Paneer Butter Masala is basically a Punjabi dish where fresh Indian cottage cheese is cooked in a creamy rich tomato onion base. Restaurant chefs have altered the recipe, with loads of butter, powdered nuts and cream to offer their customers a tasty treat. People crave for this dish, rates number one among the top most ordered dish from any restaurant menu. I have explored my best to learn this dish in order to acquire the exact or at least to match the so called restaurant taste.
| Ingredients-1 | |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | Paneer (cubed) about 10 pieces |
| 1 cup | Onion (very finely minced) |
| 6 medium sized | Tomatoes |
| 1 teaspoon | Ginger garlic paste |
| 1 | Green chilli (long) |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Fenugreek seeds |
| 2 tablespoons | Kasturi methi |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Red chilli powder |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Turmeric powder |
| 1 cup | Milk |
| 2 tablespoons | Butter |
| 1 teaspoon | Salt (or to taste) |
| 4 teaspoons | Oil |
| 2 teaspoons | Coriander leaves (chopped for garnishing) |
| Ingredients-2 | |
|---|---|
| 10 whole | Cashews |
| 2 teaspoons | Cumin seeds |
| 4 tablespoons | Coriander seeds |
| 2 | Cloves |
| 2 | Cardamon |
| 1 | Cinnamon stick (small) |
| Ingredients-3 | |
|---|---|
| 2 cups | Onion (diced) |
| Ingredients-4 | |
|---|---|
| 2 pinch | Orange red food colour (optional) |
| 1 teaspoon | Fresh cream (optional) |
| 1 teaspoon | Honey (optional) |
1.Boil one cup of milk and simmer to reduce the quantity to half, let cool and keep aside.
2.Dry roast cashews, cumin seeds and dhania separately and grind them along with cloves, cardamon and cinnamon to make a fine powder and keep aside. (table-2)
3. Blanch all the 6 tomatoes. (Blanching —- wash and boil tomatoes in water for 4 to 5 minutes, remove from water and dip them in cold water, this would loosen the outer skin. Remove the skin and blend the tomatoes to make puree)
4. Saute 2 onions (table-3) in 1 tbsp of butter until translucent , let cool and ground to make a thick paste.
5. Slightly toast paneer cubes in some butter and oil about a tsp of each and keep aside. Do not brown them too much, this would make them rubbery. May be you can soak the toasted panner in hot water until the gravy is made, to keep them soft.
6. Now heat remaining butter and oil, toast the fenugreek seeds until golden, add the finely minced onions, green chilli, kasturi methi leaves and ground onion paste. Fry until they turn light brown.
7. Saute them along with ginger garlic paste for couple of minutes. Add in the turmeric and red chilli powder along with the ground cashew spice mix and salt.
8. Fry the masala, when it tend to become little sticky add in the tomato puree, with food colour(diluted with little water).
9. Cook the gravy closed for 3 to 4 minutes.
10. Then add the paneer pieces, honey and milk, simmer for another 3 minutes.
11. Garnish with coriander leaves and a teaspoon of fresh cream and serve hot with naan.
Notes
- Honey is optional, substitute it with 1/2 tsp of sugar.
- Fresh cream is only added as a garnish or to decorate the dish, too much of it will make the dish taste sour.
85 Comments
Hi Mullai….
Awesome recipe…. I tried it last night for my sisters and it came really really really well
I’m very happy that you liked it & thank you so much for taking your time to post a feedback. Also would appreciate if you click & send pics of the recipes you try. Thanks again!
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I tried this receipe, excellent… yummy taste.got a good name from my hubby. Thanks Mullai. keep posting.
This was awesome. Thanks a lot. You have inspired me in starting a blog for recipes that i used to prepare. I used to prepare paneer butter masala in a different way. This doesn’t involve blanching of tomatoes.
Loved the recipe…tried it and it came out much much better than hotel dish, thanks a ton…keep uploading more recipes plse
Hi, Mullai,
I tried this recipe for dinner and it came out delicious and yummy:-).
Thank you for sharing the recipe. My hubby and I LOVED it 🙂
Thanks!
Sujatha Deen
Glad to hear, thanks for your feedback.
Mullai, since years i have been planning to try Paneer Butter Masala and ended up having at restaurants. Finally i made it today. It was superb.Ingredients list looks lengthy but quite easy to follow.
I was too lazy today and had not followed the method exactly. I did not blanch the tomatoes. Also used creamer and it was creamy. It was tasting like exactly as restaurant style. Your recipe is always the best. Thank you so much dear.
Thanks Cap, pudicha romba santhosham.
I actually had this dish when staying in Rajasthan, India and it was fabulous. To be honest this didn’t come close.
