PANEER MAKHANI RECIPE / PANEER MAKHANWALA RECIPE / PANEER BUTTER MASALA RECIPE / HOW TO MAKE PANEER MAKHANI? / PANEER RECIPES / VEGETARIAN GRAVIES / NOTH INDIAN GRAVY RECIPES / VEGETARIAN RECIPES / BUTTER MASALA RECIPE / PUNJABI RECIPES / RESTAURANT STYLE PANEER MAKHANI RECIPE / PUNJABI STYLE PANEER MASALA RECIPE / INDIAN COTTAGE CHEESE GRAVY RECIPE / PANEER CURRY RECIPE
PANEER MAKHANI / PANEER MAKHANWALA a North Indian dish made with Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cooked in rich creamy tomato gravy called Makhani( something cooked and sauteed in butter or thick cream). This dish has got million variations and is similar to Paneer butter masala or makhanwala…., recipe shared here is a simple Punjabi home style preparation which can match the restaurant style. Makhani is a rich kind of Punjabi subzi dish where its literally smothered with homemade butter and the only difference that I saw is they don’t use any garlic in this recipe and makhani style preparation always excludes garlic and includes fresh ginger & fenugreek. This is something I heard from a friend of mine and did follow her instructions in preparing this gravy. It makes a scrumptious side for chapati/ roti / phulkas and with any kind of mild rich dishes, must try for all Paneer lovers!
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| Paneer | 1 cup ( or 15 pieces cubed) |
| Onion | 1 cup (chopped or 1 medium size) |
| Tomato Puree | 2 cups |
| Ginger | 1 Tablespoon (finely chopped) |
| Kasure Methi (Dry fenugreek leaves) | 2 Teaspoons |
| Bay leaf | 2 |
| Cumin seeds | 1 Teaspoon |
| Cloves | 2 |
| Cardamom | 3 (green type, finely powdered) |
| Cinnamon | 1 ( one inch stick) |
| Fenugreek seeds | 1/2 Teaspoon |
| Red Chili Powder (Kashmiri type) | 3 Teaspoons |
| Red Chili powder (spicy type) | 1 Teaspoon |
| Sugar | 1/2 Teaspoon |
| Salt | 1 Teaspoon or to taste |
| Fresh cream | 1/2 cup (or use Half & Half / or use whole full fat milk |
| Butter | 1 Tablespoon |
| Oil | 3 Teaspoon |
| Garam masala powder | 1/4 Teaspoon (optional) |
Heat oil and butter in a sauce pan and fry the cubed Paneer pieces until they turn slightly golden. Remove them from the pan and soak them in little warm warm to keep them moist. (If you want to skip frying paneer then soak the fresh paneer warm water to keep them moist and soft until ready to use)
In the same oil add cinnamon, clove, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and bay leaves and toast them for few seconds. Then saute the chopped onions and ginger until they turn golden. Now add the pureed tomatoes along with Kashmiri Red chilli powder, plain red chili powder, garam masala, kasturi methi, crushed or powdered cardamon, sugar and salt. Close with a lid and cook on low flame for 5 minutes. (If your puree in very thick then add 1/4 cup water) Once the masala thick then add half & half cream and fried paneer cubes and let cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the oil separates. Garnish with little kasturi methi leaves and serve hot with roti /phulkas / naan!
Notes
- Serves 4 adults approximately
- Paneer is Indian Cottage Cheese available in most Indian stores.
- Canned tomatoes are pre- blanched and come in handy if you are making for a big crowd. Blanch tomatoes to get the tomato puree if its for a small number of people. Canned tomatoes give good color, only downside they have slight tinge of vinegar.
- If using fresh tomatoes then use ripe juicy tomatoes on the vine or roma tomatoes.
- Half & Half – Its half milk and half cream, available all over USA. Either use that or use regular full fat whole milk.
- I’ve used 1/2 cup fresh cream which is quite a lot and if you think you want a light version then reduce to 1/4 cup or just use plain milk. It gives the gravy a rich look and texture, adjust to your preference.
- Kasuri methi – This is dry fenugreek leaves and available in all Indian grocery stores or supermarkets.
- Garam masala powder is optional in addition to the whole masala if you prefer more strong flavor. Adjust accordingly.
- Butter is for rich shinny look adjust according to your preference and use oil instead for low fat version.
- Kashmiri red chili powder gives nice red color to the dish and for the heat i’ve added plain spicy red chili powder. Alternately you can also skip the spicy powder and use few green chilies instead.
- Sugar is a must to balance the tangy tomatoes.
38 Comments
Super delicious makhani dear…I’m drooling !!
Come over Padma, I will reserve a batch for you!
This looks so perfect and delicious dear
Thanks dear!
[…] recipe for this is in my website http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/paneer_makhani Posted in Indian Recipes Tags: 2207, Dinner « A touch of green on the plate You can […]
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devika Hai Today i prepared fresh paneer in home and made panner masala. superb taste. We enjoyed thank u.
Excellent dish! I added some extra chilli powder and, green chill and coriander.
Your recipes are fantastic. Last week I made your prawn biriyani. This week am making your chicken biriyani, cant wait!
Hey Mullai,
Should thank you for the recipe first! 🙂 I have 2 doubts though. I tried frying the paneer as you said till golden. But it was not showing any signs of turning golden. Instead it was giving out water and becoming real tender without changing color. So i just took it off flame then. i wonder why?
