About Paneer Butter Masala:
Paneer-based meals and curries are essential dishes to many vegetarians for their protein offerings. It can be added to rice, pizza, sandwich and even deep-fried snacks, but curries are very popular. Out of these paneer curries the paneer butter masala recipe also known as Paneer makhani is a popular choice for its mildly sweet and spicy taste with the goodness of fresh cream and butter topping with moist paneer.
I love simple recipes that takes fewer ingredients and fewer steps to follow. This restaurant style Paneer Butter Masala recipe is always a winner for its simplicity & amazing taste.
It's also known as Butter Paneer and is a rich & creamy curry made with paneer, onions, tomatoes, cashews and butter. As the name denotes, the curry is cooked in butter which imparts its buttery flavor to the dish. It is one of the most popular dishes in Indian restaurants similar to Kadai paneer, Matar Paneer, etc. Now let's begin.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
For Paneer Butter Masala:
• 1½-2 tbsp. Butter
• 1½ tsp ginger, garlic paste (equal proportion)
• ½ cup water or as required
• 250 gm Paneer
• 2 tbsp Coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp Kasoori Methi
• 3 tbsp Cream
For Gravy:
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 1 cup Onions cubed
• 1½ cups tomatoes finely chopped
• 2 Green cardamoms
• 14-16 Cashew nuts
• ¾ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
• ¾ tsp Garam masala powder
• ¾ tsp salt or as required
• 1 cup water to blend
Whole spices: (optional/skip if you don't have)
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 Green cardamom
• ½ Inch cinnamon piece
• 3 Cloves
How To Make Paneer Butter Masala:
You'll have to do some little preparation work before you begin making the delicious recipe. It starts with soaking the cashews, making tomato puree and blending cashews.
Preparation:
Soak 14-16 cashews in ½ cup hot water for 15-20 minutes.
Now we can prepare the other ingredients. Now chop the tomatoes and onion finely, and slice the paneer into cubes. Keep aside.
Prepare the gravy:
1. Pour 1 tbsp. Oil to a hot pan. add 2 green cardamoms and chopped onions. Sauté them on a medium flame till they turn transparent. This only takes 4 minutes.
2. Next add chopped tomatoes and ¾ salt or adjust as required. Again sauté for 2-3 minutes. Cover the lid and cook till mushy.
3. When the tomatoes and onions are completely cooked add 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder, 1 tsp coriander powder ¾ tsp sugar (optional)
4. Sauté the onion tomato masala on a low heat for 2-4 minutes well. It should begin to smell nice. Turn off the stove.
5. Now cool this mixture completely and then add it to a blender along with those cashews we've soaked. Pour 1 cup water and blend this mixture to a smooth puree. Keep aside.
Make Paneer Butter Masala:
1. Now heat a pan on a low flame add 1½-2 tbsp. butter. When it melts, add 2 green cardamoms 1 bay leaf 1/2-inch cinnamon and 3 cloves. Adding these whole spices here is optional, you may skip if you don't have these spices.
2. When it begin to sizzle, add 1½ tsp ginger garlic paste and sauté it for a minute till the raw smell goes away. Do not burn the paste.
3. Next pour onion tomato puree and for deeper color I added 1tsp of red chili powder, you may skip red chili powder. Make sure the stove is in a low flame otherwise the curry will begin to splatter.
4. Now pour ½ cup water and mix well to bring it to a thick consistency. If it is too thick you can add a little more water.
5. Next cover and cook on a medium flame until the gravy turns thick and flavorful.
6. When the gravy is ready, you will know by the nice smell and you'll see some traces of fats over gravy. Cook until the gravy thickens without lid. Taste test and add more salt if required.
7. Now add the sliced Paneer. Take 1 tsp kasoori methi and crush it with your palms then add it to the butter masala. stir it well make sure the paneer don't crumble.
8. On a low flame cook it covered for 2-4 minutes. Keep in mind that cooking for longer can make the paneer harder. Add 2-3 tbsp. cream and stir.
9. Our Paneer Butter Masala is ready transfer it to a bowl. Garnish with 1 tbs cream and 1 tbs finely chopped coriander. Serve it with butter naan, rice or roti. I'm sure you'll love this recipe.
Pro Tips:
• Be sure that your tomatoes & onions are pureed well. If you want, you can also strain the puree.
• The puree has to be cooked really well. if the tomato-onion puree is not sautéed well, the raw flavor of tomato onion and will be felt in the dish.
• If the gravy tastes tangy or sour, then balance it out with a bit of sugar.
• You can fry the paneer cubes if you want and add it to the prepared gravy.
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