PANEER BUTTER MASALA Ingredients 2 generous cups Paneer cubes 1 large Onion,chopped coarsely 3 tbsp Butter 1/2 - 3/4 cups Tomato Puree - see Tips 2-3 Green Chillies, as per taste - see Tips 3-4 cloves Garlic 2 inch Ginger, peeled and chopped 1 tsp Turmeric powder 1 tsp Cumin-Coriander powder 1 tsp Tandoori Masala 1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder 1 tsp Sugar 1/4 cup Cashew paste see Tips. 8-9 raisins - see Tips 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (as needed for consistency) Salt to taste Mint and cilantro to garnish - see Tips Tips 1. Tomato Puree: Homemade Puree is recommended. But if using store bought, opt for low sodium variety. If thats not available then use only about 1/2 cup of the puree and carefully add salt only if required. Otherwise it results in a tangy taste thus spoiling the dish. 2. Green Chilli: You can instead use cayenne/red chilli powder. Sometimes when I dont have green chillies on hand I use dried red chillies like in this dish. Doesnt hurt the taste. 3. Cashew Paste and Raisins: Use them if making Shahi Paneer. Soak few cashew pieces in boiling water and grind into paste. You can saute the raisins in ghee and then add it to the gravy. Or just grind them along with the nuts. They provide subtle sweetness enhancing flavor. You can skip adding the sugar in that case or add only if necessary. 4. Mint: I personally find that Mint goes very well with rich dishes providing a fresh mouthfeel and also reducing the rich after taste. A combination of the herbs is my personal favorite where it helps to mellow down the richness. METHOD Here is another tip which you might find useful. When buying store bought Paneer, I mostly place them in a bowl filled with boiling water for 10-15 minutes. 2 It helps to make it soft and also get rid of any impurities, if any. Drain it the water from the paneer and set aside. 3 In a skillet in 1/2 tsp oil, add the onion, chillies, garlic and ginger with a little salt. Saute until soft. 4 Transfer this mixture to the blender and blend it into a paste. 5 In the same skillet, add 3 tbsp of butter and then add the onion paste. Cook until butter/oil separates. If using cashew Paste add it along with this mixture now. or you can soak the cashew pieces in hot water and grind it along with the onion mixture. 6 Add the tomato puree and all the spices. Stir well and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the raw smell of the puree disappears. Add sugar and cook for another 5 minutes. You can at this point taste and see if you require additional salt. If yes, add more. 7 Drop in the paneer gently and give it a toss. Cook for another 2-3 minutes for the paneer to absorb the flavors. 8 Lower the heat to a simmer. Then add the heavy cream. Mix well. 9 If you want to use raisins, fry them lightly in ghee/butter separately and add it to this gravy. You can set some aside for garnish. I dont like sweet things in savory dishes and hence dont use them. Be careful to cook this in simmer before adding cream. Otherwise the heat will give it a curdle appearance! Nandini Katie Apeksha Mukta Deepa Samiksha S Vanita Shreya Image Swaroop Shazia Bina Image Smitha Suramya Image Finla Gajra Image Radhika Image Sunita Image Sreelakshmi Image Vineeta Please click below to share your experiences while you were making this recipe. Thanks for your input! « Older Comments Radhika Vasanth May 12th, 2014 on 10:46 am mast hai Radhika Vasanth May 12th, 2014 on 10:28 am hi its good recipe. thanks for tips Shifa Lodhiya March 29th, 2014 on 12:48 am Super awesome and easy….. have just cooked it! To be served in lunch! Cannot wait…. Thank you so much for the lovely recipe Ami March 25th, 2014 on 7:43 pm This recipe has earned me so many compliments, I thought I have to share the credit with you. Thank you so much for this reciple..friends, family and office colleagues have all loved it equally Jas February 28th, 2014 on 2:39 am Amazing recipe have made it many times and is loved by the fam. Is it possible to substitute the paneer for chicken to make this a non veg dish? Vee February 10th, 2014 on 1:23 pm This is a really good recipe, the only thing it’s missing for me is fenugreek, but hum, good one Madhavi February 9th, 2014 on 3:25 am Best Recipe for Paneer Makhani… Really Restaurant standard…!! Neha February 5th, 2014 on 3:57 am Thank you so much for this recipe! To be honest, I usually don’t login in websites and give comments but I couldn’t resist this time! My family loved it! Wonderful recipe! Thank you for making this cook extremely happy I am glad your family enjoyed it –DK sakshi February 4th, 2014 on 4:53 pm I am going to make it today.please let me know where can i find heavy cream and tandoori masala. Thanks… Alex January 31st, 2014 on 7:22 pm This came out absolutely AMAZING!!! the whole family who usually turns their nose up to curries LOVED it! its rich not too spicy, I took another persons advice and added Kasuri Methi, I also added Cayenne, only 1 tea of salt, omitted the sugar, used Cashew butter, and barely a tiny pinch of Garam Masala! thanks so much for this recipe!!! Nagadeepa mahesh November 7th, 2013 on 6:02 pm Thanx a lot!!!! Good instructions & pics .This reciepe beats the restaurant & tastes too good!!!!! Patsy May 19th, 2013 on 10:53 am This dish is wonderful! Thank you for sharing it!! CJ April 25th, 2013 on 1:36 pm Thank you so much for this recipe! I just got back from my first trip to India this past Saturday and the paneer dishes were my favorites. I liked them so much I decided to give them a try at