Paneer Butter Masala - Restaurant Style Recipe


I can eat Paneer Butter Masala almost every day, but this saturday, our cravings were at a peak-time high as there was light rain outside. Everyone knows I just love Paneer Recipes, and this weekend I decided to make the eternal favorite Paneer Butter Masala, that velvetty-smooth gravy that has all the goodness of indian spices combined with cubes of cottage cheese and garnished with cream and coriander! Now do I have your attention??! Paneer Butter Masala is similar to other paneer gravies, except that as the name implies, it is more rich due to butter and the gravy is thickened by using onions, tomatoes and cashew paste rather than just cream. You cannot go wrong with this, try it for yourself and see!

Believe me, paneer is such a versatile ingredient in Indian cooking, you could make an entire meal using just this, right from appetizers to main course to dessert! Hey maybe they should choose paneer as the next secret ingredient for Iron Chef!:) Till then, try this mouth-watering recipe (adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's cookbook) at home and enjoy its taste as it lingers on your tongue and your senses!

Ingredients
3 big tomatoes - pureed
250 gms paneer - cubed
2 big onions
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
3 tbsps cashewnut paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp dhania powder (dry coriander powder)
1/2 tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
1 tsp tandoori masala (optional for color)
2 tsp garam masala powder
salt and lemon juice - to taste
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp fresh cream
fresh coriander - chopped for garnish

Method
Skin the onions and blanch them in hot water for 3 mins, then ouree them to form a paste. Do the same with tomaotes, unless you are using tomato puree directly.

Take 1 tbsp of ghee, heat in a pan for 2 mins, the saute the paneer cubes in it till golden brown; Now take 1 cup hot water, add a pinch of salt and turmeric powder to it and immerse the paneer cubes in it for 10-12 mins. Then remove the pieces, drain them on a tissue paper and keep aside.

Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a pan, add the bay leaf and the cloves, then add the onion paste and saute till light-brown. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 3 minutes. Add chilli powder, followed by the cashew paste and fry for 5 mins.

Add tomato puree, crushed kasuri methi,coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Stir and let it simmer for some time.

Add the paneer cubes and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add a small cup of water and let it cook on medium heat till you get the desired curry consistency. Remove from fire, stir in remaining butter and fresh cream.

Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve the Paneer Butter Masala with any bread of your choice, pulao or simply jeera rice.

More Paneer Recipes:
Savoury Muffins with Paneer and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Achari Paneer Tikka Wraps
Paneer and Ajwain Paratha
Shahi Paneer
Spicy Chilli Paneer


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75 comments :

jayasree said...

As your name, your dish looks very much like thats served in restaurant. Mouthwatering...

amna said...

my absolute favorite paneer dish :)

Madhavi said...

Hey Mansi..this dish looks really yummm :))

I tried chocolate cookie and it turned out YUMMY!!!!!!! thanxx for the recipe.

EC said...

Paneer butter masala is my favourite side dish for rotis and always order it at restaurants too although I make it frequently at home..Loved the color of your gravy

Namratha said...

Hehe, they really should make this the next secret ingredient...would love to see what they come up with. The paneer curry looks finger licking good Mansi!

Medhaa said...

Hi,
What a coincidence I was just posting paneer makhanwala. I love paneer in any form and this looks so yummy.
Thank you

Anonymous said...

This looks just like what they serve in restaurants! I tried your paneer paratha recipe, and the cranberry scones and both were just great! my family says THANKS to you mansi:)

pls keep posting more recipes and stuff! I will try this curry this week:)

-Sanjana

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

What a beautiful looking dish. It looks very rich and satisfying. I hope when I make this it comes out looking this beautiful.

I envy you the warm sunny weather. After a fairly mild winter, NY is just buried under rain and chill these days.

Lisa Turner said...

You most certainly did get my attention! What a fantastic dish. I could probably eat paneer everyday. If I didn't have dinner already planned for tonight, I'd make this!

Mansi said...

Alright folks, time to catch up on your comments!:) thanks for the wonderful feedback! glad so many paneer lovers like me:)

madhavi - extra thanks for trying out and approving my choco-chip cookie recipe:) hope your son liked them!

sanjana - I'm very happy you are enjoying the recipes on Fun and Food! it's always a great pleasure and achievement to know someone out there is really trying out your work!:) thanks for being a regular visitor:)

rachel - don't worry, you'll be blessed with some sun soon too:)

lisa - that's why they say "there's always a tomorrow:)" try it and let me know how it goes:)

Nanditha Prabhu said...

wow ! it does look yum!...i love it in restaurants . will give this recipe a try:)

Anonymous said...

Love it. The colour of the curry is looking great.

Uma said...

I wish I live nearby to you so that I can visit your home for such yummy dishes. Simply superb, Mansi!

test it comm said...

That looks really tasty. I have not been able to find paneer anywhere though. I guess I could try making some myself.

Unknown said...

you have great paneer recipes..will try them soon

Anonymous said...

Hi mansi,

Mouth watering dish....
why do u immerse paneer in water after frying, i do it the other way-soften cubes in water first then fry..please clarify.
Thanks,
Isha

Mansi said...

