paneer butter masala recipe restaurant style
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| Paneer butter masala |
Paneer butter masala or butter paneer masala is a rich creamy vegetarian dish of paneer in tomato onion based gravy or sauce . Lots of butter is used to tempered it.
Paneer known as cottage cheese is the most loved food item in Indian subcontinent.
Almost every section of society love paneer and dishes made from it. Paneer butter masala is one of such popular paneer dishes for dinner.
Paneer is a fresh cheese prepared by adding lemon juice or vinegar in hot milk to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are then drained using a muslin cloth and kept hanging to press out excess water from it.
The resulting paneer is then dipped into chilled water for 2-3 hours or kept in a block by pressing to improve its texture and appearance.
If you love more paneer recipes then I am sure that you would love the following recipes as well :-
Paneer butter masala is one of the best and popular dish from all recipes of paneer curry. You can make this famous paneer recipe at your home easily without any great efforts. Almost every ingredients are available in your kitchen to make a restaurant style paneer butter masala.
Difference between a paneer butter masala, paneer makhani and paneer Tikka masala?
No they are not same. They have some huge difference in their taste, texture and appearance. Differences .....
• Paneer makhani is sweet in taste and onion and garlic are not use to prepare it. It is not spicy. You can serve paneer makhani as a Jain food.
Whereas paneer butter masala is less sweet in taste. Onion and garlic are use to prepare it . It is little bit spicy compare to paneer makhani.
And paneer Tikka masala is not sweet in taste .It is spicy and tangy due to the use of curd. Ginger and garlic is use to prepare it
Paneer pieces are roasted in tandoor first and then simmered in gravy to prepare paneer Tikka masala.
You can read the full recipe for Best homemade paneer tikka masala recipe
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| Paneer tikka |
• Paneer butter masala and paneer makhani are garnished using cream and butter . There is no use of Corriander leafs in paneer makhani.
Whereas paneer Tikka masala is garnished using chopped Corriander leafs. There is no use of cream or butter on its top.
So now it is almost clear for us about the differences between them. We can now start to make paneer butter masala.
Useful tips to make better paneer butter masala
- Use good quality paneer for making paneer butter masala. You can use homemade paneer for best results.
- Don't cook the paneer very long time in the gravy . Otherwise the paneer will become hard when serving. Try to cook for one minute only. Long time cooking paneer if not served immediately, it become hard and chewy.
- Don't use Garam masala, instead use kitchen king masala. Garam masala can change the aromatic flavour and colour also. Kitchen king masala is easily available in grocery store.
- Use red ripe tomatoes. Don't use partially ripe tomatoes at all. It can damage the taste of paneer butter masala.
- If possible try to make separate tomato paste, onion paste and cashew melon seeds paste for use.
- You can easily store these paste in deep freezer for many days in future use. When making separate paste of tomato and onion, seasons with red chilli powder, Coriander powder for better taste.
- You can shallow fry the paneer cubes also before adding into the gravy. It gives a nice taste . Many people prefer a fried paneer into the gravy. Just grease a Non stick pan with oil and butter and shallow fry the paneer cubes till brown.
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| Fried paneer cubes |
Paneer butter masala recipe
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| Paneer butter masala |
Preparation time :- 10 minutes
Cooking time :- 20 minutes
Total time :- 30 minutes
Serve :- 2 servings
Author :- Mobasir hassan
Ingredients
For the gravy or sauce
• 1/2 onion sliced
• 3-4 medium size tomato sliced
• 8-10 cashew nuts( kaju)
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoon melon seeds ( optional)
• 1 butter cube
• 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil .
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
Whole spices ( khada masala)
• 1 bay leaf ( tez Patta).
• 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick ( dalchini)
• 2-3 green cardamom
• 1-2 pieces of cloves.
For butter masala paneer
• 200 gm Paneer ( cottage cheese).
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste.
