- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1/4 pound paneer, cubed
- 1 cup reduced-fat plain yogurt, at room temperature
- salt to taste
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add cumin seeds and stir until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Cook and stir garlic and ginger in hot oil until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in onion and cook until nearly caramelized, about 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir tomatoes, tomato paste, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and garam masala into onion mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook until tomatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Pour tomato mixture into a blender no more than half full. Cover and hold lid down; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Puree in batches until smooth and transfer to a saucepan. Add cloves, sugar, bay leaves, and cardamom.
- Bring spiced tomato sauce to a simmer over medium heat; add paneer cubes. Simmer until paneer is heated through, about 10 minutes.
- Beat yogurt until very smooth; stir into paneer and tomato sauce. Simmer until hot, about 10 minutes more. Season with salt.