Hi Isha - here's my explanation:) by frying the paneer first, I get the texture and golden color, then when it absorbs water, it still doesn't lose the texture and remains crispy; vs if you'd dip them in water first and then fry, they would become very hard because of the sudden temp change rather than remain soft...hope this helps:)

The Peanut Butter Boy said...

This looks and sound delicious. I was excited at first because I thought it said Peanut Butter Masala! I had to look at the title at least 3 times to get it right. It even looks like it's made with peanut butter, I think it would be delicious that way too!

- The Peanut Butter Boy

kamala said...

my daughters favourite.will try ur way.

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

oh wow! the dish look rich, indeed... With all the cashew paste n cream and stuff, it sure wud hv tasted gr8!! :)

Richa said...

GRAVY NU COLOR BAU SARAS LAGEY CHE, MANSI!

Unknown said...

Mansi.Really tempting curry.Looks awesome.

Unknown said...

Paneer butter masala.....an all time favorite and the colour is awesome:)

musical said...

This one is a total crowd-pleaser :). An absolute favorite for parties and get togethers. YUMMY!

Poonam said...

Hi Manasi, This dish looks so rich!

Purnima said...

Mansi,I shall make this one-u hv missed out dhania pwdr measure-shall fwd u a photo once i make this dish!!tks for sharing!!!!:)

Kalai said...

Gorgeous, Mansi!! I wonder why I have a sudden urge to go out and buy some paneer now?! :)

Mansi said...

thanks again guys, and as, as a lot of you have requested the recipe for making paneer at home, I'm gonna try to post it soon!:)

till then, enjoy your time at Fun and Food! you guys rock!:)

Rosie said...

Paneer butter masala sounds and looks beautiful and great colour!!

Rosie x

Anonymous said...

that's a wonderful looking dish! sounds spicy and tasty, and something I'm surely gonna try!!:)

-Amber

Anonymous said...

It looks awesome. This is my favorite too.

Pragyan said...

This looks great..definitely got to try this!

Purnima said...

wowie Mansi, thks for sharing..just out making this, cdn't help eating a bowl full by itself!! its yum man!! who needs rotis when the dish itself is too good! (pls add dhania pwder proportion in ur ingr..i took 1 tsp..) tks for sharing !!!

Mansi said...

Thanks for trying this Purnima! and yes, I've updated the ingredient list to include dhania powder:) it's nice to know you guys enjoyed it!:)

eatme_delicious said...

Yum this looks and sounds really good!

Manju said...

mmm..love this...its an eternal favorite in my family!!:)

Kalai said...

Mansi, I just made this last night and it was divine!!! Thanks, girl! :)

Sonia said...

Hi Mansi,
Thanx a bunch 4 ur recipe. Today, I tried ur recipe of Paneer Butter Masala. it's just awesome and devine...!!! My hubby and me loved it...!
Thanks again.
Sonu:D

Mansi said...

my pleasure Sonu! thanks for trying it, and I'm really glad you guys liked it! this is a fav in my family too:)

Khushboo said...

Hi Mansi,
I have subscribed to your blog and would like to thank you for all these excellent recipes. I am going to try paneer butter masala tomorrow but I had a doubt. Can sour cream be used instead of the cream mentioned in your recipe ? I could not find the regular cream in the grocery store. I thought sour cream would be a better substitute than creamer. Let me know when you get a chance.

Thanks
Khushboo

Mansi said...

hi khushboo - thanks for your kind words! if you cannot find cream, I'd suggest to get heavy whipping cream, or whole milk, rather than sour cream...the latter would not give the curry as good a taste and consistency as whipping cream or milk...in fact, you can probably mix a little milk in regular yogurt then blend well to form a paste, as a last resort, but I'd prefer not to use sour cream....hope this helps!:)

Jigna Desai said...

Hi Mansi,

I tried last night and it came out wonderful. Even when i serve to one of my friends and she thought it's from restaurant. hahahha...

I would like THANKS to you by sharing this recipe.

Just wondering this dishes must be in high calories!!! how can we minimise that...

Thanks,

Mansi said...

Jigna - that's great! I love eharing feedback from my readers:)

as for calories, you can reduce the amount of cashewnut paste, and also use yogurt instead of fresh cream. soak the cashews and blend them with whole-milk instead, that will take away quite a few calories, but be prepared to have a little "less rich & creamy" curry:)

Anonymous said...

I've not tried this recipe, yet. Will be trying it tomorrow and let you know who it came out.

Kamala

Anonymous said...

Hi Mansi! I was looking for a paneer recipe & this one looks simply awesome! I have a request - Can you tell me how many servings will be made with the quantities mentioned above? i plan to make this for around 30 people & I am not sure how much of each ingredient I should use. Thanks in advance!

Mansi said...

hi there! the recipe here is good to serve 4 people, as long as they have normal appetite:)D

so if you increase the ratio by 7 times, I think it would be enough to serve 30 ppl....pls do let me know how it turns out!:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot for the prompt response! I have another question - where do I get fresh cream from? Is it the same as whipped cream? I could not find anything else in the grocery store. Yes, I will definitely let you know how it turns out! Thanks again! :-)

Mansi said...

yes, whipping cream will work fine!

