Start by soaking the cashews in boiling hot water for at least 30 minutes. The longer they soak, the smoother the paste will be once blended.
50 g cashew nuts
Optionally, fry off the tofu pieces in either an air fryer or frying pan, until golden brown.
560 g tofu
Add cashews to a blender along with the tomatoes, garlic and ginger. Set aside for a moment.
2 tomatoes, 6 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger
Melt the butter in a large pan, then add sliced onions until browned – this will take around 10 minutes. Optionally, remove some onions to use as a garnish.
2 tablespoon vegan butter, 1 large onion
Pop in the whole spices, that’s the cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon stick.
4 cardamom, 3 cloves, 2 bay leaf, Cinnamon stick
Sprinkle in turmeric, coriander and chilli powders. Stir well.
1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
Pour in the cashew paste from the blender. Stir well. It will thicken quite quickly, so best to keep it over a medium heat.
Loosen with the water, then sprinkle in the sugar.
300 ml water, 1 teaspoon sugar
Pop in the tofu then cover with a lid and simmer for 15 mins. Oil should start coming out of the edge of the sauce once it is nearly ready.
560 g tofu
Finish by adding in coconut cream, desiccated coconut, salt and garam masala. Stir well. Remove the whole spices. Feel free to add slightly more coconut cream or water to make the gravy looser, or don’t add any extra and serve with the thick and creamy sauce.
4 tablespoon coconut cream, ¾ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoon desiccated coconut, 1 teaspoon garam masala