This Paneer Butter Masala is creamy, rich, delicious, and restaurant-style. The curry includes soft paneer in silky smooth and velvety tomato gravy without onion and garlic.
Paneer Butter Masala is one of the most famous Indian curries. The recipe is easy to make and requires no fancy ingredients. But it is still satisfying, comforting, flavorful, and best served with Naan, Roti, or Rice.
Delicious Paneer Butter Masala
Any North Indian menu in a restaurant is incomplete without Paneer Butter Masala. But we can make restaurant-style curry at home with the same taste. However, we can prepare it in a healthy manner and with complete knowledge of which ingredients we are using in the recipe.
Paneer Butter Masala is a classical and popular Indian curry. It is not only limited to India but also famous worldwide.
Making Restaurant-Style Paneer Butter Masala at home is incredibly easy. It has a homely taste with few spices, and we can limit the use of oil, butter, and cream as per our preference.
If you do not consume onion and garlic or want to avoid them during fasting days, you must try this Paneer Butter Masala curry without onion and garlic.
Why You Will Love This Curry
- It is Delicious and Flavorful
- The Cury is Buttery, Smooth, and Velvety Gravy
- It is One Of The Popular Indian Curries
- Suitable For No Onion, No Garlic, and Jain Diet
- Paneer Butter Masala is Creamy, Rich, and Restaurant-Style
About The Tomato-Based Gravy
Paneer Butter Masala gravy is buttery, smooth, and velvety in texture. The sauce is made with tomatoes, cashews, and spices.
Different types of Paneer curries are distinguished from each other, mostly because of their gravy. Paneer Butter Masala and Paneer Makhani are mostly the same. But there is a still slight difference in making the gravy. And that makes them different from each other.
For this recipe, we are giving Tadka twice. We need to cook tomatoes with cashews and spices before blending them. So here we will saute spices, cashews, and tomatoes in a little bit of oil. You can also use some butter with oil if you prefer.
Also, I added a small amount of plain and whisked yogurt into the tomato mixture. It will enhance the taste and will make the gravy creamier.
I haven’t used cream in the recipe; instead, I used a tablespoon of cream to garnish Paneer Butter Masala. However, it is optional, and you can use it only if you prefer.
The other option is to use whisked yogurt to garnish the curry instead of cream.
How To Make Paneer Butter Masala Step-by-Step
Making The Gravy
- Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaf, whole green cardamoms, ginger, green chili, and dry red chili.
- Saute for a minute.
- Add whisked yogurt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and coriander powder.
- Mix well and cook for a minute.
- Now add cashews, tomatoes, and salt to taste and mix well.
- Cook the mixture for 2 minutes.
- Add water to the tomato mixture and cover the lid.
- On medium heat, cook tomatoes for 10-15 or until they are soft and cooked thoroughly.
- Stir occasionally.
- Let the tomato mixture cool down a bit.
- Remove the bay leaf and transfer the tomato mixture into the blender jar.
- Blend the mixture into a smooth puree.
- If your blender doesn’t blend it fine and silky smooth, pass the gravy through a fine pore sieve. Set aside.
Making The Paneer Butter Masala
- Heat butter in a pan and add Kashmiri red chili powder.
- I have added the chili powder to bring a beautiful orangish-red color to the gravy.
- If you don’t have Kashmiri red chili powder, skip this step or add your choice of red chili powder.
- Immediately after, add tomato gravy and mix well.
- Cook this gravy for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add sugar and crushed Kasoori Methi, mix well, and add paneer cubes.
- Adjust the salt as needed and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Turn the heat on low to medium, cover the pan with a lid, and continue cooking for 5 minutes.
- This step is essential; it will make the paneer as soft as melt in the mouth and absorb all the flavors.
- Make sure to stir in between to prevent the gravy from sticking to the bottom.
- Turn off the heat once the oil separates and the paneer is cooked for 5 minutes in the gravy.
- Take the Paneer Butter Masala into a serving bowl and garnish it with cream and finely chopped coriander leaves.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve this delicious curry with any Indian flatbread of your choice.
- It goes well with Roti, Tandoori Roti, Naan, Kulcha, Paratha, or this Whole Wheat Kulcha (No Yeast) / Kulcha On Tawa.
- You can also serve it with plain rice, Jeera Rice (Restaurant Style), or Pulao.
- If you want to make a festive meal, pair Paneer Butter Masala with other Dal preparations and accompaniments like Boondi Raita, Pomegranate Raita / Anar Raita, or Cucumber Raita.
Helpful Tips
- Tomatoes: It is best to use fresh and ripe tomatoes.
- Cashews: Cashews bring richness and creaminess to the gravy, so don’t skip them. But in any case, if you don’t want to use cashews, add 3-4 tablespoon of cream to the curry in the final step. Or check below for tips for substituting cashews.