Improvements: Firstly choose very ripe tomatoes, if not, use tomato paste like I’ve seen in many other recipes- it makes the dish richer. Instead of boiling down the milk, just buy cream and that’s even better- again the sauce is richer. With the cashews soak them for a few hours then grind to a paste rather than grinding them into a slightly grainy powder. Love blending the onions to a paste though, v. good.
Hi Mullai,
today i tried ur recipe.trust me it was tooooooooooooo good and it had the same flavour as we get in a restaurant.i have tried the same before using other recipes.never have i got the same flavour or the taste.thanks for this wonderful work and please continue ur service.if we offer our dear ones dishes with the taste of a restaurant at our sweet home,nothing can be better.thanks once again.
i tried this today for lunch along with Peas Pulav .. both turned out really delicious… my husband liked it very much.. thanks much… iam trying out many recipes from urs… great work Mullai..
Hi Mullai!
Thank you so much for this. It turned out to be very very tasty. Thank you once again.
Hi Mullai,
I tried this receipe double the quantity u mentioned for a party, it turned out to be sour taste bcos of tomatoes (but took the exact quantity). Evertything else was ok. How to get rid of that since the party is in the evening. pls reply me as soon as possible.
Vidhya.
Hi Mullai, Can i substitute tofu for paneer?If so,can i do the same way r any modifications needed? How to store remaining paneer?
Mithra,
Tofu will work but wont taste that rich but a healthy substitute. Leftover paneer can be kept in tight box in the refrigerator for couple of days. Freezing also works, is doing so then lightly fry in oil, let cool completely and freeze in an air tight box. Thanks.
Hello Mullai,
Thanks, wanted to let you know that this recipe of yours turned out to be wonderful. I am a veggi and I love to cook and explore food varieties. Would like some more of delicious recipes from ya!!
Regards,
Niyati
Hi Mullai, Just made this recipe and it has turned our great. Thankyou.
Would love more recipes from you.
dear mullai ,
am new to this nice to c all ur postings am planing to try veg briyani tomorrow but i just ned to know if the ingredients mentioned ( 2 each of tom , onions cloves etc)would suffice if am to use ordinary rice instead of basumati rice would appreciate if u r able to ans imm in case u r online . thanks uma
thanx 4 d recepie. Its just just lovely and i definetly try it very soon
sorry i didnt finish properly —
all i wanted to say basically was THANKS! 🙂
and hope fully my family will like it!
hey mullai,
i tried your recipe tonite and hope fully it will come out good( i am still in the process)
thanks for the recipe 🙂
this is also my first time cooking dinner for my familey and so they are really
Hi, Mullai!! I tried this recipe today for dinner – and it came out delicious :-). Thank you for sharing the recipe for my favourite dish of all time. My hubby and I LOVED it 🙂
Thanks!
Divya
Hi Mullai Akka, I wanted to try this recipe for a long time..Thght today i wud give it a go..sadly i dont hav tomatoes but Contadina tomato sauce.Is that same as tomato puree? will that replace the regular tomatoes.
One more thing..is baking powder we get here is baking soda?
plz help.
Thanks Rohini
Ron dear, these store bought sauces will kill the recipe. I don't think getting tomatoes in US is such a big deal, almost every tini tiny markets around the corner will have abundant supply. My advice, buy good ripe tomatoes and then proceed. Coming to second question, baking powder and soda are different no matter in what country they sell. Here is link to understand the chemistry
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm
Hi Mullai Akka,
Thanks a lot.Vl try this paneer butter masala soon and post u the result.
Akka , can u post us the recipe for panang curry (vege version).
Thanks in advance
rohini
Hi Mullai, I hosted a party yesterday and followed your recipes for Paneer Butter masala, Sweet corn chicken soup, Khuska biryani and Pachai pattani masala. All of them tasted absolutely delicious. Infact this was the first time I tried these items.Got excellent feedback from friends.Thanks a lot for posting great recipes.-Raji
hi mullai this is VRUSHALI
I tried this recipe .it’s Awasome!!! really This recipe is mouth watering!!!!!!my father-in-law never go restarant for the dinner….he don’t like food ……when i preaper this recipe…he like it..Thank to u !!!!!!!!b’coz of u I Impress ed to my F-I-L….
THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Hi Mullai
I tried this on saturday for my few guests. you know the highlight of the dinner was “paneer butter masala”. Came out very well. thanks a lot for a wonderful recipe
r u sure bout 4 “tablespoon”of dhania. wont it be too much
Hi Mullai,
This is the best recipe. I love PBM. I almost got restaurant taste. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Jo
Really turned out to be yummy and tasty. Thanks for the recipe!!!!
i have tried this recipe with the pavbhaji masala which is available in ready made…will try this recipe..looks mouth watering..panner is my favorite…thanks mullai..
