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paneer makhani

A Delicious and Easy Paneer Makhani Recipe

Paneer Makhani is a must-try dish for anyone who loves Indian cuisine. With its rich and creamy sauce and tender pieces of paneer, it is sure to satisfy your cravings for something delicious.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

For Gravy

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1 Black cardamom
  • 1 stick Cinnamon
  • 3 Green Cardamom
  • 3 Cloves
  • 1/2 cup Onion sliced
  • 1 inch Ginger
  • 7 Garlic cloves
  • 5 cups Tomato diced
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 2 Green chillies
  • 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • Salt
  • 12 Cashew nuts

For Curry

  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 Green chilli
  • 1/2 tbsp Ginger chopped
  • 2 cups Paneer cubes
  • Salt
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp Dried Fenugreek methi leaves
  • 1 tsp Sugar optional
  • 3 tbsp cream

Instructions
 

For the Gravy

  • Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat.
  • Add the bay leaf, black cardamom, cinnamon stick, green cardamom, cloves, chopped onion, chopped garlic, and ginger in to the pan. Sauté onion until translucent.
  • Now add the chopped tomatoes, green chili, Kashmiri chili powder, cashew nuts, and salt to the pan and mix everything together. Add 1/2 cup water and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cook for 20-25 minutes over a medium-low flame or until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
  • Turn off the heat and let the tomato mixture cool down.
  • REMOVE bay leaf, black cardamom, and cinnamon stick from the pan. We need to remove these 3 ingredients because if you grind these spices with tomato mixture it will change the color of the gravy to darker and the taste will be different.
  • Once cooled, puree the tomato mixture in a blender until smooth. If it is finely blended there is no need to strain it. However if something isn’t fine with your mixer or you see some chunk then you may want to strain it.

For the Curry

  • Heat 2 tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat.
  • Add 1/2 tbsp chopped ginger, 1 green chili in to the pan and lightly saute this. Ginger and green chilies give a nice flavour to paneer makhani.
  • Now we add the paneer into this and lightly cook them. It does not need to brown. Add salt.
  • Reduce heat to LOW and then add 1 tsp Kashmiri chilies into the oil and stir for 30 seconds, DO NOT burn the chili powder. Then add the gravy and let it comes to a boil. Cook for another 5 minutes over medium heat. Check seasoning and add salt. Mix them all together.
  • Now add 3-4 tbsp cream, 1/2 tsp Dried Fenugreek (methi) leaves, and 1 tsp Sugar (optional). Lightly mix them all together. Turn off the heat.
  • Serve hot, garnished with fresh coriander leaves

Notes

  • This curry base is so versatile. Instead of paneer, you can add peas, mushrooms, chicken, or any other vegetables. The steps are exactly the same just replace or add other ingredients. 
  • You can crush the fenugreek leaves or bit coarse.
  • Adding sugar or honey is a personal preference. If the tomato is sour you may want sweetness so it balances the flavor. Sometimes the tomatoes that we get in India is sour, especially during summer.
  • You can garnish with more cream if you prefer.
Keyword indian cuisine, paneer butter masala, paneer recipes