Kaju Masala / Khoya Kaju
Creamy Subji made with cashews in onion-tomato sauce. Cashews roasted in ghee or butter are cooked with a sauce of onion, tomatoes, garlic and some spices to flavor. Perfect with parathas or naan.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
Cashew nuts
- 2 tbsp ghee or oil, divided
- 1 cup Cashew nuts
Sauce
- 1-2 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 1 inch piece ginger grated
- 1 green chili finely chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves grated
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 tsp fennel seeds optional
- 1/4 cup Cashewnuts soaked in water and blended into paste
Dry spices
- 1-2 tsp red chili powder depends on how spicy you want
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander-cumin powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- salt to taste
- ½ tsp sugar optional
- 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- Cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- In a pan, add 1 tbsp oil or ghee on medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the cashews and toast them until they have nice golden color to them. It will only take few minutes. Keep stirring. Once done, remove them.
- In same pan, add 1 tbsp oil, add cumin seeds, once cumin seeds splutter immediately add bay leaf and cinnamon bark. Add grated ginger, garlic, chili, and saute it. Add chopped onions, let them cook down and then add tomatoes. Cook them until they soften up, add dry spices and salt. Add coarsely crushed fennel seeds too.
- Add blended cashew nut paste. Add ½ cup water too if you want to thin out the sauce. If you like the consistency you see, its okay if you do not add water.
- Let it simmer for 5 mins. Add kasuri methi by roughly crushing into your palms to break down the leaves a little bit. Also add cardamom powder and sugar if you like. Reserve some roasted cashews for garnish if you like and add rest of the roasted cashew nuts in to the sauce that we left aside. Stir and its ready.
- Garnish it with fresh chopped cilantro and serve it over bed of jeera rice or with parathas.
Notes
- If you like smoother sauce, then blend the onion tomato mixture along with cashewnut paste and it will give you a smooth sauce.
- When I blend cashew nut separately, I reserve some of it to drizzle when I am serving the dish. (in pictures)
- You can skip whole spices if you like. If you add them, remove them just before serving so no one eats it by mistake. They are edible but no one likes to eat them.
- Spice level can be adjusted.
- Consistency of the sauce can also be adjusted to personal preference.
- If you like you can 1/3 cup mawa or khoya too.