home and this is the first one I’m trying. BTW – it goes GREAT with the Atkins style diet (I’m just substituting the sugar)! I’m also trying my hand at homemade paneer – mainly because I live in an area where they would have no idea what I was talking about if I asked them if they had it in stock. Yes, I had to also purchase the seasonings online because they certainly don’t sell masala in my stores. saviona March 25th, 2013 on 9:36 pm fab recipe!!! extremely easy to follow n you get an amazin dish in no time.. elisabeth March 15th, 2013 on 12:49 pm I’m usually not the type to comment but this was just so good I had to say something! Tastes just as good as in restaurants–the first time I made this I loved it so much I made it again the next night. It’s also delicious with tofu. MANJU March 2nd, 2013 on 10:36 am superb dish.I tried it tastes good……… Mandy February 26th, 2013 on 8:29 am hi, thanks a tonne for the recipe. I made it with slight changes.. Added 1 bay leaf, 4-5 cloves, 4-5 black pepper corns and one black cardamom instead of readymade masala. Even though I didn’t add any cream whatsoever, it tasted really yummy. Best compliment came from husband that it tasted better than any place he had ever had the same dish including any 5 star hotels… Shanthi February 13th, 2013 on 10:08 am You are right..Shahi paneer..paneer butter masala..paneer makhani..all look the same, taste almost same..have similar recipes.. Your recipe looks good..would try it..Thanks sneh January 21st, 2013 on 4:23 am can u give the recepie of tandoori masala please roopa December 31st, 2012 on 7:19 pm Hi dhivya, I cudnt join thru my android phone, to become a member of chef in you, hence couldn’t click on the I made this recipe thing. I made it and it tastes heavenly as this is the first time I was using cashew paste in any of my dishes though I have heard it’s awesome. Thank you for the step by step pics, and paneer soaking tip. I modified a little bit by adding kasuri methi and using pizza sauce (ran out of tomatoes), and dry red chilli, and omitting tandoori powder (didn’t have it handy) and using whole milk instead of cream…..I am now gonna use this base for not just paneer, thanks to you ! Abhishek December 15th, 2012 on 2:16 am Great and yummy dish…. cooked with the instructions and almost was of the same taste as in restaurants. Thanks for the recipe. rmn December 13th, 2012 on 9:40 pm hi! can you please tell how to make the purée at home? « Older Comments Name * Mail (not displayed) * Paneer Makhani (Paneer Butter Masala) From my research and taste testing around in many restaurants, I feel that Paneer Makhani , Paneer Butter Masala and Shahi Paneer taste more or less the same. The difference is in the prominence of spices added by different chefs. Call it whatever you please at the end of the day it is still a very rich creamy Indian side dish made with succulent paneer. Paneer Butter Masala is pretty self explanatory - Masala denotes spices, cooked with butter and Paneer (Indian cheese). Paneer Makhani - where Makhani means cream and in cooking, generally denotes any rich gravy made with onions (optionally), tomatoes, butter and cream . And Shahi Paneer - where Shahi denotes Royalty, something fit for kings! And can there be anything less than cream, butter and rich nuts which can be served for a king? At the end of the day all these sound the same to me, with if-you-blink-you- might-miss differences. Though variations abound where spices are thrown in as per fancy and preference of the cook, but with such ingredients can it be any less delicious? After a lot of trials, this is the recipe I follow to make this dish. Along the way, I have learnt few trips and tricks which might help you too, the way it did for me. Basic Information : Under 15 min : Under 30 min : 4 people Ingredients 2 generous cups Paneer cubes 1 large Onion,chopped coarsely 3 tbsp Butter 1/2 - 3/4 cups Tomato Puree - see Tips 2-3 Green Chillies, as per taste - see Tips 3-4 cloves Garlic 2 inch Ginger, peeled and chopped 1 tsp Turmeric powder 1 tsp Cumin-Coriander powder 1 tsp Tandoori Masala 1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder 1 tsp Sugar 1/4 cup Cashew paste see Tips. 8-9 raisins - see Tips 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (as needed for consistency) Salt to taste Mint and cilantro to garnish - see Tips Tips 1. Tomato Puree: Homemade Puree is recommended. But if using store bought, opt for low sodium variety. If thats not available then use only about 1/2 cup of the puree and carefully add salt only if required. Otherwise it results in a tangy taste thus spoiling the dish. 2. Green Chilli: You can instead use cayenne/red chilli powder. Sometimes when I dont have green chillies on hand I use dried red chillies like in this dish. Doesnt hurt the taste. 3. Cashew Paste and Raisins: Use them if making Shahi Paneer. Soak few cashew pieces in boiling water and grind into paste. You can saute the raisins in ghee and then add it to the gravy. Or just grind them along with the nuts. They provide subtle sweetness enhancing flavor. You can skip adding the sugar in that case or add only if necessary. 4. Mint: I personally find that Mint goes very well with rich dishes providing a fresh mouthfeel and also reducing the rich after taste. A combination of the herbs is my personal favorite where it helps to mellow down the richness. Method You can garnish it with mint and cilantro if desired.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 18:30:11 +0000
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