Paneer Makhanwala

About this Recipe...

Paneer Makhanwala or Paneer Butter Masala is the most popular paneer dish where paneer is cooked with rich creamy tomato gravy. It's a perfect vegetarian's delight and can be made very easily at home. You only need few handy ingredients and little dedication to make this dish a hit among your family and friends. So follow few simple steps and enjoy this great dish.

Ingredients

• 25-30 pieces of paneer cut into cubes
• 2 Tbsp Oil for frying the paneer cubes
• 2 Tbsp Salted butter
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
• 1 Tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
• 12-15 Cashew nuts
• 2 medium size chopped tomato
• 1 Tbsp Red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp Garam masala powder
• Salt as per taste
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Dried fenugreek leaves crushed
• 2 Tbsp Heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp Ginger julienne and slitted green chilies

Directions

1. First, lightly fry the paneer pieces and set it aside. (This step is optional, if you don't like to add fried paneer then you can use raw paneer pieces too)
2. Next heat up 2 tbsp of butter, add chopped onions and sauté it till it becomes translucent.
3. Now add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté it till the raw smell go away.
4. Now add the cashew nuts and chopped tomato, cook it till everything gets soft. Switch of the flame and let it cool down. When the mixture gets cooled down, add everything to a blender and blend it to a smooth paste.
5. Now add this blended paste to the pan, add red chili powder and coriander powder and cook it.
6. After few minutes of cooking if the mixture gets dry, then add required amount of water and let it come to a boil.
7. When the gravy starts boiling then add salt, sugar, garam masala powder and crushed dried fenugreek leaves, mix everything well and cook it.
8. When the gravy is cooked nicely, add the paneer pieces, stir it gently and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
9. Now add the cream, give a gentle stir and switch off the flame. Garnish it with ginger juliennes and slitted green chilies and serve it hot.
   
   Notes: Instead of sugar you can add honey, it will give a nice flavor to your dish. And in place of Paneer, you can also use Tofu.