Then…I had some canned tomato puree in the fridge which i opened a couple of weeks ago. when i took it out to use, it was no longer red but dark maroon color. So i didnt have the confidence to use it in the curry!Is it a sign it is gone bad? I couldnt make out anything from the smell.
I substituted with tomatoes for puree and i got a good dish nevertheless 😛 Something different, maybe not as good though 🙂
Hope to try out your other recipes. I am inspired by the raving comments for your recipes!!! 🙂
Thanks a lot !
Hi Sunset, here are the answers to your questions 1. Tawa with oil should be hot enough to brown them, anything under low flame will take little longer to brown. First place them over a paper towel to drain any water and then start frying. Paneer with water content will splutter when dropped in oil, proceed with caution. Also soak them in warm water until use after frying. This will keep the inner flesh soft. 2. Canned tomato puree usually good for fist use, then as you said the vinegar or preservative sometimes make them black. So use the whole can or tightly seal the leftover in a clean glass bottle and refrigerate. I usually smell them first if its too sour and looks too dark, then would definitely toss it trash. One best option… if you think of buying canned tomatoes…. buy canned whole tomatoes and crush. If possible try to buy the one with no preservatives, its quite hard to find but check your market, sometimes you might get lucky. Thanks.
Thank you Mullai 🙂 Surely will try this out again and your other recipes as well!!!
Didnot come out ok with puree. We had to add water at the end to take out the tangy flavor of puree. Next time will try same recipe with fresh tomatoes instead.
Excellent recipe… follow it to the point and you can’t go wrong 🙂 o nly thing i added was.. green chillies.. madd spicey but amazing
Great recipe, made it for my husband and he loved it. I didnt use 3 tsps chilli powder only 2, but added some green chilli too. was a great dish, will be using more of your recipes now!
Hi, I made this for my husband and I last night and he loved it and was so impressed!! I did not put the 3 spoons of chilli in as it seemed a lot, however did use soom green chilli. I loved it and will be using your recipes again! thanks a lot
I also wanted to know how many servings this recipe is for. And how much of a difference do strained tomatoes make vs. fresh ones?
how many servings is this recipe for?
Thankyou for the wonderful recipe. Can you pls add shahi paneer recipe too
Hi Skla,
Please use the search or check the recipe index before requesting for a recipe.
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/shahi_paneer
Thanks for your feedback.
Great and Easy recipe !
and YES Great and quick for a Bachelor 🙂
This I find goes with anything or is Great by itself.
Thank YOU !
Hi there, thanks for your nice words.
Amazingly easy recipe and tastes great too……
Me and my friends love this Dish and most of the time we eat out…For once I gave this a try at Home…..and boy o boy….it was great!!!
Thanks a Buch!!
Looking forward for more!!
Hi Sunil,
Glad you all like it. Hope you guys (bunch of bachelors or bachelorette????) would try my other recipes too and get back with a feedback. Anyways, thanks for visiting.
Yep…we are a bunch…and already on the way of trying out other recipes…would appreciate to see more veggy stuff!!
Thanks mullai..
I’m newly vegetarian and newly introduced to Indian cuisine. Thank you so much for having easy and quick recipes for me to whip up for myself and my boyfriend! This one was delicious and he has asked me to make it again soon. I am happy to comply!
Helen, Nice to know that it turned out great. Go ahead and try more recipes and surprise your boy friend. BTW, checked your cartoons… Good work.
Hi Mullai Di,
I tried this recipe this weekend….it was awesome!!! My husband liked it verrrry much…thanks for such recipes which make us feel that we are eating in a restaurant!
Cheers! Shanu.
this recipe is really excellent!!! i tried this and came out well… thanks for the recipe and clarifyin my doubt… will u please add butter chicken recipe also? thanks…
Hi Jenny, thanks a bunch. I did see your recipe request and sure will try to post. Let me make one point clear, I am just a home cook and do this work as a hobby, I won't have all the ingredients locked up in my pantry, sometimes might run short of items, like how typical housewives do. So, certain preparations have to take a long…….break until my next visit to the supermarket. I go with whatever pops out of my refrigerator. Kindly bear with me and one day will surprise you with the dish. Hope you would understand. BTW how did you hear about this website?
ok.. ur recipes r really excellent and always reliable… : ) thats y i asked u…i know the recipe finally appears here will be excellent… so waitin for that… and if u dont mind i hav some more items to ask…
and i got this site from orkut…
please help… wats tomato puree?can i prepare it at home? is it just the grinded tomato? thanks…
Jenny, making tomato puree is little time consuming, store bought canned crushed tomatoes or whole tomatoes works fine too. If you are interested in making, just boil the tomatoes for 4 minutes, then put them in cold water, this should loosen the skin, remove it with a fork, Core the tomatoes and directly add them to the sauce. Hope this helps.
I tried your Paneer Makhni recipe. It came out well.
Thank you for the wonderful and tasty recipe.
Vani, thank you for visiting.
thanks for the recipe…. but wats tomato puree? can i prepare it at home?
wonderful recipe. for me it was a bit hot and spicy. second time I tried the recipe with 2 level teaspoons of chilli powder. it was wonderful and every one loved it.
Wonderfully depicted recipe of paneer makhani. The pics add complete body to the recipe. Would read more of ur recipes on the site. Good job!!
Vivek