Paneer Makhani also known as Paneer Butter Masala is a Punjabi dish prepared in a creamy tomato gravy with Indian cheese.
What is Paneer Makhani?
Paneer is an Indian cheese and makhani means butter, so this dish is essentially Indian cheese cooked in a butter gravy.
Ironically, I did not add any butter or cream to this dish because you don't really need it. You can enjoy weeknight Paneer Makhani relatively guilt-free.
Are Paneer Makhani and Paneer Butter Masala the same?
Yes! Since makhani means butter, Paneer Makhani and Paneer Butter Masala can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, Paneer Makhani is also known as Paneer Makhan Masala and Paneer Makhanwala. They all mean the same thing more or less.
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 is dinner! Every year my mom makes a paneer dish, poori (deep-fried bread), and Dahi Vada (fried dumplings soaked in yogurt). For this reason, I always associate paneer with Diwali because it's always made 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 Best Paneer Makhani
Today's Paneer Makhani recipe doesn't come from my mom, but rather from 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 Healthy 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! ❤️
Why You'll Love this Paneer Makhani
- It's made without butter or cream
- It's rich and creamy
- Perfect for the Diwali season or parties
- So incredibly flavorful
- Melts in your mouth
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Ingredients to make Paneer Makhani
- Paneer - I use store-bought paneer and soak it in hot water for 20 minutes which results in super soft paneer. Then cube the paneer.
- Cashews - Cashews are key in making this dish nice and creamy.
- Yellow Onion - I recommend using a yellow onion instead of a red onion to keep the original color of this dish.
- Ginger/Garlic/Green Chilies/Cardamom - These ingredients are needed when making the cashew paste.
- Avocado Oil - My favorite high-heat cooking oil.
- Spices - Hing, Cumin Seeds, Turmeric Powder, Cloves, Cinnamon Stick, Coriander Powder, Salt, Red Chili Powder, Garam Masala, Kasoori Methi.
- Tomato Paste - Tomato Paste is a concentrated flavor that adds color, sweetness, and body to the sauce.
- Water & Milk - A combination of both is needed to make the sauce. There is no need for heavy cream.
- Cilantro Leaves - The perfect garnish.
How to make Paneer Makhani recipe 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 smooth paste forms.
3. Then add onion, ginger, garlic, green chiles, and cardamom.
4. Blend until 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 of 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 of 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 4-5 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.
Substitutions
1. Allergic to nuts?
If you are allergic to nuts or simply don't want to use nuts in this recipe, you will need to use heavy cream.
Here's how to do it:
- Blend the onions along with the ginger, garlic, green chilies, and a few spices.
- Cook down the onion mixture, then add the tomato paste as the recipe states.
- Instead of water, add cream next - anywhere from ½ cup to 1 cup.
- Now add either water or milk based on the consistency you desire. If you want to thin out the sauce, add water or even 1% low-fat milk, if you want a rich and creamy consistency, then add whole milk. You will need 1 cup to 1 ½ cups of liquid either in the form of water or milk or a combo of both.
2. Can I use chicken instead of paneer?
Yes!
- If you'd like to make a healthier Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken), simply cook the marinated chicken separately before adding it to the sauce.
- You'll need to add the cooked chicken to the sauce where the paneer is added (refer to the recipe below).
Pro Tip
When using store-bought paneer, make sure to soak paneer in boiling hot water for 20 minutes to ensure soft paneer. If you're using homemade paneer, you do not need to do this step. Then slice paneer as usual.
FAQ
Instead of using butter and cream in this dish, I simply soaked some cashews and blended them with onions, ginger, garlic, green chilies, and a few aromatic spices.
Instead of cream, I used whole milk, but you can totally use 2% reduced-fat or even 1% low-fat milk. On some occasions, I've even skipped milk and used water, and it works! Check out my Salmon Tikka Masala recipe.
Trust me when I say that you won't miss the butter and cream in this dish because it's just that good!
Despite this dish not having any butter and cream, I can assure you it tastes just as good as restaurant-style Paneer Makhani - just check out the reviews below. If you truly want to add butter, add a butter tadka at the end.
Here's how:
Heat up two tablespoons of butter and add ½ teaspoon of Kashmiri red chili powder (aka similar to paprika). Add the heated butter tadka to the dish and serve.
Well, sort of, you can use tofu instead of paneer, but then it wouldn't really be paneer makhani. There is no substitute for paneer, but if you really must go vegan, use tofu instead of paneer.
I would lightly saute the tofu before adding it to the creamy gravy. Additionally, instead of milk, use water or even cashew milk.
More Paneer Dishes!