• 1/2 teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves
(kasoori Methi)
• 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
(Kashmiri Chilli powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon Coriander powder.
• 2 teaspoon fresh cream.
• 1 butter cube
• 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil.
• small pinch of sugar.
• 1/4 teaspoon salt ( or as per taste).
How to make the recipe
Preparation
Making the gravy
1. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil and butter in a
pan and fry ginger garlic paste till raw
smell goes
2. Fry the whole spices till aromatic then
add tomato slices and red chilli powder.
3. Fry till tomato become messy. Remove
and cool down completely.
4. Make a fine puree or paste with cashew
nuts in a grinder or mixer adding
little water.
Making paneer butter masala
5. Heat half teaspoon oil with a buttercube and fry chopped garlic and cumin
seeds till cracks.
6. Add the chopped onions and fry till they
become translucent.
7. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder
corriander powder and fry for 30 sec.
8. Pour little water and cook the masala
for another 30 seconds.
9. Now pour the prepared puree and cook
for 1 minute. Add half cup water into
gravy and further cook for 3 minutes.
10. Add the paneer pieces into the gravy
and mix gently. Cook for one more
minute.
11. Mix fresh cream and pour crushed
fenugreek leaves.
12. Add salt as per taste. Check the
seasoning and pour a pinch of sugar
into the gravy.
13. Check the thickness of the gravy and
sprinkle some chopped coriander
leaves.
14. Remove in a bowl and serve.
Video
Video for paneer butter masala recipe
Nutritional value
Calories :- 347 kcal
Carbohydrate :- 11 gm | fats :- 28gm
Protein :- 10 gm | cholesterol :- 68 mg
Iron :- 6.7% | potassium :- 274mg
Calcium :- 34.9% | fiber :- 2 gm
Serving tips
• It is one of the best paneer recipe for roti.
• Paneer butter masala can be serve well with phulka and chapatis.
• You can have it with tandoori naan or rotis as well. I personally prefer it with butter naan .
• Steam basmati rice or jeera rice is another options for serving paneer butter masala.
Vegan tips
How can you make paneer butter masala vegan? You can simply make it vegan by the following methods
- By substituting paneer with Tofu.
- Use vegan cooking oil or neutral oil. Also use a vegan butter instead of clarified butter.
- You can avoid using cream . Or use a vegan cream also.
You can read below the step by step photos and instructions for making paneer butter masala recipe for a better understanding also read how to make Jain paneer butter masala recipe.
Preparation
1. First we need to make the gravy. For that take a pan and add 1/2 teaspoon of cooking oil and butter cube in slow flame. Saute the ginger garlic paste till raw smell goes off. Then fry the whole spices for few seconds or till the aromatic flavour released.
2. Add the onion slices and sauteed for 2-3 minutes in medium to high flame till the onions become translucent and light brown in colour.
3. Now add the tomato slices and mix well. Cook for more 2 minutes or till the tomatoes become soft . Add 1/ 2 teaspoon of red chilli powder and cook for 30 seconds. You can add the cashew nuts and melon seeds (if using) and fry . Or mix them when making the puree.
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| Sauteeing tomato |
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| Paste |
How to make paneer butter masala
5. Cut the paneer into small cube size pieces.
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| Paneer cubes |
6. Take a pan or kadai and heat 1/2 teaspoon butter with 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil in low flame . Don't heat the butter alone otherwise it will get burnt.Always use butter with oil for cooking purpose.
7. Add chopped garlic and cumin seeds and saute then add chopped onions and fry till onion become light brown.
8. Add the red chilli powder , Coriander powder, turmeric powder and stir for few seconds. Pour little water and cook for another 30 seconds.
9. Now add the prepared onion tomato puree ( paste) into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or till it become thick.
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| Poured tomato onion puree |
For a good colour, you can add little bit more Kashmiri chilly powder. Don't worry it is not that hot . It gives a nice red colour only. Mix well and cook for a minute.
