PANEER BUTTER MASALA RECIPE | HOW TO MAKE PANEER BUTTER MASALA
INGREDIENTS 1 CUP = (240ML ) Ingredients for gravy or sauce 1 tablespoon Oil 2 green cardamoms or elaichi 1 cup onions cubed, 3 medium (optional) 1½ cups tomatoes finely chopped (3 large) ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste) ¾ teaspoon sugar (optional) 12 cashew nuts ½ to ¾ teaspoon red chilli powder Kashmiri (adjust for best color) ¾ to 1 teaspoon GARAM MASALA powder 1 teaspoon coriander powder (or daniya powder) (optional)
whole spices (skip if you don't have) 1 small bay leaf (or tej patta) 1 inch cinnamon piece (or dalchini) (optional) 2 green cardamom (or elaichi) (optional) 2 to 3 cloves (or laung) (optional) For paneer butter masala 1½ tablespoon Butter 1½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste or fine chopped (or ½ to ¾ inch ginger, 2 to 3 medium garlic cloves) ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder (optional, for color) 200 to 250 grams PANEER (2 heaped cups) ½ to ¾ teaspoon kasuri methi (or dried fenugreek leaves) 3 tablespoon cream (or 6 to 8 cashews more) 2 tablespoon coriander leaves (or cilantro finely chopped) (for garnish)
HOW TO MAKE THE RECIPE
Preparation for paneer butter masala Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add 2 green cardamoms. Then add 1 cup cubed onions & fry stirring often until transparent or pink. Next add 1½ cup tomatoes & ¼ tsp salt. Fry for 3 minutes. Cook covered till the onion tomato mixture turns soft & mushy. Next add in ¾ to 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp coriander powder, 12 cashew nuts, ½ to ¾ tsp red chili powder & ¾ tsp sugar (optional). Fry this till the onion tomato masala leaves the sides of the pan & the masala turns aromatic. Turn off the stove & cool this completely. Transfer to a blender with 1 cup water and puree to a really smooth mixture. Set this aside. How to make paneer butter masala Heat 1½ tbsp butter in the same pan.
Fry 1 inch cinnamon, 2 to 3 cloves, 2 green cardamoms & 1 small bay leaf for 1 to 2 minutes. On a low flame saute 1½ tsp ginger garlic paste till the raw smell goes away. Do not burn this as it will leave a bitter taste. Pour the blended onion tomato puree, then add ¼ tsp red chili powder (optional to adjust the color). Mix well. If the onion tomato puree is not smooth, then filter it through a colander. If needed pour ¼ to ½ cup of water good enough to make the paneer butter masala gravy. Cover & cook until the gravy thickens & traces of butter or oil is seen on top. Let the gravy reach the desired consistency. Lower the flame completely, then add 200 to 250 grams paneer & ½ tsp crushed kasuri methi. Mix & cook covered on a low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour 2 tbsps cream & mix. Transfer paneer butter masala to a serving bowl. Garnish with 1 tbsp cream & 2 tbsps coriander leaves.
NUTRITION (estimation only) Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 274mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1025IU | Vitamin C: 17.6mg | Calcium: 349mg | Iron: 1.2mg
Preparation I get queries from readers on how to keep the paneer soft in paneer butter masala so sharing the tip but I usually do not follow the step 1. 1.If using store bought paneer, then heat 1½ to 2 cups water in a small pot. Then add the paneer cubes to it. Allow to rest for about 15 to 20 mins. Then drain the water and set aside. This will soften the paneer. Frying onions & tomatoes 2. You can either blanch the onions and tomatoes or will have to saute them. Sometimes onion paste lends a bitter taste. So blanching or sauteing is very much needed. I go ahead sauteing as it gives a nice flavor.
Add 1½ tsp oil to a hot pan. Add 2 green cardamoms. Saute 1 cup cubed onions on a medium flame until they turn lightly pink in color. This takes just 3 to 4 minutes. frying onions till pink for paneer butter masala
3. Transfer 1½ cups finely chopped tomatoes and sprinkle some salt. Again fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Then cover and cook till mushy. adding tomatoes salt to make paneer butter masala
4. Add ½ to ¾ tsp red chili powder, ¾ to 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp coriander powder (optional), 10 to 12 cashews and sugar if using. adding spice powders to make paneer butter masala
5. Fry till the onion tomato mixture begins to leave the sides of the pan. You will begin to get a nice aroma of the mix. Turn off the stove. adding spice powders to make paneer butter masala
6. Cool it completely and add it to a blender along with 1 cup of water. Blend the tomato cashews mixture to smooth puree. To speed up the process, I added ice cold water to the jar first and then transferred the mix. adding onion tomato masala to blender for paneer butter masala
7. Blend to a very smooth & silky paste, adding little more water if needed. blended spicy onion tomato puree for paneer butter masala
How to make paneer butter masala 8. Heat the pan on a low flame with 1 ½ tbsp butter. 9. Add 2 cardamoms, 1 bay leaf, 1 small cinnamon piece and 3 cloves. You can also skip the spices but they add a good aroma. Fry till they are lightly roasted just for a minute.
sauteing spices in butter to make paneer butter masala 10. Add 1½ tsp ginger garlic paste (or very finely chopped). Saute until the raw smell goes off. If the raw smell of ginger garlic doesn’t go away or it gets burnt the entire dish will spoil. So take care to fry this on a low to medium flame until the raw smell goes off.
frying ginger garlic paste to make paneer butter masala 11. Next add the pureed onion tomato mix, little more red chili powder. You can skip the chili powder since it is used only for color. If you are not using onion in this recipe, then also you can skip using red chili powder now. If the mixture is not very smooth and silky, I suggest using a filter or colander to strain the mixture. Pass the cashew tomato puree through a colander or sieve. adding puree chili powder to make paneer butter masala gravy
12. Stir well. If needed pour Ÿ to ½ cup water to bring it to the desired consistency. adding water to bring butter paneer gravy to a consistency
13. Cover and cook on a medium flame until the gravy turns thick. simmer paneer butter masala gravy until thick
14. When the paneer butter masala gravy is done you will see traces of fats over the gravy. This is the color you may get. Open the lid and cook until the gravy turns thicker. oil traces on top of paneer butter masala
15. Make sure the gravy reaches the desired consistency then add paneer and kasuri methi. If you add it while the gravy is still runny, the gravy has to be cooked for longer. This will result in the paneer turning harder.
adding paneer kasuri methi to make paneer butter masala 16. Stir well. On a low flame cook covered just for 1 to 3 minutes. Cooking for longer can make the paneer harder. Add 2 to 3 tbsp. cream and stir.
You should get this thick creamy texture as you see in the picture below. adding cream to paneer butter masala Serving
Transfer paneer butter masala to a serving bowl. You can add 1 tbsp cream, also finely chopped coriander leaves or ginger julienne for garnish. Serve paneer butter masala with Jeera rice, chapathi, roti, naan or even with plain basmathi rice.
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