Paneer Butter Masala Recipe is one of the most popular paneer dishes. It is rich and creamy, and it goes great with naan or Rice. It is made by tossing paneer cubes in creamy tomato-based curry.
I always love a recipe that requires minimal ingredients & that can be made easily & quickly. This recipe for Paneer Butter Masala Recipe falls in that category. This no onion-garlic recipe of butter paneer is so aromatic & so yummy with just a handful of ingredients.
The post contains Helpful Tips & Tricks to make Butter Paneer Masala. But if you're in a hurry, you can also click "Jump to Recipe' under the Heading to go directly to the Recipe Card or click Recipe Card from the Table of Contents below.
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⭐ABOUT PANEER BUTTER MASALA
Paneer Butter Masala is a rich & creamy paneer recipe made by dunking paneer pieces in tomato-based curry.
It is a tangy and little sweet in flavor. Tanginess comes from the tomatoes that are added when making this delicious curry.
This Indian curry doesn't require a whole lot of ingredients. However, you will need tomatoes, ginger, garam masala, red chili powder, Paneer, cream, and whole spices.
This paneer recipe is popular in my home. Because of its aromatic flavor & taste, it is the number 1 choice of curry. It pairs perfectly with garlic naan.
🥘INGREDIENTS & SUBSTITUTIONS
- PANEER: Butter Paneer is incomplete without Paneer, so we definitely need it. You can use a store-bought one like Haldiram's (in the US) or make your own at home (homemade Paneer).
- OIL/BUTTER: You can add oil or butter. But as the name suggests, Butter Paneer, adding butter will give more flavor to the curry.
- TOMATOES: This is tomato curry and not an onion-tomato one, so we need 3-4 tomatoes. Try to use red and juicy tomatoes; they will give a nice color to the curry. Or you can also use diced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.
- GINGER: I have used ginger in the curry, but you can add garlic.
- WHOLE SPICES: I have a few whole spices that I always add, but in Butter Paneer, I use one unique spice (Mac Flower/ Javitri). This gives an extraordinary flavor to the curry.
- CASHEWS/ ALMONDS: To make curry extra creamy, Cashew Paste is always added. But if you want to save yourself from all that task, you can also add Almond flour to the curry.
- CREAM: You can use cream and cashew cream to make butter paneer curry creamier.
- SUGAR/HONEY: I use honey in the curry. Adding a little bit of honey or sugar to savory dishes balancers the flavor.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪HOW TO MAKE PANEER BUTTER MASALA
Check the recipe card below for the full recipe, but you refer here for step-by-step photo instructions.
Preparation
Make Cashew Cream: Soak cashews in water for 15-20 minutes. Then a high-speed blender, add 1 cup of cashews with 1 cup of water. Blend it until it is smooth & creamy. Store it in a container and use it in the recipe.
Make Masala: Add butter/oil to the pan. Saute tomatoes, ginger, green chili, cardamom, cloves, and javitri. Saute for 3-5 minutes or until tomatoes turn soft 7 mushy. Add tomatoes to the blender and ground until tomatoes are pureed.
Making the Curry
Add oil/butter to the pan and add pureed tomatoes to it. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until oil starts to separate by stirring continuously.
Add Spices: Then add the spices to the masala. Butter Paneer doesn't need a lot of spices, so a little Garam Masala Powder and Red Chili Powder is enough.
Add Paneer: Add Kasuri Methi and Paneer in the curry and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Lastly, add cream & cashews cream.
You can also grill or shallow-fry paneer pices before adding to the curry. Also, Haldiram's Paneer is soft. But if you're using Paneer of any other brand then soak it for 15-20 minutes before adding to the curry.
STEP 4 - ADJUST & SERVE: Lastly, adjust the spices and serve hot with some garlic naan and enjoy.
💭PRO TIPS
- Once tomatoes are cooked, blend them in a high-speed blender until smooth & pureed. You can strain the pureed tomatoes for a smoother curry.
- You can use diced or cherry tomatoes for a tangy flavor. This will also make the bright curry red in color.
- You can fry the paneer pieces before adding them to the curry.
- You can add cream, cashew, or even coconut milk for a creamy curry. You can also add some almond flour to the curry.
- To balance out the flavors, add a little bit of honey or sugar.
- For authentic Indian flavor, prepare Paneer Butter Masala in a Kadai/Wok.
- If using store-bought Paneer, soak it in water for 10-15 minutes.
- Butter Paneer is made by adding lots of butter & cream. So be generous if you want authentic paneer flavor.
👪SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Paneer Butter Masala is such a creamy & and aromatic curry that it goes great with anything. You can serve it with plain white Rice or Brown Rice.
Or you can make it in a proper meal by serving butter paneer with some Jeera Rice, Garlic Naan, and salad on the side.
💭SWAPS FOR VEGAN VERSION
With few substitutions, you can make this delicious curry Vegan:
- TOFU: Instead of Paneer, you can add Tofu pieces. Make sure to grill or roast Tofu before adding them to the curry.
