Paneer Butter Masala | Paneer Butter Masala Gravy Restaurant Style | Paneer Makhani | 4.70/5.0

Best Occasion to Prepare this Recipe

Having people over at home? Hosting a party? Or just feel like loading up on sugar, spice, and everything nice? 😉 North Indian Cuisine offers innumerable choices of gravy varieties to pick from and all of them enriched by their own unique combination of spices.

Paneer Butter Masala otherwise a.k.a Paneer Makhani is a popular Punjabi paneer gravy prepared using soft pieces of Paneer cooked in rich creamy butter + cashew + tomato-based sauce. I personally prefer Paneer that is grilled/broiled/pan-fried until golden and added to the gravy sauce to soak up the flavor, finally a dash of cream is all it needs!

The prep time on this dish is only about 10mins with a total cook time of 30-45minutes. Yes- THAT quick and painless!

PS: Paneer Butter Masala pairs great with Tandoori Rotis, Naan (plain/garlic/butter), Phulkas, plain Parathas, all kinds of Kulchas, Jeera Rice, Veg Pulao or plain Biryani Rice

My Top Recipe Recommendations

• Veg Recipes of India – Paneer Butter Masala – *Love some tips on this page!
• Swathi’s Recipes – Paneer Butter Masala Recipe
• Sanjeev Kapoor’s Paneer Butter Masala Recipe
• Hebbar’s Kitchen – Paneer Butter Masala Recipe
• Indian Veggie Delight – Paneer Butter Masala
  • Pickometer Score 4.70/5.0 these recipes are very close to what you find in Restaurants.
• Raks Kitchen’s Paneer Butter Masala Recipe
  • Pickometer Score 4.20/5.0 Interesting unorthodox recipe and color

My Improv & Notes

I improvised over the best Paneer Butter Masala recipe out there, i.e, Veg Recipes of India’s. Here are my improvs/notes over the recipe:

• As you might have read in many blogs already- try using sweet, ripe tomatoes (if not, add in 1/2 tsp tomato ketchup for sweetness), fresh hung curd (not sour) and Paneer prepared at home. If you purchased Paneer from a store, soak it in a bowl filled with hot water and add in a pinch of turmeric- it’ll soften the texture of Paneer. Broil this paneer until it turns golden brown before adding them to the sauce!
• Majority of Authentic Punjabi Paneer Makhani gravies DO NOT use onions in them. You can easily skip them if you prefer, however this will yield lesser gravy
• This recipe would taste better when onion and tomatoes are blanched and sautéed in oil first before blending them
• You can also add 1/2 teaspoon of paprika powder to the gravy sauce for a deep red/orange color
• Cashews+Cream+Butter are the three essential taste makers that you cannot do without for this gravy. Use peeled and soaked almonds if you’re out of Cashews!
• Use sugar ONLY if needed. Cashews and ripe tomatoes with cream will naturally make this gravy sweet
• Dont overcook the Paneer as they turn rubbery and stretchy. You don’t wanna chew hard and not enjoy the taste of fresh soft paneer
• Sprinkle Kasuri Methi and granish with chopped corriander leaves
• Paneer in this recipe can be replaced by Tofu by the Tofu lovers

Restaurants Serving Best Paneer Butter Masala in Bay Area

• Ulavacharu
• Sankranti