to a blender or food processor and blend to a smooth puree. I like to blend for a bit, let it rest a little, and blend some more. It should be a smooth light pink color.
4. While the puree is blending, add the onions and peppers to the sauce pan, along with half of the ghee. Let the onions and peppers soften for a bit over medium heat.
5. Once the onions have softened, add the puree back to the pan. Add the fenugreek leaves, cream, the remaning desi ghee and the paneer to the pan and stir. 
6. Let the sauce come to a gentle boil and cook until paneer is heated through.
7. When ready, stir in the honey and serve!

This recipe is a direct double from what I originally made, because I felt like the ratio of sauce to paneer to was too low. If you prefer less sauce, half everything except the paneer and the green pepper.