Restaurant style paneer butter masala at your own kitchen! Yes, this recipe is guaranteed to bring the joy of fine-dining in the comfort of your home!
This paneer butter masala literally blew my mind off! After exploring thousands of recipes for the perfect restaurant style paneer makhani recipe, I did some mix-n-match as per my liking and finally I arrived at a bomb! This is the best ever silky paneer butter masala gravy I have ever tasted in my life and no restaurant could ever bring such comfort yet! You might be thinking I am over-reacting or exaggerating; well, maybe I am, but honestly, I can’t hold my excitement back. I have already created many restaurant style Indian dishes at home and each one had turned out really well; like my restaurant style veg handi or restaurant style aloo matar; but this paneer butter masala belongs to totally a different league altogether!
When I was not into food blog, I always used to wonder about that glossy and silky gravy which tastes just on-point – neither too spicy, nor too sweet – and I could never figure out how it has been prepared. I only forced myself to believe that the restaurants must have applied some secret trick which we consumers will never to able to get our hands on. And now, after blogging for more than 4 years, I have the best ever paneer butter masala in front of me and I could hardly believe myself that it was me who made it!
Paneer butter masala or paneer makhni is also a staple dish in any wedding reception in India. It suits to almost everyone’s taste bud; hence an easy recipe to set in the menu. The flavor of butter makes the gravy so tasty that you could hardly do with just one serving; you will surely be reaching out for second or even third. But that’s okay as paneer butter masala is not an everyday dish. It is a celebratory affair as it is quite rich and heavy and I would never advice you to treat yourself with paneer butter masala every week!
Whenever you want to jazz up your somewhat boring weekend, you can make this luscious paneer recipe at home or you can delight your vegetarian friends with this lip-smacking dish at your next house party. They will love you more for this, I can bet on that! Hope this step-by-step creamy paneer butter masala recipe would help you recreate the magic at the comfort of your own home and let you become the master-chef of your family!
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- Paneer/cottage cheese – 200 gms
- Unsalted/cooking butter – 3 tbsp (about 50 gms)
- Cinnamon stick – 2-inch piece
- Green chili – 2 to 3, cut into half
- Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
- Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
- Red tomatoes – 4, each cut into 8 to 10 pieces
- Kashmiri red chili powder – 1 tsp
- Coriander powder – 1 & ½ tsp
- Freshly chopped coriander leaves – 1 cup
- Raw cashew nuts – 15 to 20
- Fresh cooking cream / heavy whipping cream / malai – 100 gms (about ½ cup)
- Kasoori methi / dry fenugreek leaves – ½ tsp
- Sugar – ½ tsp
- Salt to taste
- Cut the paneer block into 1-inch cubes. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and drop the paneer cubes to it. Let the paneer boil for couple of minutes, then switch off the flame and let the paneer sit in the hot water until further use.
- Soak the cashews in room temperature water for about an hour. Then transfer them to a grinder and grind to make a smooth paste without minimal water. Set it aside.
- Heat a kadhai and add ⅔ of the butter to it. Once the butter melts, add cinnamon sticks and green chilies. Sauté them or few seconds.
- Next add ginger paste and garlic paste and sauté them on medium flame for couple of minutes until the raw smell is gone.
- Then drop in the chopped tomatoes and cook them on medium until they become soft and mushy. Season it with the sugar and about ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Once the tomatoes are disintegrated, switch off the flame and let the mixture cool down. Then transfer it to a grinder and grind to a smooth lump-free puree. Set it aside.
- Heat the same kadhai and add remaining butter to it. Once the butter melts, add red chili powder and coriander powder and sauté them on low heat for a minute.
- Then add half of the fresh coriander leaves and mix well. Now add the prepared tomato puree and stir it well. Let it come to a boil on medium heat.
- Once the tomato mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and add the cashew paste to it. Give a thorough mix. Add about ¾ to 1 cup of water depending on how much gravy you want. Bring it to boil.
- Once the gravy starts to boil, take out the paneer cubes from hot water using a slotted spoon so that the water drains out and tip them into the gravy. Stir them in with a light hand making sure the paneer does not break.
- Next add the cream keeping the flame on lowest setting. Mix well and as soon as the gravy starts to simmer, switch off the flame.
- Finally add the crushed kasoori methi and the remaining fresh coriander leaves. Mix well. Check and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Rich and creamy paneer butter masala is ready to serve with naan or rice. Enjoy!
This is a fabulous recipe….which has ended up becoming my most favorite paneer recipe….Thank you so much for sharing
This is an amazing recipe for Paneer Makhni….it turns out just perfect everytime I make it……Thank you so much Ma’am for sharing this precious piece of recipe🙏🙏
Thank you so much Apurava for your lovely feedback! This paneer dish is my favorite too! 🙂
It was nice to go through your post. Thanks for sharing the recipe here. Keep up the good work.