Paneer Makhani (no butter, no cream)
Paneer Makhani also known as Paneer Butter Masala is a Punjabi dish prepared in a creamy tomato gravy with Indian cheese.
Servings: 5 servings
Ingredients
Paneer
- 400 grams paneer, cubed soaked in boiling hot water
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
- add 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
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
- add paneer
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 2 tbsp kasoori methi I like MDH
- 1/2 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 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
This recipe was originally posted on Oct 25, 2019. It has been modified, updated, and reposted.
Nutrition
Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 311mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 167IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 505mg | Iron: 2mg