Add water to make desired gravy consistency. Let it boil and simmer for 2-3 more minutes on low flame heat.
10. Add the paneer pieces and mix gently. Cook for 1 minutes. Then pour the fresh cream and mix well. Sprinkle the dry fenugreek (kasoori Methi) to the gravy. Do crush the fenugreek in between your palm for better flavour. Stir well.
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| Pouring fresh cream |
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| paneer in gravy |
11. Add salt as per taste and check the seasoning of the gravy and add a small pinch of sugar to balance the taste if necessary.
12. Transfer the paneer butter masala into a serving bowl and garnish with 1/2 teaspoon of cream and top with 1/2 teaspoon of butter and few coriander or Cilantro leafs.
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| Paneer butter masala |
Jain paneer butter masala recipe
There are certain community faith where onion and garlic is prohibited in foods. So it good to make a paneer butter masala recipe for them without using onion and garlic.
Ingredients
You can avoid onion and ginger garlic from above list of ingredients for paneer butter masala.
And keep rest of the ingredients as same.
Step by step method
1. The easy method is first roughly chopped the tomatoes and boil them till soft. Remove and let them cool down completely.
2. In mean time , soaked the cashew nuts in light warm water. If using melon seeds then mix them with cashew nuts.
3. When the tomatoes become cold, blend or grind them into a fine paste using a blender or mixer grinder without adding water.
Similarly make a paste of the cashew nuts. If necessary add little water to make a fine paste.
4. Take a pan and heat half teaspoon cooking oil with 1/2 teaspoon of butter in medium flame.When heated add half of the fenugreek leaves and the whole spices and saute for 30 seconds.
5. Pour the tomato paste or puree and cook for 3-4 minutes till oil start to separate . Add the cashew nuts paste and further cook for 2 more minutes.You can notice that the gravy starts to bubbling .
6. Then mix the red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and crushed fenugreek leaves and cook for few seconds.
7. Pour little water to make the desired consistency of the gravy and cook further. Then add the paneer cubes and mix gently.
8. Lastly pour fresh cream and stir gently. Topped with chopped coriander leaves. Remove in serving plate and serve hot .
For Jain paneer butter masala, it is best to use or order paneer makhani instead of paneer butter masala when visiting a restaurant.
Why to use melon seeds in paneer butter masala recipe?
Melon seeds is widely used in the gravy of paneer butter masala in almost every hotels and restaurants.
They use melon seeds and cashew nuts in 2:1 ratio when making the gravy. Melon seeds does not have a distinct scent but has a nutty and sweet taste. It gives a smooth fine texture when making a paste with cashew nuts.
It has its own aromatic flavour which increase the flavour of paneer butter masala. If you don't use it, I am sure you won't that restaurant style flavour of paneer butter masala at home.
My personal opinion is that try and use melon seeds with cashew nuts in your paneer butter masala gravy.
Additionally you get all the health benefits of melon seeds when using it in the gravy.
Some important benefits of melon seeds
Melon seeds are viewed as being the powerhouse of various nutritions.
1. It's essential fatty acids are believed to be important for maintaining a healthy ❤️
2. The properties feature in melon seeds are believed to help sustain healthy skin, nails and nerves.
3. It is excellent source of folic acid, magnesium, calcium,zinc and protein. Also contains high amount of antioxidants.
4. They also reportedly feature Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Iron and Omega 3 fatty acids
How restaurant gravy is prepared for paneer butter masala?
(1). In restaurants, they prepared separate gravy(sauce) each for tomato , onion and cashew nuts.
For tomato, it is called tomato gravy
For onion, it is called kandha masala or brown gravy.
And for cashew, it is called white gravy.
2. For each gravy preparation, they seasoned with whole spices and masalas.
3. In restaurants, Kashmiri chilly paste is used to give it prominent red colour when preparing paneer butter masala.
Restaurant's three different gravy for paneer butter masala recipe
It become quite easy for Chefs to make quick paneer butter masala if these three types of gravy are prepared already.
