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    Home » Vegetarian Side Dishes » Paneer Butter Masala Recipe

    Paneer Butter Masala Recipe

    Published: Jun 15, 2007 · Modified: Sep 23, 2020 by Srivalli · 28 Comments

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    Paneer Butter Masala is a creamy rich gravy with Cottage Cheese from Punjab. This is a crowd pleaser and kids will surely love it. While the restaurant version normally oozes out with butter, this version is still rich with home touch.

    Paneer Butter Masala is one of those dishes that gets prepared at home at least once in 10 days. If you have been searching for the types you get in the restaurants, then you got to try this and enjoy! But then the Paneer Butter Masala that we make at home is much more healthier and tasty as we use milk and less butter. It need not necessarily ooze of butter to taste good right.

    One of these days I will blog about the recipe we have finally come to make. But for now enjoy this delicious dish!

    My passions and pleasures when related to North Indian dishes are no end. I was introduced to North Indian cuisine during my college days, when one afternoon my friend wanted to go out for lunch.

    We ended up in a restaurant near the famous Gemini Flyover in Nungambakkam. The restaurant was located in a basement and I still remember walking down the corridor which lead to a dimly lit place. It was a bright and hot afternoon, but the atmosphere inside was one of a cool and dimly lit one. I hardly remember the ambiance except the fact it was crowded and busy. The aromas sneaking away from kitchen were more tantalizing then the decor.

    Well anyway, what I had for lunch on that afternoon was a prelude to a lifetime passion and obsession. Yes I became obsessed with Paneer and anything to do with it. We ordered Mutter Paneer, Shai Paneer, and maybe some Gobi dish, but the taste of that Shai Paneer lingered for a long time to come. I haven't visited that restaurant again, but hope I will one day find time to visit it again.

    Coming back to my obsession on paneer, if there was ever a need to find a reviewer on the Paneer dish available across Madras, well you can know where to find one.

    When we used to eat out at the restaurants, being the only Vegetarian, I always had to choose my own and had nobody to share with me. Well I will let you decide if this was my advantage or not. But this allowed me to order only Paneer Butter Masala all the time. Believe me, to my amazement, till date I have not been able to find this dish being prepared the same way.

    Amma had adapted this from Sanjeev Kapoor and included her own touch and flavours. She always makes paneer at home, as we prefer the homemade. It is so soft and tastier than the store ones.

    Now I have a big fan in my daughter who just simply loves this dish. This is one of the few dishes, she gets all excited about. I serve it with Tamil Nadu layered Parotta. The combination is ultimate. You should try it!

    Paneer Butter Masala Recipe ~ Restaurant Style!

    Here you go for recipe

    Serves - 4
    Preparation Time - 15 mins
    Cooking Time - 15 mins
    Cuisine - Punjabi | North Indian

    Ingredients needed:

    For Gravy

    Homemade Paneer - 250 gms
    Onions - 2 big
    Tomatoes - 3 big
    Ginger - 2 inch
    Garlic - 4 pods
    Cashew Nuts - 10 nos
    Milk - 100 ml
    Butter - 2 tbsp (more if you prefer)
    Red colour - a pinch
    Salt to taste
    Sugar - 1/4 tsp
    Chilli powder - 1 tsp
    Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
    Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

    For Garnishing:

    Onions - 1 medium
    Green Chilies - 2 - 3 slit

    Optional Garnishing:
    Capsicum - 1 medium
    Fenugreek seeds - few
    Kasuri Methi leaves

    Method to prepare:
    Follow the steps as explained for max time saving on cooking and cleaning
    First take the ingredients needed for gravy, cut onions, ginger, garlic and grind to a fine paste. Remove and then make puree of Tomatoes. Grind the cashew nut coarsely.
    Ingredients for Paneer Butter MasalaThen take the ingredients kept for Garnishing. Cut Paneer into cubes, finely chop the onions, slit the green chilies.
    Heat required amount of butter in the cooking pan. Fry each of the above ingredients. Onions should be crispy. Paneer should be fried to light golden colour. Keep these aside.

    Roasted onions and paneer

    Take the pan that's already used for frying, add 1 tbsp of butter, fry the onion paste. Sauté well to ensure it does not get burned.
    Once its cooked well, add chilli powder. Cook till oil comes out, simmer the flame. Add milk slowly and cook for 5 mins. Then add coarsely ground cashew nuts.
    Cook Once cooked for a while, add tomato puree, cumin powder, Salt, Sugar, garam masala, Orange colour. Bring to boil. Add required amount of water. Let it cook on high flame for few mins.
    simmering paneer butter masalaThen add fried onions, paneer cubes, green chillies, and cook for 10 mins. Add the remaining butter.
    Kasuri methi can be added at this stage. and cook it covered.
    Adding Paneer to gravyI normally don't add fenugreek or capsicum but add more number of green chilies as hubby dear likes to munch on green chilies. This can be changed according to ones preference.
    This tastes yummy with parotta...well writing this has given me the boost required to prepare this tonight for dinner.
    Paneer Butter Masala Recipe ~ Restaurant Style!