- Malai Kofta (no fry, no butter, no cream)
- Paneer Makhani (no butter, no cream)
- Mughlai Shahi Paneer (no butter, no ghee, no cream)
- Matar Paneer
- Aloo Tikki Chaat
Paneer Makhani (no butter, no cream)
No Butter, No Cream, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
Paneer
- 400 grams paneer, Haldiram's is best, Gopi is good
Make a Paste
- ¾ cup raw unsalted cashews
- ¼ cup water
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 8 cloves garlic
- 2 green chilies
- 2 cardamom pods
Cook
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ⅛ teaspoon hing (asafetida), gluten-free hing
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch piece cinnamon stick
- paste from above
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ cups whole milk, 1% or 2% will work too
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 tablespoon kasoori methi, I like MDH
- ½ teaspoon 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 smooth paste forms.
- Then add onion, ginger, garlic, green chiles, and cardamom.
- Blend until 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 of 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 of 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 4-5 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin & Enjoy!
Neha says
Made this for Diwali and it was amazing. I can’t believe there is no butter or cream in here. Nice job!!!
honeywhatscooking says
Hi Neha. Oh I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the Paneer Makhani. Thanks so much. xoxo
Lisa says
Finally a healthier paneer recipe! Tasted amazing for no dairy! Will definitely make again!
honeywhatscooking says
Hi Lisa. Thank you so much. So glad you liked it without using dairy milk. 🙂
Linta says
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!
Shelly says
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.
Ashima says
I made this last night, but dairy free and it was so good! Love following Nisha’s recipes!
Deep Patel says
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.
Miky says
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.
C Patel says
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!
Saiju says
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!!!
Abhi gandhi says
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!
Rayna Shah says
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
Priya says
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.
sukhy says
Is there a way to makenit dairy free if your lactose intolerant.
honeywhatscooking says
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.
Sam says
Loved it, best recipe for weight watchers. I make it every alternate Sunday. Please share more healthy and tasty recipes.
Dhruvi says
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 🙂
Aiswarya says
Delicious! Made it so many times already!
Sheetal says
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?!
honeywhatscooking says
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.
Rupal says
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.
Priya Prajapati says
BEST PANEER MAKHANI EVER!!!!
Tried this gluten free recipe few days ago and it turned out so delicious. Thanks Neha for this recipe.
Tanvi Shah says
Hi Nisha,
Tried your Paneer Makhani. It came out to creamy and delicious without any cream or unhealthy ingredients. Loved it. Thank you!
Bijal says
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!
Nikki says
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!
Sneha Bhakta says
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! 🙂
Gayatri says
This is an amazing healthy and simple Recipe ! A big hit everytime I make it! Love all of Nisha’s recipes !
honeywhatscooking says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Gayatri. 🙂
Preeti says
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!!!!!
Neha says
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! 🙂
Pinki says
Amazing recipe. My kids loved it. Will definitely make it again!!!
Ritu Chhangani says
Delicious paneer makhani! Thanks for the recipe! I made extra sauce to use for chicken etc.
Snehal Berajawala says
This was amazing! it was creamy, delicious, better than the restaurant! I can't wait to make it again!
Monica S says
Super delicious recipe! I followed the instructions and came out unbelievably creamy and decadent. Yum. Hubby and kid approved. Thank you ❤️
Anu Raju says
This is now my go to paneer recipe! Its easy to make and still so rich and flavorful! Perfect with rice, with roti or as kati rolls!
Manu says
I’ve made this three times in the past two months because it is so delicious! Everyone has loved it and says it tastes just like a restaurant. Love your recipes they are very detailed and easy to follow!
Rayna Shah says
So yummy! Since i was on a time crunch I actually threw all the ingredients into my IP and HP cooked for 5 mins and then blended it up and added in the tofu. I didn’t even need milk because I used 1/3 cup cashew and 1 cup water. It worked beautifully and tasted phenomenal. My husband said it was better than what we get at restaurants 😊
Dhaval Palsana says
We love this recipe! Turns out absolutely best every time. We added a little more kasuri methi to get that rich curry flavor.
honeywhatscooking says
Thank you so much!!!
Snehal Berajawala says
This recipe is pretty much exclusively what I use to make paneer makhani now. Everyone (including kids) loves this recipe. Thank you Nisha!
Tina Vohra says
This was a super easy, yummy and healthy dish to make! My family and I really enjoyed this and I am definitely going to be making this often! Thanks Nisha for sharing this recipe! 🙂
Mansi Patel says
LOVED it!!! so easy to make…and tastes amazing…I ordered the kasuri methi as posted on the recipe on blog and it def makes a difference. Also prepped the cashew paste ahead of time and kept it in the fridge for a few and still tasted amazing!
Arushi says
Fantastic, quick and healthy. Tasted soo good. I am glad to have found such an easy recipe for my favourite dish!
honeywhatscooking says
I'm so glad to hear that. It's surprising it tastes so good without any butter. 🙂
Monica Jindia says
This was amazing and far exceeded my expectations! This was way better than anything I have had at an Indian restaurant. Thank you for the recipe!
honeywhatscooking says
OMG Monica. What a sweet comment. I'm so glad you enjoyed it and the recipe worked out for you. Yeah, it's crazy it works, my sister taught me. 🙂
Dhara says
Amazing paneer curry. Loved it.
honeywhatscooking says
Thanks Dhara. So glad you enjoyed it.