Paneer Makhani recipe with step by step pictures. A classic Punjabi dish, Paneer Makhani or Paneer Butter Masala is Indian cheese in a creamy gravy. My version is made with no butter, no cream.
Diwali Tradition
Every Diwali, my entire family gets together at my mom’s home, even if it’s on a weekday. We start Diwali off with a puja (prayer) and take turns singing a variety of bhajans (religious songs). Once done, my mom gives each one of us prasad (an offering) which is usually wheat halwa prepared with ghee, sugar, flour, and water. ?
And then the best part, dinner! Every year my mom makes a paneer dish, poori (deep-fried bread), and dahi bada (fried dumplings soaked in yogurt). For this reason, I always associate paneer with Diwali because it’s something I’ve usually eaten on a special occasion, whether it’s during the holidays, or at a party/wedding. Essentially, paneer is festival food, or even celebration food. This Diwali I won’t be with my family, however I’ll be thinking of them as I start my own tradition.
Didi’s Paneer Makhani
Today’s Paneer Makhani recipe doesn’t come from my mom, but rather my eldest sister who is the best cook I know. My sister has the ability to take an ordinary dish and whip it into something gourmet. She really is that good. I love watching her cook and I’m always picking her brain for ideas.
On my last trip to NJ, I watched my sister make a Healthier Paneer Makhani without butter or cream, and to my surprise it tasted amazing. What’s even more surprising is she made this paneer dish with 1% low-fat milk, however I used whole milk to be on the safe side. ? I had numerous requests for this recipe so I decided to share it with you guys after some experimenting. My husband and I both loved this dish, and thus, I’m confident you will too. So this Diwali, hope you make my Didi’s Lightened Up Paneer Makhani recipe. I wish you all a prosperous and healthy new year! ❤️
paneer makhani recipe is:
Highly Flavorful
Rich & Creamy
Made with NO BUTTER, NO CREAM
Gluten-Free
Vegetarian
Perfect on Diwali
Lightened Up
Delicious
how to make paneer makhani step by step?
Soak Paneer & Make a Paste
1. Soak paneer in warm water for 20 minutes.
2. Grind cashews and water in a NutriBullet until a smooth paste forms.
3. Then add onion, ginger, garlic, green chiles, and cardamom.
4. Blend until a smooth paste forms.
Cook
1. Heat a wok on medium heat. Use a nonstick preferably, I like Ballarini Granite. Once hot, add hing, turmeric powder, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cumin seeds. Saute for a minute.
2. Pour the cashew onion paste. Saute on low-medium heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Stir often.
4. Eventually you’ll end up with this.. notice the color will darken slightly.
5. Add tomato paste. Cook for a couple minutes on low-medium heat.
6. Add water. Gently stir until everything combines.
7. Add milk SLOWLY. We want to temper the milk so add it SLOW to avoid curdling.
8. Once all the ingredients are combined, add coriander powder and salt. Cook for a couple minutes.
9. Cube the paneer into small or large pieces of cubes, or even triangles.
10. Add the paneer to the sauce. Season with red chili powder. Stir. Cook for about 8 minutes on low-medium heat.
11. Now add kasoori methi and a touch of garam masala.
12. Stir well. Turn off the heat.
Garnish
1. Garnish with lots of fresh cilantro. Serve with garlic naan, roti, or rice.
Enjoy!
Paneer Makhani (no butter, no cream, gluten-free)
Ingredients
Paneer
- 400 grams paneer Haldiram's is best, Gopi is good
Make a Paste
- 3/4 cup raw unsalted cashews
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 8 cloves garlic
- 2 green chilies
- 2 cardamom pods
Cook
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/8 tsp hing (asafetida) gluten-free hing
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch piece cinnamon stick
- paste from above
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk 1% or 2% will work too
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder
- 2 tbsp kasoori methi I like MDH
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- handful fresh cilantro leaves chopped
Instructions
Soak Paneer & Make a Paste
- Soak paneer in warm water for 20 minutes.
- Grind cashews and water in a NutriBullet until a smooth paste forms.
- Then add onion, ginger, garlic, green chiles, and cardamom.
- Blend until a smooth paste forms.
Cook
- Heat a wok on medium heat. Use a nonstick preferably, I like Ballarini Granite. Once hot, add hing, turmeric powder, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cumin seeds. Saute for a minute.
- Pour the cashew onion paste. Saute on low-medium heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt.
- Stir often.
- Eventually you'll end up with this.. notice the color will darken slightly.
- Add tomato paste. Cook for a couple minutes on low-medium heat.
- Add water. Gently stir until everything combines.
- Add milk SLOWLY. We want to temper the milk so add it SLOW to avoid curdling.
- Once all the ingredients are combined, add coriander powder and salt. Cook for a couple minutes.
- Cube the paneer into small or large pieces of cubes, or even triangles.
- Add the paneer to the sauce. Season with red chili powder. Stir. Cook for about 8 minutes on low-medium heat.
- Now add kasoori methi and a touch of garam masala.
- Stir well. Turn off the heat.
Garnish
- Garnish with lots of fresh cilantro. Serve with garlic naan, roti, or rice.17. Garnish with lots of fresh cilantro. Serve with garlic naan, roti, or rice.
