Butter Paneer (Indian cottage cheese in tomato gravy)

This is one recipe which cannot go wrong and that's the reason why it is one of my favourites for feasts. Its really simple and doesn't take long to prepare. I love the silky texture and the sweet n sour taste of the gravy. But I must say its not the ideal recipe for calorie conscious people. Not very good to have on a regular basis but treating yourselves once in a while is OK.  So we'll move on to the list of ingredients. 

Ingredients:

Puree of 3-4 ripe tomatoes

200 grams paneer cut into 1 1/2" cubes or triangles

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp red chili  powder

1 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1" piece of cinnamon

7-8 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 green cardamom

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan, add butter. After the butter melts add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger garlic paste. Cook for a minute. Then add tomato puree and red chili powder and cook till the oil separates. Now add sugar, salt and paneer and mix well (if the gravy is too thick in consistency add a little water). Cover and cook for a couple of minutes on low heat. In the end add cream, mix and remove from heat.Serve with hot rotis/naan.

To make the recipe less calorific, the amount of butter may be reduced. Low fat cream may be used instead of heavy cream.

Dried fenugreek leaves may be added for enhanced taste. 

Ensure that the tomatoes are ripe or else the gravy will be too sour.