You can check some popular recipes :
There are certain community faith where onion and garlic is prohibited in foods. So it good to make a paneer butter masala recipe for them without using onion and garlic.
Ingredients
You can avoid onion and ginger garlic from above list of ingredients for paneer butter masala.
And keep rest of the ingredients as same.
Step by step method
1. The easy method is first roughly chopped the tomatoes and boil them till soft. Remove and let them cool down completely.
2. In mean time , soaked the cashew nuts in light warm water. If using melon seeds then mix them with cashew nuts.
3. When the tomatoes become cold, blend or grind them into a fine paste using a blender or mixer grinder without adding water.
Similarly make a paste of the cashew nuts. If necessary add little water to make a fine paste.
4. Take a pan and heat half teaspoon cooking oil with 1/2 teaspoon of butter in medium flame.When heated add half of the fenugreek leaves and the whole spices and saute for 30 seconds.
5. Pour the tomato paste or puree and cook for 3-4 minutes till oil start to separate . Add the cashew nuts paste and further cook for 2 more minutes.You can notice that the gravy starts to bubbling .
6. Then mix the red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and crushed fenugreek leaves and cook for few seconds.
7. Pour little water to make the desired consistency of the gravy and cook further. Then add the paneer cubes and mix gently.
8. Lastly pour fresh cream and stir gently. Topped with chopped coriander leaves. Remove in serving plate and serve hot .
For Jain paneer butter masala, it is best to use or order paneer makhani instead of paneer butter masala when visiting a restaurant.
Why to use melon seeds in paneer butter masala recipe?
Melon seeds is widely used in the gravy of paneer butter masala in almost every hotels and restaurants.
They use melon seeds and cashew nuts in 2:1 ratio when making the gravy. Melon seeds does not have a distinct scent but has a nutty and sweet taste. It gives a smooth fine texture when making a paste with cashew nuts.
It has its own aromatic flavour which increase the flavour of paneer butter masala. If you don't use it, I am sure you won't that restaurant style flavour of paneer butter masala at home.
My personal opinion is that try and use melon seeds with cashew nuts in your paneer butter masala gravy.
Additionally you get all the health benefits of melon seeds when using it in the gravy.
Some important benefits of melon seeds
Melon seeds are viewed as being the powerhouse of various nutritions.
1. It's essential fatty acids are believed to be important for maintaining a healthy ❤️
2. The properties feature in melon seeds are believed to help sustain healthy skin, nails and nerves.
3. It is excellent source of folic acid, magnesium, calcium,zinc and protein. Also contains high amount of antioxidants.
4. They also reportedly feature Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Iron and Omega 3 fatty acids
How restaurant gravy is prepared for paneer butter masala?
(1). In restaurants, they prepared separate gravy(sauce) each for tomato , onion and cashew nuts.
For tomato, it is called tomato gravy
For onion, it is called kandha masala or brown gravy.
And for cashew, it is called white gravy.
2. For each gravy preparation, they seasoned with whole spices and masalas.
3. In restaurants, Kashmiri chilly paste is used to give it prominent red colour when preparing paneer butter masala.
Restaurant's three different gravy for paneer butter masala recipe
 |
| Onion, white and tomato gravy |
You can check some popular recipes :
3 Comments
I never knew tomatoes, onions and cashews had other names such as, tomato gravy, brown gravy and white gravy respectively. This recipe is very educative. The step by step guide on how to prepare paneer butter masala is excellent. Great work here.
ReplyDeleteAm sharing this immediately.
Thank you for useful article. You have given very good information. Find out more information about andhra village style chicken curry
ReplyDeleteLoved the detailed explanation and health benefits of paneer butter masala. I have prepared paneer tikka recipe previously but your recipe looks more delicious.Appreciate your thoughtful gesture to include nutritional value and simple yet elegant additions.
ReplyDeletePost a Comment
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