Made this for Diwali and it was amazing. I can’t believe there is no butter or cream in here. Nice job!!!
Hi Neha. Oh I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the Paneer Makhani. Thanks so much. xoxo
Finally a healthier paneer recipe! Tasted amazing for no dairy! Will definitely make again!
Hi Lisa. Thank you so much. So glad you liked it without using dairy milk. 🙂
Love! Love! Love it! Initially I was wary of cooking raw ground onions and garlic because it never used to come out right for me. But the illustrations and details helped and I made my first successful healthy makhani albeit with chicken instead of paneer. Works great with almond milk (i used Califa brand) too instead of dairy! Perfect with roti or cauliflower fried rice or just plain rice. One will not miss the cream or butter! Thanks Ms. Honeywhatscooking!
I made this paneer makhani with no butter and no cream and it was amazing. Thanks for that simple healthy twist to this popular dish Nisha.
I made this last night, but dairy free and it was so good! Love following Nisha’s recipes!
Amazingly thick and tasty gravy without butter or cream!! We added a hint of butter in ours but it was great even before we added it.
Can’t believe how easy and fast this recipe is. It tastes delicious and my 6 year old approved (very picky eater) who requested to eat two days in a row.
I tried out the paneer makhani recipe yesterday and it came out amazing!!! It is very easy to make and you don’t miss the butter and cream at all. The cashews and milk and definitely enough for that creamy consistency. Definitely will be making this again!
Made this for the day after Thanksgiving and we couldn’t believe how good and authentic the Makani tasted without any ghee, butter, or cream!!! My husband told me this now has to be a staple in our homes instead of the butter paneer which we usually did! Thank you for a lighter alternative to a dish that is so loved!!!
Hello,
I made this recipe last night , It turned out amazing and taste was bomb ?! ?
Husband approved! ?
Paneer makhani taste was different , loved the taste!
Thanks Nisha for sharing such an amazing recipe!
Hi Nisha!! As I told you on IG via a DM… this was absolutely to die for. I LOVE Punjabi food and am super critical of the way it taste. I savored every little bit of this and I cannot wait to make this again!!
I subbed the paneer for tofu and subbed whole milk for part greek yogurt, skim milk, and water just so it fit within my dietary restrictions.
It was such a hit everyone loved it!! So yummy and authentic
Just followed this recipe and the dish came out to be AMAZING. Loved the authenticity and the simplicity of the recipe. The best part? I don’t feel guilty devouring this as it’s a clean recipe without heavy cream or butter. Will definitely be saving this recipe for the years to come.
Is there a way to makenit dairy free if your lactose intolerant.
HI Sukhy.
You can replace the paneer with tofu. You can replace the milk with Lactose-free milk, or use cashew or almond milk (unsweetened). Hope that helps.
Loved it, best recipe for weight watchers. I make it every alternate Sunday. Please share more healthy and tasty recipes.
Made this super easy and delicious recipe Friday night while experimenting with quarantine cooking! It turned out so delicious I shared it with my family 🙂
Hi! What’s the purpose of soaking the paneer in warm water? I’m curious if this step is still needed if my paneer isn’t frozen?!
Hi. It makes it softer. If it’s store-bought paneer, it’s recommended you soak it… regardless of whether it’s frozen or not. If it’s homemade, you don’t need to soak it. Hope that helps.
Another super easy and tasty recipe! I love how your site adjusts all of the measurements depending on the number of servings. Makes cooking so much easier! Thanks for sharing healthy AND delicious recipes. Looking forward to making more of your recipes.
BEST PANEER MAKHANI EVER!!!!
Tried this gluten free recipe few days ago and it turned out so delicious. Thanks Neha for this recipe.
Hi Nisha,
Tried your Paneer Makhani. It came out to creamy and delicious without any cream or unhealthy ingredients. Loved it. Thank you!
I made this recipe a few days ago and it turned out delicious!! It was super easy to make and I did not miss the butter or cream. Thank you for sharing this healthy and delicious recipe. I definitely will be making it again!
I’ll admit, I was nervous at first to try a Makhani sauce recipe with no makhan lol …but this did NOT dissapoint! This recipe is legit. The sauce was both creamy and incredibly flavorful. Will be making this recipe more often for my family and friends (post quarantine of course). Thanks Nisha!
This recipe is so dear to me as it was the first dish I made for my parent’s and my in-law’s when they visited me after I got married. This dish was easy to make but tasted like I’d been slaving away in the kitchen all day. Both my mom’s asked for the recipe after eating it and now it has become a staple in my home. I HIGHLY reccomend this dish!! Always good with some garlic naan! 🙂
This is an amazing healthy and simple Recipe ! A big hit everytime I make it! Love all of Nisha’s recipes !
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Gayatri. 🙂
This is the BEST paneer makhani recipe ever!! It’s so easy to make and tastes exactly like a restaurant dish. I have made it vegan for fitness by swapping out the paneer for tofu as well. It’s so much healthier too! This recipe is now in our weekly menu for dinner. You HAVE to try it!!!!!
This was delicious & creamy! It’s sometimes hard to make Indian food without fattening ingredients, so this cashew paste was a game changer. Easy to make with such clear instructions. Thank you Nisha! 🙂