Hi Mullai,
I am a beginner cook and tried this recipe yesterday for dinner. It was delicious.And even I tried your gobi manchurian last week it turned out good.
Thanks for your recipes and have a great time.
As USUAL kalakiteengal Madam
Hi Thanks for the recipe. I cooked it today and invited many of my friends home. They really loved it and I think this is the best food I have ever cooked.
The dish turned out yummy. Thanks again
Mullai, tried this for the first time yesterday for our guest, it was awesome. lot of work but it was totally worth. I got the restaurant feel & taste. paathu panrathukae neriya velai, I can imagine your hard work for trying out lot of combinations and coming up with the final ingredients. You are really doing a wonderful job! Thanks a lot.
Hi,
I just wanted a good recipe for paneer butter masala and i happened to see it here. I will try & let u know how it turned out.I just wanted to share a small piece of info regarding Honey, one should never heat honey…As it is mentioned in the recipe to add honey and then simmer for 3 min I just feel the other alternative of sugar would be better.No offense intended.
Thanks
Yogeeta,
Thanks for coming with an alternative solution, but for your kind info.. honey is always better than sugar and simmering will not affect it anyway. Honey when heated beyond a certain temperature, makes it crystalize and its perfectly fine to simmer for few minutes. Thanks again for coming with a feedback. Appreciate if you register.
Hi mullai,
yesterday i prepared this 4 dinner. it came out very good. very delicious.thanku very much.
abi
there is this sour taste of tomatoe… hw to get rid of it
Hi Mullai,
Thanks so much for the recipe. I tried it yesterday and it was awesome. My husband and I loved it.
Ashwini
Hi Mullai, I jus happen to visit your site last week.I was awed by the presentation of your recipes. tried this recipe few days back..but today only i got a chance to register.I should say that this recipe rocks!!!!my husband is not too fond of paneer but this recipe proved otherwise :-).I didnt have 6 tomatoes but tried with 3 hoping i wont get the correct amount of gravy.But amazing everything came out good.Thanks for sharing. Regards, Priya.
Priya, thanks for your feedback, I truly appreciate this.
Hi Mullai..
Had prepared paneer butter masala yesterday..It was tooooooooooooo good,awesome,delicious!!!!Exactly the same taste as what we normally get in restaurants..We all enjoyed the dish and had an very heavy dinner too!!!
Cheers
Radha Arvindh
This recipe is just too good. I made a few changes to the recipe though…I used olive oil (Extra light) instead of butter..and instead of milk I added 4 tsps of heavy cream….and inspite of all the changes the dish was very very tasty. Truly restaurant style…
This is my Paneer ‘OO’ Masala 🙂
Hi Mullai,
I have tried this recipe and it tasted so delicious same with restaurant flavour. Please post me another punjabi recipe…. if possible share your fav recipes too…
Hi Mullai,
I tried the butter paneer recipe and it was awesome. The best ever recipe I have come across. We all loved it. The downside is now no one will wanna go out to eat this dish. They will all want me to make it. This is the restraunt taste…… I have been searching for this recipe for so long. Thanks a lot. And keep up the excellent work. I have tried several other recipies of yours. You are GOOD without a doubt!!!! I love your pictures your comments the details….everything is great!
Nice Job…Keep them coming. Please post more restraunt style dishes like this.
Sharm,
Thanks so much, glad you all enjoyed my recipe. There are quite a few restaurant style dishes to try from, explore them and surprise your family with tasty treats. I'd try my best to come up with more"restaurant menus".
Thank again,
Mullai.
dear mullai………
i tried this receipe yesterday……… wonderful dish……. thk u mullai can you send hw to prepare gobi manchurian gravy and naan.
regards
mogu
hai mullai,
i tried ths dish.it was very very delicious.we gave a feast to our friends to celebrate my hubby’s b’day.i prepared chickn chettinad,briyani,paneer butter msala,chilli parota and badam halwa.all are ur recipes.came out superb……all credits to u mullai.thanx a lot.u’r doing an excellent job.keep going.
HI Ramya, looks like you had a mini Indian buffet, anyways happy to hear that everything turned out fine.
Wow wonderful taste Mullai.While I was going through your recipes yesterday,My daughter saw this snap and wanted it today itself.Though raining my husband got me Paneer and butter.It has turned out very good.Thankyou Mullai for this excellent recipe
Hi Mullai,
I prepared this a week back and it was really delicious. Will panneer melts when we fry it? Because it happens in my case.
Mercy
Hi Mullai di,
This dish looks verrrrry delicious….could you please tell me how many cups of tomato puree would be needed in this recipe? The ingredients say 6 no of tomatoes.
I am waiting for your reply Mullai di as i am half way through it.
Thanks,
Shanu.
Sorry I wasn't home to reply you immediately. Might need about 2 to 21/2 cups of puree.
