Paneer or Tofu Creamy Curry

The yogurt and tomato gravy sauce in this recipe is extremely delicious and versatile. Almost any combination of vegetables, sprouts, tofu, potatoes, plantains, etc. can be cooked in this gravy in place of paneer (Indian cheese) – so feel free to be creative. It’s great with flat breads or rice.

Sauce base ingredients (if you have some Universal Curry Sauce, just warm up 3 cups of that):

2-3 Tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 Tbsp coriander powder

½ tsp turmeric

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp red chili powder (to taste)

2 tomatoes very finely diced or 16 oz can of pureed tomatoes

Other ingredients:

2/3 lb paneer or tofu cut into small cubes

1 green chili, seeds removed, chopped very small (optional)

½ cup green peas or chopped green pepper or home-sprouted mung beans (optional)

2/3 cup yogurt, well whisked or coconut milk

2 tsp cornstarch or flour or cashew/almond pulp for thickening the sauce (optional)

salt to taste (1 tsp if you did not start out with a ready curry base)

pinch garam masala

¼ cup chopped cilantro

*If you don’t have any ready-made sauce, start here:

(1) Heat oil in a saucepan on med-high, add cumin seeds, stirring for 20 seconds, then ginger garlic paste, coriander and turmeric powders. After the ginger-garlic starts turning golden, add the onion and cook until transparent. Then add paneer cubes and stir actively for a minute to coat the cubes well with oil and spices. Be careful not to burn any of the spices or garlic – if it starts to stick, add a bit more oil or water. Now add green and red chili, and tomatoes. Continue cooking (5 minutes) until the tomato mixture starts to separate from oil and reduces to about half in quantity.  (Continued below at (2)).

*If you have 2.5 or 3 cups of the universal curry sauce base with optional spices ready, then simply toast a pinch of cumin seeds in a teaspoon of oil and toss in the green chili (optional), or if you’re in a hurry just heat up the curry base and toss in the paneer or tofu. Then:

(2) Add green peas and the yogurt into the gravy; continue stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes on low heat. Do not boil curry after adding yogurt or it will curdle. To thicken the gravy, dissolve cornstarch or flour in 3 Tbsp of cold water and add to the gravy. Add the garam masala and cilantro (and/or fenugreek leaves if available). Remember to salt to taste. Add a teaspoon of sugar if the gravy is too sour. Done! Can be frozen for several weeks; note that if you used tofu, it will turn spongy if frozen, which some people don’t like and others actually prefer.