Do you have ramekins? I might divide the batter and cut down the cooking time for individual servings.

try baked tofu. it's chewier so although it doesn't look white, it holds up better to the sauce/gravy and also is (or feels like) more neutral in taste as compared to the regular tofu. i often saute my paneer anyway before adding sauce, since it holds together well, the baked tofu sort of fakes it out.

I tried again with 1.5oz vodka - it worked. I guess it also depends on how narrow your bottle is.

25 pods of cardamom, 1.5 oz vodka, in a bottle for 2 weeks. Excellent cardamom extract.. use for everything - halwa, shrikhand (an amazing Indian yogurt-based dessert) and EVEN in tea. Takes the trouble out of peeling, crushing the pods and seeing the little specks that don't look pretty in some desserts.