Chickpea Paneer Curry (Chole Paneer Curry in Almond Masala Gravy)

A simple creamy curry with almonds, onions and tomatoes which is the perfect base for the paneer and chickpeas. The chickpeas are soft and the sauce has a great hit to it that is offset by the almonds. Serve with piping hot chapati or rice.

Ingredients
2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
10-12 whole almonds
2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
100ml water
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
450g paneer, cut into pieces
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight, or 2 400g tins
Handful fresh coriander

Method
– Add oil to a hot pan and add the cumin and mustard seeds and the onion and cook for 6-7 minutes until it starts to colour.

– While cooking, add the almonds, ginger and garlic.

– Then add the tomatoes and mix through, add the water, cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

– Once softened up, allow to cool for 5 minutes then blitz to a puree.

– In the same pan, add the butter and once melted all the puree paste. Add water to the blending jar to make sure you get all of it out and don’t waste any!

– Add the ketchup to add some sweetness to balance all the flavours, mix it all up and cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.

– Add the spices and stir through. Then add the paneer and chickpeas with its liquid and mix through.

– Cover and cook for 30-35 minutes and then turn off the heat and leave to sit.

– Meanwhile, cook some chapatis (recipe here) in a separate pan and then butter them.

– Scatter the coriander over and mix in.

Serve with the chapatis.