Paneer Butter Masala

Name: Paneer Butter Masala
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Punjabi
Ingredients: 400g, cut into 2cm cubes paneer; 700g, roughly chopped tomato; 60g, soaked 20 minutes in hot water cashew; 60g butter; 60ml cream; 1, quartered onion; 1 tbsp, roughly chopped ginger; 6 cloves garlic; 2 tsp kashmiri chilli; 1 tsp garam masala; 1 tbsp, crushed between the palms kasuri methi; 1 tsp sugar; 3 cardamom; to taste salt

paneer in a glossy tomato and cashew gravy, sweet with butter and finished with cream

egg freegluten freevegetarian

Paneer Butter Masala — Photo: Gannu03 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Prep20 min

Cook35 min

Active55 min

Serves4

Difficultyeasy

Per serving611 kcal

Allergens in Paneer Butter Masala: milk, tree nuts.

Ingredients

Quantities for 4.

400g, cut into 2cm cubes Paneer
700g, roughly chopped Tomatoripe and red; pale tomatoes give a dull gravy
60g, soaked 20 minutes in hot water Cashewthe body of the sauce, not a garnish
60g Butter
60ml Cream
1, quartered Onion
1 tbsp, roughly chopped Ginger
6 cloves Garlic
2 tsp Kashmiri Chillifor colour without much heat
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp, crushed between the palms Kasuri Methithe flavour people cannot place
1 tsp Sugarbalances the tomato, it should not taste sweet
3 Cardamomoptional
to taste Salt

Cookware

stovetop, kadhai, blender

Ingredient names in English →

Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.

Before you start

The gravy is boiled and blended, not fried in the usual bhuna way. That is what keeps it smooth and bright rather than dark.
Soak the cashews properly. Under-soaked nuts leave a grainy sauce that no amount of blending fixes.

Method

Simmer the tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, cardamom and soaked cashews with 200ml water for 20 minutes, until everything collapses.No oil at this stage. It is a stock, not a fry.
Cool slightly, blend to a completely smooth puree, then pass it through a sieve. The sieve is what separates this from a home-style curry.
Melt the butter in the pan, add the kashmiri chilli off the heat so it blooms without burning, then pour the puree back in.Off the heat for the chilli: it scorches in seconds and turns bitter.
Simmer 10 minutes until it thickens and the butter shows at the edges. Season with salt and the sugar.
Stir in the paneer and cook 4 minutes, no longer. Add the garam masala, crushed kasuri methi and cream.Long cooking makes paneer rubbery. It only needs to warm through.
Rest 5 minutes off the heat before serving with naan or jeera rice.

Storage

Keeps 2 days refrigerated. The sauce thickens as it stands, so loosen with a splash of milk or water and reheat gently. Freezing splits the cream.

Nutrition Good estimate

One serving of Paneer Butter Masala (361 g) is about 611 calories, or 170 calories per 100 g.

High protein: 24 g a serving, 16% of the calories

	Per serving361 g	Per 100 g
Calories	611 kcal	170 kcal
Protein	24.5 g	7 g
Carbohydrate	23.0 g	6 g
of which sugars	10.7 g	3 g
Fibre	4.6 g	1 g
Fat	48.8 g	14 g
of which saturated	25.4 g	7 g
of which unsaturated	17.4 g	5 g

Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for garam masala. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.

More like this: Vegetarian Indian recipes · Gluten-free Indian recipes · Punjabi recipes

Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.