    Hope you enjoy this as much we do!

    Other Paneer Snacks

    Paneer 65
    Paneer Tikka
    Paneer Chilli

    Other Paneer Gravies:

    Palak Paneer
    Butter Paneer Masala
    Paneer and Channa Dal Curry
    Paneer Makhani
    Paneer Makhanwala
    Paneer Chettinad Curry
    Plantain Paneer Kofta Curry

    If you want some more Paneer Gravies, you can check out on Spice your Life!

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    Paneer Butter Masala Recipe ~ Restaurant Style!

    Paneer Butter Masala is a creamy rich gravy with Cottage Cheese from Punjab. This is a crowd pleaser and kids will surely love it. While the restaurant version normally oozes out with butter, this version is still rich with home touch.
    Course Main Dish - Gravies
    Cuisine Punjab
    Keyword Creamy Gravies
    By Cook Method Stovetop
    Occasion Party, Weekend Special
    By Diet Kid Friendly
    Dish Type Paneer Dishes
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Total Time 40 minutes
    Servings 4 people
    Author Srivalli

    Ingredients

    For Gravy

    • 250 gms Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese, homemade
    • 2 big Onions
    • 3 big Tomatoes
    • 2 inch Ginger
    • 4 cloves Garlic
    • 10 nos Cashew Nuts
    • 100 ml Milk
    • 2 tbsp Butter more if you prefer
    • A Pinch Red Colour
    • Salt to taste
    • 1/4 tsp Sugar
    • 1 tsp Red Chilli powder
    • 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder roasted
    • 1/2 tsp Garam Masala

    For Garnishing:

    • 1 medium Onions
    • 2 to 3 Green Chillies

    Optional Garnishing:

    • 1 medium Capsicum
    • 1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
    • A Pinch Kasuri Methi Leaves

    Instructions

    • Follow the steps as explained for max time saving on cooking and cleaning
    • First take the ingredients needed for gravy, cut onions, ginger, garlic and grind to a fine paste. Remove and then make puree of Tomatoes. Grind the cashew nut coarsely.
    • Then take the ingredients kept for Garnishing. Cut Paneer into cubes, finely chop the onions, slit the green chillies.
    • Heat required amount of butter in the cooking pan. Fry each of the above ingredients. Onions should be crispy. Paneer should be fried to light golden colour. Keep these aside.
    • Take the pan that’s already used for frying, add 1 tbsp of butter, fry the onion paste. Sauté well to ensure it does not get burned.
    • Once its cooked well, add chilli powder. Cook till oil comes out, simmer the flame. Add milk slowly and cook for 5 mins. Then add coarsely ground cashew nuts.
    • Cook Once cooked for a while, add tomato puree, cumin powder, Salt, Sugar, garam masala, Orange colour. Bring to boil. Add required amount of water. Let it cook on high flame for few mins.
    • Then add fried onions, paneer cubes, green chillies, and cook for 10 mins. Add the remaining butter.
    • Kasuri methi can be added at this stage. and cook it covered.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cooking4all or tag #cooking4all!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sia says

      June 15, 2007 at 2:23 pm

      if that paneer butter masala tastes as good as it looks, then i too would end up eating it once in every 10 days:) love that rich colour gravy u got. donno hw i missed visiting this blog all this time!!!

      Reply
    2. Asha says

      June 15, 2007 at 2:25 pm

      Great color,love the dish too.Thanks for posting Panner butter masala,a classic.Enjoy the weekend Srivalli:))

      Reply
    3. Richa says

      June 15, 2007 at 3:03 pm

      bring it on 🙂 ur paneer masala looks yum, absolutely tempting! am ready for paneer anytime 🙂

      Reply
    4. archana says

      June 15, 2007 at 3:20 pm

      Wow What a lovely colour for the gravy!The taste must be yummy.Even I like paneer a lot:)

      Reply
    5. Aruna says

      June 15, 2007 at 11:27 pm

      Yummy looking paneer butter masal 😉

      Reply
    6. Coffee says

      June 16, 2007 at 12:31 am

      What a colour!!! 🙂 I can eat this anytime anywhere!! 🙂 Looks great! 🙂

      Reply
    7. Saju says

      June 16, 2007 at 1:43 am

      that looks just amazing!

      Reply
    8. Vcuisine says

      June 16, 2007 at 5:12 am

      Its really tempting. This is my favorite too. Viji

      Reply
    9. Mishmash ! says

      June 18, 2007 at 1:12 am

      Hey, you have one of my fav's here....paneer butter....:)It looks quite yummy.

      Thanks for dropping by my page....
      Shn

      Reply
    10. Srivalli says

      June 18, 2007 at 11:25 am

      Hello Sia, thanks for dropping by. Yes take me word it does taste as good as it looks.

      Thanks Asha you are welcome.