Anonymous said...

I made this for 20 people and the recipe turned out to be awesome. The only question I have is when simmering the gravy it used to splatter a lot. I covered the container with the lid but is this expected.

Mansi said...

Cool, I'm very hapy this turned out great for you! and yes, the splattering is normal; it depends on how much water content is there in your milk:)...but generally, it should subside after you add whipping cream a that is fat, and should not splatter..but a little bit if normal, and covering it with a lid was a good idea:)

thanks for sharing your results with us! I'm really proud of this recipe now:)D

ETH said...

Hi,
The dish came out very well..But i always get this onion smell in the dish i cook..I got in this recipe too.What do i do ?Any tips?

Mansi said...

hi ETH - I used to face the smae problem before; but the trick is to blanch the onions, along with 1 bay leaf, a couple elaichi pods and boil them in hot water for about 5 mins, till they become soft. Then drain the water and puree the onions.

This way, the onion sauce will not have the raw-onion smell...hope this helps!

Unknown said...

hey, the panner butter masala was simply awesome and simple to cook. Since am just a beginner in cooking, am not sure what u mean by mix in fresh cream? what cream do you mean? i cooked this recipe except for the last statement, and it was great. thanks!

Mansi said...

hi there! I'm so glad this turned out great for you:) and don't worry about the "fresh cream" bit...I just love to use fresh "malai", that forms on top of whole milk whenever I can, but most of the times, I end up using whipping cream for my punjabi curries.

glad there's one more person who loves this eternal favorite!:)

Anonymous said...

Hi Mansi! Read the recipe yesterday n tried it today. I made a few changes to my convinience :). But it turned out great all the same. Hubby n kid loved it. So did i :) Thanks!

-N

Dibs said...

Hi after a long time! I tried PMB your style today. It has come out really well. I was lazy to make cashew paste - so I used almond meal which I had readily available. Wonder if anything will be left for dinner - I keep taking a spoon since its so delcious!

shreya said...

OMG! This recipe is aweosme. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!I can't thank you enough for posting this. I am a very beginner so it took me like 3 hours to make this, but it was totally worth it!! This is the best thing I've ever made!!!

THANKS AGAIN!

Brocade Blue said...

I tried this for Mother's Day with the Tomato and Capsicum Rice recipe and it worked well with each other. I love the paneer recipe. Everything was so balanced out. My parents loved it so much!

Anonymous said...

I didn't even have all of the ingredients, but it was delicious all the same!

Soumya said...

This is a delicious recipe. I always had a problem of too much onion taste in such dishes. I guess blanching the onions solves that problem. Thanks!

Unknown said...

nice recipe

Umm Abdarrahman said...

Hi The recipe was fantastic. I used tomato puree and some left over tomato juice of the tinned tomatoes in it. did not use any fresh tomatoes. Also , I felt that tandoori masala gives a lot more flavor apart from the color.

Anonymous said...

Hey thanks millions for sharing the recipe in such simpler words! I couldn't believe when I actually made..becase I am not so good at cooking!
My dish looks more or less like yours so lets see how does it taste. I will let you know again
Bye

Priyanka

Kay said...

I tried this. Turned out delicious. Thanks. :)

indrayani said...

Hey, thanks for the recipe !
It turned out yummy and its very easy

Keep posting more quic,delicious and easy recipes

chandu said...

Hi,

Great recipe.I used peanuts instead of cashews as I had no cashews at home and then used full fat milk instead of cream. Still it was really Yummy!! My hubby luvs Paneer Butter Masala and this was my first attempt to make it at home. Thank You for the recipe, it was pretty easy too.

Anonymous said...

Simply gr8

Unknown said...

hi...........
actually i have learnt this recipie from many others but i think this is the best method for this paneer butter masala
thank u very much
its really a restaurant look
thk u

Harshit said...

Hey Mansi...Just want to say thanks for this wonderful recipe..It turned out as amazing as it looks in your pic..:)..Your tips about onion n paneer in hot water are like my secret weapons now for better cooking..;)
Kudos to U!

Indian Cuisine Blogroll said...

Hi mansi,
It tried this paneer butter masala recipe and it came out really good (tastewise) except that the low fat paneer that I was using started breaking up :( thanks for sharing the recipe. I've put a picture in my blog
Deepa

Anonymous said...

Wow ... i tried this recipe for dinner with peas rice and wheat chapathi... it was mouthwatering dish. thanxs a lot..


Thulasikandy :)

Anonymous said...

i am just about to try this recipe .. got all the ingredients now .. hope it comes out well! will leave a msg later after hubby tries it!

Anonymous said...

I tried this dish... Is heavenly . Just the restaurant taste..

Deepikaharri said...

Hi I tried ur recepie and it came out really well...very tasty..thank you..


Thanks
Deepika

Hina said...

I have made this twice now for dinner parties and the comments I got were fabulous.My guests and me can't have enough of this dish.Top class receipe.Well done.
I will try some more from your collection