Veg Peshawari Curry (Restaurant Mix Veg Gravy)
Mixed vegetables in a restaurant-style cashew onion gravy with yogurt, cream, and kasuri methi. Vegetables fried separately so they stay crisp-tender.
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai Indian wok
- Blender
Ingredients
For the vegetables
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 200 g cauliflower cut into small florets (about 2 cups)
- 1 medium carrot cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1/2 cup green peas fresh or frozen
- 1/2 red bell pepper cut into 3/4-inch squares
- 1/2 green bell pepper cut into 3/4-inch squares
- 100 g paneer cut into 3/4-inch cubes, optional
- pinch salt for the vegetables
For the cashew-onion paste
- 15 cashews about 1/4 cup
- 1/4 cup hot water for soaking
- 2 medium onions sliced
- 1 tablespoon oil or ghee for frying the onions
For the gravy
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 cup tomato puree about 2 small tomatoes, blended
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt whisked until smooth
- 1/2-3/4 cup warm water as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons fresh cream
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- lime wedge to finish
To garnish
- 1 tablespoon almond slivers or fried cashews
- 1 tablespoon cream
- fresh cilantro chopped, optional
Instructions
Soak and blend
- Soak the cashews in 1/4 cup hot water for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil or ghee in the pan. Add sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Fry 8 to 10 minutes until pink-brown and soft, not burnt. Cool for 5 minutes.
- Blend the soaked cashews with their soaking water until completely smooth. Scoop into a bowl.
- Blend the fried onions with a splash of water until smooth.
Fry the vegetables
- Wipe the pan if needed. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat.
- Add cauliflower and carrot. Fry 4 minutes, stirring, until the cauliflower picks up gold at the edges.
- Add bell peppers and peas. Fry 2 to 3 minutes more. The peppers should still be bright. Salt lightly. Transfer to a plate.
- If using paneer, fry the cubes in the same pan 1 to 2 minutes a side until lightly gold. Set aside with the vegetables.
Build the gravy
- Lower the heat to medium. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Let the cumin sizzle 30 seconds.
- Add ginger-garlic paste. Cook 1 minute until the raw smell goes.
- Add the onion paste. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until it thickens and smells sweet.
- Add tomato puree, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt. Cook 5 to 6 minutes until the masala darkens and oil collects at the edges.
- Stir in the cashew paste. It will seize and look pasty within a minute. Add 1/2 cup warm water and stir until it loosens into a gravy that coats a spoon. Add more water if it still sits in a lump.
- Lower the heat. Stir in whisked yogurt a spoon at a time so it does not split. Simmer 2 minutes.
- Add sugar. Taste. The gravy should be nutty and mildly sweet, not sugary.
Finish
- Fold in the fried vegetables and paneer. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes only, just to warm through. The cauliflower should still have a bite.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in cream, crushed kasuri methi, and garam masala.
- Finish with a squeeze of lime. Garnish with almond slivers and a little more cream. Serve hot.
Notes
Soak cashews in hot water 15 minutes. Cold water leaves grit in the gravy.
Whisk yogurt until smooth and add it off a hard boil. If it looks grainy, the pan was too hot.
Frozen peas can go in straight from the freezer with the peppers.
Skip paneer if you want a fully vegetable curry. The gravy is already rich.
Vegan: skip paneer or use firm tofu, fried. Use oil instead of butter. Swap yogurt and cream for thick cashew cream (blend 1/4 cup extra soaked cashews with 1/4 cup water).
Jain: skip onion and garlic. Bloom a pinch of hing with the cumin, and add 1 extra tablespoon cashew paste plus 2 extra tablespoons tomato puree.
White gravy version: skip the tomato. Keep onion paste, cashew, yogurt, and cream. The curry will look paler, closer to shahi.
Store gravy and vegetables together in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. For the best texture, refrigerate the gravy alone and fry a fresh batch of vegetables when you reheat.
Freeze the gravy without vegetables for up to 1 month. Thaw, loosen with water, and add freshly fried veg.
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