      Thanks Richa, archana. Am crazy of paneer, will post other recipes of paneer I like. Hope you will like it.

      Thank you Aruna, Coffee, Saju, Viji, Shn for all your kind encouragement.

      Reply
    11. Siri says

      September 05, 2007 at 3:05 pm

      yumyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 😀

      Reply
    12. Shailaja says

      March 08, 2008 at 1:50 am

      Yummmmy...hey try replacing red colour and chilli powder with soked kashmiri lal mirch and crushed to a fine paste along with the fried onions and tomatoes....Shailaja

      Reply
    13. Roopa says

      March 14, 2008 at 6:27 pm

      Hi srivalli, paneer butter masala looks awesome! I came here to check out this particular recipe as someone recommended it to me:) Thanks for the recipe, will surely try out and let you know 🙂

      Reply
    14. Srivalli says

      March 15, 2008 at 11:29 am

      Siri, thanks

      Shailaja, thanks for the tip..will try that way next time

      Roopa, Thanks for dropping by...glad to know somebody liked this and referred...do try..it tastes great!

      Reply
    15. hena says

      July 21, 2008 at 12:57 pm

      Hi,

      I was really hungry today and wanted to cook something special foy myself and my hubby.tried your recipe and it is so delicious........feel like eating all by myself.
      thanks a lot.

      Reply
    16. Sub Comandante Marcos says

      August 06, 2008 at 4:36 pm

      This looks lovely & I bet it tastes even better!
      I've had this dish many times whilst visiting India & had a craving for it today.. shall have to try & find the ingredients 🙂

      Reply
    17. Srivalli says

      August 07, 2008 at 6:52 am

      hena I am so glad you liked it..

      SC Marcos Thanks for stopping by!..its indeed a great tasty dish, wish you get all the ingredients..Its very simple to make..

      Reply
    18. Anonymous says

      September 07, 2008 at 2:36 pm

      Srivalli, what brand garam masala do you suggest? I am fed up using some bad brands.

      Reply
    19. shwet says

      September 07, 2008 at 9:14 pm

      hey srivalli... i just tried ur recipe and it came out fantastic.. i'm a great fan of paneer too and i used to make my own paneer butter masala but got bored and looked for a new one and this one tastes so much better. thanks a lot. 🙂

      Reply
    20. veenajan says

      September 09, 2008 at 12:21 pm

      Hi ...
      Great job ..Its a wonderful blog ...Anyway i will surely try ur recipes and let u knw the results...

      Reply
    21. veenajan says

      September 09, 2008 at 12:23 pm

      if u don`t mind i am adding ur blog in my blog roll..

      Reply
    22. Anonymous says

      October 13, 2008 at 1:16 pm

      We tried your paneer butter masala and it turned out great and tasted like highclass restaurant one.We enjoyed it with parotta.Thanks a lot for your nice recipe and for helping me in doing this.

      Sam

      Reply
    23. Hamsa says

      March 06, 2009 at 9:37 am

      hi,
      i have tried paneer butter masala once when i went out for dinner with my hubby.i liked it.i didnt knew how to make it.suddenly i came over your blog.thanks for the recipe.i wil try this sumtime and let you know.i am also a punjabi food lover.View my blog http://mykitchen-hamsa.blogspot.com/
      let me know if any modification required.
      thanks

      Reply
    24. Sriram says

      March 24, 2009 at 5:59 am

      I have been looking around for the what should be 'THE' recipe for PBM ...and have tried around many of them ... the one posted above was the one I was looking for I guess... the taste was simply amazing... the right kind of buttery texture ... the right kind of taste .... the only addition was a bit of dhania powder ...though one might discount it if they are averse to the subtle flavour it adds ... anyways... Thanks a ton!!

      Reply
    25. anonymous says

      April 25, 2009 at 3:21 pm

      I AM PRASHANT KUMAR AM LIVING IN KERALA AND AM A PURE VEGGIE(SO PURE VEGGIES OF KERALA WILL UNDERSTAND MY PROBLEMS)
      MOST RESTAURANTS COUDNT SATISFY MY TASTE BUDS SO I WANTED TO TRY:D

      THIS TUTORIAL IS WONDERFUL AM LEAVING TO BUY THE INGREDIENTS 😀

      WISH ME SUCCESS
      "SANYASI SUKHI SAMSARI DUKHI"

      Reply
    26. Janu says

      January 24, 2010 at 10:32 am

      lovely!! lovely!!lovely!!
      love this post.

      Reply
    27. Anonymous says

      March 07, 2010 at 7:14 am

      Great recipe...thanks for sharing. I tired it few weeks back it came out really great. My hubby liked it the most, this one surely goes to my favorite recipes 🙂

      Reply
    28. Sethulakshmi Sushil says

      September 22, 2020 at 10:18 am

      Very good recipe. Loved it.

      Reply

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    Hi! Seasons change, yet there are some timeless recipes you can enjoy anytime. If you are sport for it, you are in the right place!

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