Kaju curry is a restaurant style delicious recipe of a creamy kaju butter masala with a rich, tangy, sweet flavorful gravy made with cashews, tomatoes, cream and spices
First heat 1 tablespoon butter or oil in a pan. Make sure that the butter does not brown. So melt the butter on a low heat.
Then add 1 cup cashews (120 grams).
Stir and saute the cashews till they become golden on low to medium heat. Remove them in a plate and keep aside.
Preparation for kaju curry
In the same pan, add 1 tej patta and saute for a few seconds.
Then add roughly chopped tomatoes and ½ cup water. About 4 medium or 3 large tomatoes. Stir well and simmer the mixture till the tomatoes soften.
When the tomatoes are simmering, take 18 to 20 cashews in grinder or blender and powder very fine. If fat is released while grinding or blending the cashews, then its alright.
Remove and keep the ground cashews aside.
Meanwhile, the tomatoes have softened. Switch off the heat and allow the tomatoes to become warm or cool down completely.
Discard the tej patta and add the tomatoes in the same grinder or blender jar in which we ground the cashews.
Blend the tomatoes to a smooth puree. Keep aside.
Making kaju curry
In the same pan in which we sauteed the cashews and cooked the tomatoes, melt 2 tablespoons of butter on low heat.
Add ginger-garlic paste. Stir and saute for some seconds or till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
Add the cashew powder. Stir and mix very well.
On a low heat, keep on stirring the cashew powder, so that it cooks uniformly.
Stir till the color of the cashew powder changes to a pale light golden and you get a nice aroma.
Then add the tomato puree. Stir and mix very well.
Saute the tomato puree for about 4 minutes on a low to medium heat.
Then add kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch. Stir very well.
Then add ⅔ to ¾ cup water or as required. Stir and mix again.
Add 1 to 2 slit green chilies.
Simmer the curry for 3 to 4 minutes on a low to medium heat.
Then add the sautéed golden cashews. Stir to combine.
Season with salt as required. Simmer the curry for a further 2 minutes.
Lastly add garam masala powder, light cream and crushed kasuri methi.
Stir again till the entire cream is mixed well with the kaju curry. Switch off the heat.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve kaju masala curry with tandoori roti, naan, chapati. You can also serve it with jeera rice or veg pulao.
Notes
Use tomatoes that are ripe and sweet. Avoid making this dish with tangy or sour tomatoes. You can also use canned tomatoes to make this dish.
If in case the gravy taste very sour then add some more sugar or you can add some more cream to balance the tanginess.
Cashews should be in their shelf period. Make sure they are not rancid as this will spoil the dish. Use best quality cashews as they are one of the main ingredients in this recipe.
You can add more or less water to get the consistency you prefer.
If you don't dry fenugreek leaves then skip adding it.
For a spicier taster you can increase the amount of green chilies or add a bit more of the Kashmiri red chili powder.