- Gravy: The key to smooth gravy is to blend the tomato mixture well. If your blender doesn’t grind it well, make sure to pass the sauce through a fine sieve. That will make the gravy silky smooth and velvety. Also, cook the gravy for long enough to remove the raw taste of tomatoes.
- Butter: Use butter for the second Tadka, which is essential for the buttery taste because this is Paneer Butter Masala.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Replace or Skip Cashews For Paneer Butter Masala?
Cashews bring richness and creaminess to the curry. Also, it makes the gravy thicker. So I would not recommend skipping it, but if you don’t want to use cashews, try to replace it with other options.
- Instead of cashews, use blanched almonds (almonds without skin).
- Replace with melon seeds (Magastari Seeds), and add 3 tablespoon of melon seeds instead of cashews.
- Use heavy cream instead of cashews. Add 3-4 tablespoon of cream in the recipe’s final step.
- We can use Khus Khus (poppy seeds) in the recipe to replace cashews. Soak 1 tablespoon poppy seeds in hot water for 15 minutes, drain the water, and blend poppy seeds with 2-3 tablespoon of milk into a smooth paste. Add the paste after adding yogurt.
- You can also combine 2 tablespoon melon seeds and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, soak in hot water for 15 minutes and blend them into a smooth paste. Add little water or milk to make a smooth paste. Add the paste after adding yogurt.
How To Make My Store-Bought Paneer Soft?
Place the whole block of paneer or paneer cubes into a ziplock bag or a container. And submerge the plastic bag or container of paneer in hot water. Leave it in hot water for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, if the water gets cold, replace it with hot water. You can also directly place the paneer block or cubes into hot water and leave it for 20 minutes. Then, drain the water completely before adding it to the gravy.
You May Like More Paneer Curries
Recipe Card
Paneer Butter Masala (No Onion No Garlic)
Ingredients
For The Gravy
- 1 tablespoon oil / Ghee
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 Green cardamoms
- 1- inch ginger peeled and chopped
- 1 Green chili
- 1 Dry red chili
- 14 Cashews
- 4 Large tomatoes chopped
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ cup plain and whisked yogurt
- 1½ cup water
For The Paneer Butter Masala
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 350 gms Paneer cut in cubes
- 1 teaspoon Kasoori Methi crushed (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Salt to taste
- Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing
- 1 tablespoon cream or yogurt for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
Making The Gravy
- Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaf, whole green cardamoms, ginger, green chili, and dry red chili. Saute for a minute.
- Add whisked yogurt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and coriander powder. Mix well and cook for a minute.
- Now add cashews, tomatoes, salt to taste and mix well. Cook it for 2 minutes.
- Add water to the tomato mixture and cover the lid. On medium heat, cook tomatoes for 10-15 or until they are soft and cooked thoroughly.
- Let the mixture cool down a bit, remove bay leaf and transfer tomato mixture into the blender jar.
- Blend the tomato mixture into a smooth puree. If your blender doesn’t blend it fine and silky smooth, pass the gravy through a fine pore sieve. Set aside.
Making The Paneer Butter Masala
- Heat butter in a pan and add Kashmiri red chili powder. I have added to bring beautiful orangish-red color to the gravy. If you don’t have Kashmiri red chili powder, skip this step or add your choice of red chili powder.
- Immediately after, add tomato gravy and mix well. Cook this gravy for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add sugar and crushed Kasoori Methi, mix well and add paneer cubes.
- Adjust the salt as needed and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Turn the heat on low to medium and cover the pan with a lid and continue cooking for 5 minutes. This step is essential, it will make the paneer as soft as melt in the mouth, and the paneer will absorb all the flavors.Make sure to stir in between to prevent the gravy from sticking to the bottom.
- Once the oil separates and the paneer is cooked for 5 minutes in the gravy, turn off the heat.
- Take the Paneer Butter Masala into a serving bowl and garnish it with cream and finely chopped coriander leaves.
Notes
- Tomatoes: It is best to use fresh and ripe tomatoes.
- Cashews: Cashews bring richness and creaminess to the gravy, so don’t skip them. But in any case, if you don’t want to use cashews, add 3-4 tablespoon of cream to the curry in the final step. Or check below for tips for substituting cashews.
- Gravy: The key to smooth gravy is to blend the tomato mixture well. If your blender doesn’t grind it well, make sure to pass the sauce through a fine sieve. That will make the gravy silky smooth and velvety. Also, cook the gravy for long enough to remove the raw taste of tomatoes.
- Butter: Use butter for the second Tadka, essential for the buttery taste because this is Paneer Butter Masala.
Nutrition (Approximate Values)
Nischitha says
Hi Jigna, my guests loved this curry. It was yum. Thank you for this recipe.
Jigna says
Hi Nischitha, thank you! I am glad you liked it, and I appreciate your feedback.