- COCONUT MILK: Instead of cream, you can add Cashew Cream or Coconut milk for the creamy texture.
- VEGAN BUTTER: You can add Vegan Butter in place of butter.
🧾FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
You can store leftover Paneer Butter Masala in an air-tight container once it cools down. Then store it in the refrigerator for 3-5 minutes. When re-suing, just heat it on the stove-top or in the microwave.
To store butter paneer for a longer time, you can keep it in the freezer. Store butter paneer in freeze-safe containers or bags like ZipTops. Store it in the freezer for 3-5 months. Then, when reusing, defrost it overnight in the fridge, And heat it as needed on the stove-top or in the microwave.
This is a no onion & garlic recipe of paneer butter masala. So there is no need to add onion or garlic.
You can use Tofu instead of Paneer. Just roast or grill the tofu pieces before adding them to the curry.
Milk has a tendency to cuddle when combined with acidic ingredients like tomatoes. So you can add milk at the end, just before serving. But it will not make curry creamy.
To make it creamy, you can add cashew cream or almond flour. Coconut milk also works great in the recipe.
🥗OTHER PANEER RECIPES
- SHAHI PANEER
- KADAI PANEER
- ACHARI PANEER
- PALAK PANEER
- NAVRATNA KORMA
- ALOO MATAR PANEER
- PANEER TIKKA
- HOMEMADE PANEER
- NAVRATNA PULAO
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📖 RECIPE
PANEER BUTTER MASALA
Equipment
Ingredients
For Masala
- 2 Tomatoes
- 1 cup Diced Tomatoes
- 1 ½-inch Ginger
- 2-3 tablespoon Butter
- 1 Javitri Mace Flower
- 4 Green Cardamoms
- 2 Cloves
- 8 Cashews
- 1 teaspoon Kasuri Methi
For Gravy:
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- ¼ cup Cream or Cashew Cream or Coconut Milk
- 1 teaspoon Honey/ Sugar
- 1 cup Paneer cut in bite size cubes
- 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds Powdered
Instructions
- Cashew Cream: Soak cashews in water for 15-20 minutes. Then a high-speed blender add 1 cup of cashews with 1 cup of water. Blend it until it is smooth & creamy. Store it in a container and use it in the recipe.
Instant Pot Cooking
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter in the Instant Pot & press Saute. Add tomatoes (fresh & diced), ginger, green cardamom, cloves, javitri, and cashews.
- Close the lid and with the vent in the sealing position, pressure cook for 5 minutes. NPR (no pressure release) for 5 minutes and Quick Release, that is, move the vent at venting position.
- When the valve goes down & is safe, open the lid. Grind everything together using an immersion blender/mixer grinder.
- Press Saute and add butter in the pot, then add Kashmiri Red Chili Powder & Garam Masala Powder.
- Add ½- 1 cup water and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes or until you get desired consistency.
- Lastly, add cream/ cashew cream, salt, honey, kasuri methi, and paneer to it.
- Before serving, sprinkle some fennel seeds powder over the dish. Enjoy with Rice or any Indian bread.
Stove-Top Cooking:
- In a skillet, add oil. Add tomatoes, ginger, cardamoms, cloves, cashews and javitri in the post. Cook until tomatoes turn mushy for about 3-5 minutes.
- Grind them using an Immersion Blender or any regular grinder until smooth.
- Add butter/oil in a pan. Add pureed tomatoes and cook for 3-5 minutes or until oil starts to separate. Add spices and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of water and boil at medium heat. Once it comes to boil, continue to cook at medium-low till you get desired consistency.
- Lastly, add cream/ cashew cream, salt, honey, kasuri methi, and paneer to it.
- Before serving, sprinkle some fennel seeds powder over the dish. Enjoy with Rice or any Indian bread.
Video
Notes
- Once tomatoes are cooked, blend them in a high-speed blender until smooth & pureed. You can strain the pureed tomatoes for a smoother curry.
- You can use diced or cherry tomatoes for a tangy flavor. This will also make the bright curry red in color.
- You can fry the paneer pieces before adding them to the curry.
- You can add cream, cashew, or even coconut milk for a creamy curry. You can also add some almond flour to the curry.
- To balance out the flavors, add a little bit of honey or sugar.
- For authentic Indian flavor, prepare Paneer Butter Masala in a Kadai/Wok.
- If using store-bought Paneer, soak it in water for 10-15 minutes.
- Butter Paneer is made by adding lots of butter & cream. So be generous if you want authentic paneer flavor.
SWAPS FOR VEGAN VERSION
With few substitutions, you can make this delicious curry Vegan:- TOFU: Instead of Paneer, you can add Tofu pieces. Make sure to grill or roast Tofu before adding them to the curry.
- COCONUT MILK: Instead of cream, you can add Cashew Cream or Coconut milk for the creamy texture.
- VEGAN BUTTER: You can add Vegan Butter in place of butter.
foodgoggle says
This looks delicious.Saved on to our site