Paneer Butter Masala | Butter paneer

Paneer Butter Masala is one of the most popular and delicious paneer recipe of Indian Cousine. This is another most ordered paneer dish in restaurants across India. This restaurant style rich, creamy curry is easy to make at home. This amazing delicacy is famous for its colour and flavor. As compared to other paneer dishes like kadai paneer, paneer pasanda, this dish is sweeter and has a slightly spicy taste.

Paneer Butter Masala is cooked in butter along with onion tomato gravy, paneer and spices. When cooked in butter, it gives authentic, rich the real paneer butter masala at home. Homemade paneer is best for this recipe as it is soft, fresh and creamier. You can adjust spices as per your preference. By adding cream you can give a creamier and velvety texture.

Some people refers paneer butter masala as paneer makhani. Both dishes are cooked in butter but here is a difference. In paneer butter masala recipe we use onion but paneer makhani is cooked in tomato cashew gravy without onion. Paneer butter masala has slightly thick consistency in compare to paneer makhani.

It’s different and super tasty recipe than the other paneer recipes. This curry goes well with any Indian bread. You can serve this with naan, laccha paratha, garlic naan, roti or roomali roti. You can serve it with plain rice or jeera rice.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: North Indian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

200 gm. Paneer
2 medium sized onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 green chilli
1 inch ginger, grated
2 tbsp butter
½ tsp cumin seed
1 dry red chilli
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 bay leaf
1 green cardamom
1 tsp degi mirch
1 tsp. coriander powder
¼ tsp garam masala
1 cup water
½ tsp sugar
Salt as per taste
2 tbsp cream
½ tsp kasuri methi, crushed

Instructions:

In a pan, take 1 tablespoon butter and heat it on medium to high flame. Add cumin seeds in butter. When they splutter, add cinnamon stick, cloves, red chilli and saute until the spices turn aromatic without burning.

Add chopped onion, ginger and green chilli. Cook till translucent and raw aroma goes away.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook until become mushy.

Let them cool.
Grind tomato-onion mixture into a blender to a fine paste using a little water if required. Keep aside.
Cut paneer into cubes.
Heat remaining butter in a pan. Once it become hot, saute cardamom and bay leaf.

Add onion tomato puree and sauté until oil starts to separate from sides; it takes approx. 1 to 2 minutes.

Add degi mirch, sugar, salt and coriander powder.  Mix properly all spices.

Add paneer pieces and 1 cup water. If required, you can add more water to adjust consistency.
Cover and cook on low flame for 10 minutes. After that add kasuri methi and garam masala. Mix properly.

Add fresh cream in the curry and mix.

The cream will give a richness to the gravy. If you want to skip it you can use a little bit of milk instead of cream.
Paneer Butter Masala is ready.  Serve hot with your choice of Indian bread.

Tips:

• If you don’t have cream, you can add malai. If you are using, whisk it till smooth and add.
• To make gravy thicker, you may add cashews. Grind them to a smooth paste and add.
• Never cook paneer for too long. This will make it chewy and rubbery.
• You can adjust sweetness of curry. It depends on your tomatoes. If they are more tangy, you can add 1 tsp. sugar.
• You can use salted or unsalted both types of butter.
• I have used Degi mirch which is not much spicy in taste yet gives beautiful red color. If you want, you can add Kashmiri red chili powder.
• I have not used turmeric powder to get bright orange colour. If you prefer, you can add.
• If you’d like to make paneer at home, you can check out this recipe here.

You may also try :

Kadai Paneer      Paneer Pasanda      Palak Paneer