Kaju Butter Masala

Kaju Butter Masala is the kind of dish that is usually made as a side dish but mostly ends up being the star of the show. If you adore cashews, you will fall in love with this regally rich and royally elegant curry.

Butter Masala dishes such as the popular Chicken Butter Masala and Paneer Butter Masala are steadily gaining popularity in Pakistani home and restaurant cooking and rightly so – the rich gravy flavoured with Mughlai style spices truly makes these dishes fit for royalty.

I personally feel that Kaju Butter Masala is the most outstanding variation of the Butter Masala genre and makes a particularly fabulous dish when entertaining desi style. Amazing entirely on it’s own as a main, Kaju Butter Masala makes an impressive vegetarian entrée if you are serving a desi menu and looking for veg option ideas.

My family is so crazy about cashews that sometimes we have to hide any cashews in the house from ourselves (if that makes any sense) as we can polish off an alarmingly copious amount of those utterly delish nuts in record time. So if like us, you too adore cashews, then Kaju Butter Masala is the perfect curry for you.

Some people prefer a thicker Kaju Butter Masala gravy while those like me prefer a slightly looser gravy to mop up with with garlic naan or lachay daar paratha. So feel free to keep the gravy as thick or thin as you like.

I follow the recipe by Veg Recipes of India to make Kaju Butter Masala with barely any tweaks. This is the place I turn to for the most outstanding desi vegetarian recipes and you can find the original Kaju Butter Masala recipe by the wonderful Dassana Amit  here.

Serve Kaju Butter Masala as part of an elaborate desi meal or simply by itself accompanied by hot parathay, roti or naan.

 

Kaju Butter Masala

Recipe Type: Main    Author: Alice In Eatland

Prep Time: 20 Minutes    Cook Time: 30 Minutes    Total Time: 50 Minutes    Serves: 2 – 4

 

A sublime cashew curry, gloriously creamy and spectacularly seasoned! This Kaju Butter Masala is surprisingly simple to make and insanely delicious to eat!

 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tbsps butter
• 4 large tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced, grated or microplaned
• 1.5 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated or microplaned
• 20 roasted cashews, powdered in food processor or coffee grinder
• 2 medium green chillies
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri / degi chilli powder or red chilli powder
• 1 tsp Kasuri methi / dry fenugreek leaves
• Salt
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsps cream
• 1/2 – 1 cup roasted cashews
• Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

 

METHOD

1. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and saute the cashews until they begin to change colour, being careful not to burn them. Remove sauteed cashews from pan and set aside.
2. Heat another tablespoon of butter in the same pan and add the bay leaf. Saute around 10 seconds.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, stir and add 1/2 a cup of water. Cover and simmer until the tomatoes are soft and mash easily when pressed with the back of a cooking spoon.
4. Remove tomato mixture from heat and cool to room temperature. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
5. Process or blend the cooled tomato mixture until smooth.
6. Heat the remaining butter over medium heat in the same pan and add the garlic and ginger.
7. Stir for 10 -15 seconds and add powdered cashews. Stir until the mixture smells nutty and begins to colour slightly. Be careful not to over brown or burn.
8. Stir in the pureed tomatoes, Kashmiri/degi chilli powder or red chilli powder.
9.  Then add the water and green chillies. Cover and simmer the gravy, stirring occasionally until it is as thick as you prefer.
10. Season with salt and add garama masala.
11. Crush the Kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves between your palms and add to the gravy.
12. Finally stir in the cream until combined and remove from heat.
13. Stir in most of the sauteed cashews, reserving a few to garnish.
14. Top with with fresh coriander leaves and reserved cashews.