Paneer Butter Masala – Restaurant style

Paneer butter masala- restaurant style recipe is a very creamy, sweet, and buttery side dish. It is absolutely everyones favorite in my family. We love to pair it with any of the following: naan, chapathis, rotis, phulkas, and even fried rice!

What is Paneer?

Paneer is basically cottage cheese, available in all Indian grocery stores. Whole milk is used to make Paneer at home. Whole milk is boiled; lemon or vinegar or curd is added to curdle the milk to separate the greenish whey; cheese cloth is used to strain the whey from the coagulated milk mixture/ paneer. The home-made paneer can be used immediately or can be refrigerated (upto 3 days) to be used later. I make paneer at home when I have a lot of time, otherwise use store bought paneer.

Paneer
My store bought paneer
Paneer cubes
How to make Paneer Butter Masala- Restaurant Style?

Paneer Butter Masala is a famous restaurant style dish that is made using a lot of butter. It a very fragrant, sweet and creamy dish. The main ingredients include: onions, tomatoes, cashews, kasthuri methi, paneer, ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, garam masala, and turmeric and whole spices. Whole spices such as bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and cumin are tempered in butter. I use finely chopped onions for this recipe, but you can also use pureed onions. The tomatoes are blanched in hot water and then pureed. Cashew nuts are soaked in water and ground to a fine paste. The cashew nut paste helps thicken the paneer butter masala base and also adds to the creaminess of the masala.

I use both whole milk and warm water to make the masala. Red food coloring is added to achieve the signature color of the paneer butter masala available in most restaurants. This is an optional step. The onion-tomato masala base is first prepared, and then the paneer is added. I also add a tablespoon of sugar to balance out the spices in the masala.

Paneer butter masala is very easy to prepare. I have provided very detailed instructions to prepare this dish. Try it out in your kitchen and let me know how it turned out. Happy cooking!!

Paneer Butter Masala- Restaurant style

Jay Naveenan
4.50 from 2 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 400g Paneer cubed
  • 2 onions, medium sized pureed or diced
  • 2 tomatoes, medium sized boiled and pureed
  • 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
  • 10 cashew nuts soaked in water for half an hour and ground to a paste
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 5 cardamom
  • 5 cloves
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 & 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 & 1/2 cup warm milk
  • red food coloring optional
  • 1 tsp Chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp Garam masala
  • salt as required
  • sugar optional
  • 1 tbsp kasthuri methi

Instructions
 

  • Dice the onions finely or it can also be pureed
  • Boil the tomatoes in water and once they have cooled down, remove the skin and puree the tomatoes
  • Cut the paneer into cubes
  • Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a kadai/ pot
  • Once the butter has melted, add cumin, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, and cloves
  • Now add the onions. Sauté the onions until they turn golden
  • Add the ginger-garlic paste. Keep stirring until the raw smell goes away
  • Now add chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala. Stir everything thoroughly
  • Add the cashew nut paste. Stir and bring everything together
  • Add the pureed tomatoes. Stir
  • Keep stirring occasionally until the contents of the pot has thickened in consistency
  • Now add 1 & 1/2 cups of warm milk and 1 & 1/2 cups of warm water. Add the red food coloring to warm water (Optional)
  • Add salt and stir. Give the masala a taste
  • Stir everything and bring it to a boil. Once the masala base starts to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes
  • After 10 to 15 minutes, add the cubed paneer to the masala base
  • Let the paneer cook for 5 to 10 minutes
  • Add sugar to the paneer masala and stir. Give it a taste and add more if required
  • Garnish with kasthuri methi and transfer the masala to a serving dish and add the remaining 1 tbsp of butter.
  • Serve immediately with hot rotis/parathas or jeera rice.
Keyword Bay leaf, Cardamom, Cashew nuts, Chili powder, Cinnamom, Cloves, Cumin, Garam Masala, Kasthuri methi, Milk, Onions, Paneer,, Tomatoes
Directions with pictures

1.Dice the onions finely or it can also be pureed

chopped onions

2. Boil the tomatoes in water and once they have cooled down, remove the skin and puree the tomatoes

Tomato blanched in hot water
tomato puree

3. Cut the paneer into cubes

Cubed paneer

4. Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a kadai/ pot

Butter melting in a hot pot

5. Once the butter has melted, add cumin, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, and cloves

Whole spices tempered in butter

6. Now add the onions. Sauté the onions until they turn golden

Onions are added to the spices

7. Add the ginger-garlic paste. Keep stirring until the raw smell goes away

Ginger-garlic paste added to onions

8. Now add chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala. Stir

chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala are added to onion
chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala are mixed well with onions

9. Add the cashew nut paste. Stir and bring everything together

Cashew paste is added to onions
Cashew paste is mixed well with onions

10. Add the pureed tomatoes. Stir

Tomato puree is added to onions

11. Keep stirring occasionally until the contents of the pot has thickened in consistency

Thickened onion-tomato base for paneer butter masala

12. Now add 1 & 1/2 cups of warm milk and 1 & 1/2 cups of warm water. Add the red food coloring to warm water (Optional)

1 & 1/2 cups of warm milk and 1 & 1/2 cups of warm water
Milk and water are added to onion-tomato base

13. Add salt and stir. Give the masala a taste

14. Stir everything and bring it to a boil. Once the masala base starts to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes

milk and water added to base of paneer butter masala
Thickened onion-tomato base

15. After 10 to 15 minutes, add the cubed paneer to the masala base

Paneer cubes added to onion-tomato base

16. Let the paneer cook for 5 to 10 minutes

17. Add sugar to the paneer masala and stir. Give it a taste and add more if required

Sugar added to paneer butter masala

18. Garnish with kasthuri methi and transfer the masala to a serving dish and add the remaining 1 tbsp of butter.

Kasthuri methi leaves
Kasthuri methi leaves added to paneer butter masala
Kasthuri methi leaves stirredi into paneer butter masala

19. Serve immediately with hot rotis/parathas or jeera rice.

Paneer Butter Masala with cubes of butter a serving bowl

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7 Comments

  1. Omg I LOVE your step by step instructions! Thank you! I’ve been wanting a great Marsala dish and I’ve found it!!

  2. OMG this sounds so delicious!!! How much lemon juice or vinegar do you add to the milk to make the paneer cheese? How long do you allow it to sit? Thanks for sharing!!

    • For 6 cups of full fat milk, add 2 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar. After you have strained it using a muslin cloth, hang it for 45 mins, then place the paneer on a plate and place a heavy object over it an hour or so. This will help get rid of excess whey and set the paneer.

  3. 4 stars
    I did not know paneer was cottage cheese. Mind blowing

  4. Sounds delicious, thanks for the recipe!

  5. I’m always on the look out for a good butter masala recipe since I had it in India. Definitely going to give this a go!

  6. 5 stars
    I love your recipe. I never have seen like this soup. I’m sure this paneer is sweet, buttery and warm. I love warm soup like it.

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