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Paneer Butter Masala (No Onion No Garlic)

By Jigna
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.
5 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Cuisine Indian, North Indian
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Diet Jain, No Onion No Garlic, Vegetarian
Servings 4

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

  1. Tomatoes: It is best to use fresh and ripe tomatoes.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Butter: Use butter for the second Tadka, essential for the buttery taste because this is Paneer Butter Masala.

Nutrition (Approximate Values)

Calories : 361kcalCarbohydrates : 13gProtein : 15gFat : 29gSaturated Fat : 14gPolyunsaturated Fat : 2gMonounsaturated Fat : 4gTrans Fat : 0.01gCholesterol : 59mgSodium : 95mgPotassium : 265mgFiber : 2gSugar : 7gVitamin A : 686IUVitamin C : 10mgCalcium : 477mgIron : 1mg
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