Hi Mullai,
I have tried this recipe and it tasted so delicious same with restaurant flavour. Please post me another punjabi recipe…. if possible share your fav recipes too…
Hi Mullai,
I have tried this recipe and it tasted so delicious same with restaurant flavour. Please post recipe for dalmakhani
Thanks
Seetha
Hi Mullai di!
This recipe is really mouth watering. I want to try this but i don’t have coriander seeds and i will have to wait till i go to indian store to get it…couldn’t find in walmart 🙁 they say they have never heard of it..
Can i try this recipe without coriander seeds? will it be of same taste?
Shanu, Its available at Walmart, check the spice section, Mc Cormick carries this product. Check this http://www.mccormick.com/content.cfm?id=8217
If thats a problem, then I guess, wait till you get to the Indian Stores.
hey mullai,tried out this recipe and it came out really good…..try posting such recipes….thanks for sharing it with us….
Hi Mullai – This is PriyaS from Canada.Ur recipes are Simply Superbbb . Paneer Butter masala came out very good . My family loved it . Keep up the fantastic work ..
Hello Priya,
Welcome to my site. Thankyou so much for your appreciation. Its been a while, since I posted any, had been busy with other stuff, hopefully by next week will start posting new recipes. Check out the member category recipes, they are wonderful too. Keep us posted with your comments, if possible share your fav recipes too.
Hi Mullai, thanks for the wonderful recipe.. I just made it, and I love it.. Please keep posting with delicious recipes. Thanks.
plz tell me can we use sour cream instead of fresh cream in panerr curry
Raman,
Sour cream won't suit this recipe, instead use half & half cream. Actually its not a must that you should use fresh cream, as you are already adding enough milk… to make it rich.
Hi Mullai,
Can you tell me how many people this dish serves? Thanks
Chandana
Chandana,
This recipe should easily serve 3 to 4 people. Well again it depends on how much each person consumes. If they are really good eaters then assume 2.
Hi Mullai, I think your site is the best one to learn cooking. In the paneer butter masala which onions you use? Is it vidalia or sweet onions ? or other kind? Regarding tomatoes is it Beef steak one or romaine one? Please clarify my doubts. Thanks sdonthy@yahoo.com
Hi Donthy,
Use white or yellow onions, bcos red onions are too strong, we need mild sweet onions for this dish. Now for the tomatoes use medium size ripe roma or go with canned whole tomatoes which are easier, bcos they are already blanched. Thanks for visiting my web page.
Hi Mullai,
I am planning to prepare this dish for my daughter’s B’day party. Can i add Peas to this dish??
Yes, you can add peas, its all your choice, then it would become Matar Paneer Butter Masala.
Hi mullai,
I was looking for paneer butter masala taste , which i like in punjabi restuarent.But never ever achieve that taste .
can you help in recognizing the contents .The fragrance is simmilar for dal makahni , paneer butter masala…
i have tried all ingradients except kasoori methi ..
can you help in finding the same.
Diwakar,
Have you tried this recipe? I cannot guarantee the same taste, but at least close enough. Some use fresh fenugreek leaves instead of dry kastoori methi, I haven't tried with fresh leaves, so will let you know then, or will update my recipe. Dry Fenugreek leaves called Kastoori Methi is available in all supermarkets, like Nilgris, vitan, Food World and even ordinary grocery shops sell them in packets. Check your local stores, might cost you around Rs. 20 per box.
Hi i tried this recipe..its bit time consuming but came out very well.. it was yummy..like restuarent taste. And one small correction in the instructions- point 4 which says table 4 instead of table 3. Thanks a lot Mullai.. Keep up the good work
Priya,
Thanks!!! got it fixed.
Hi Mullai…This is Aarti here. I tried this recipe n it was so…..yummy. keep up the gud work..
hi mullai, this is vidhya. u r doing a great job. this site is very useful. i tried paneer butter masala. its simply superb. being a starter, all the recipes r very helpful to me. ur way of presentation is good and also clear. thanx a lot. continue with ur wonderful work forever.
I tried this.. and it was a truly finger licking dish… Thanks a million! God bless!
Thanks Sneha.
Hi Mullai, Thank you very much for posting this recipe. I was so delighted to see this recipe and wanted to try it right away. It came out really good (even though i did not have some of the ingredients mentioned in the recipe). I have a few questions though. 1. Where can we get kasturi methi? 2. There was a little bit of the coriander seeds' smell at the end. what can we do to avoid that? Could you pls. tell me where I could have gone wrong? 3. How do you mince onions — do you use blender? When i use the blender, it releases lot of water and takes a lot of time to fry. Is that the way it has to be done or is there a better way? Thanx once again for the recipe, Subashini
thanks for the wonderful recipe….i tried it and it turned out good…this dish is delicious…