Butter Paneer Masala
June 16th, 2007 filed under Paneer (Indian Cheese)
Butter Paneer Masala is a rich entre made with Indian cheese and a creamy sauce. This dish is tasty when served over white rice or with Naan or Tandoori Roti.
Serves 2 to 4.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. paneer (cubed)
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 green chili
- 1/4 inch piece ginger
- 1/2 cup green peas (optional)
- 1/2 cup yogurt, whipped
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Pinch of asafetida (hing)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch)
- 2 bay leaves (tajpat)
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (Green coriander)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
Method:
- Deep-fry the paneer on low-medium heat until the paneer has a little golden- brown color. Set aside.
- Blend tomatoes, green chilly and ginger to make a puree.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
- Add hing and cumin seeds.
- After the cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder and bay leaves. Cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
- Tomato mixture will start to leave the oil and will reduce to about half in quantity.
- Add the whipped yogurt into the gravy. Stir occasionally for about 3 minutes on medium heat.
- To thicken the gravy, dissolve the cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water and add to the gravy.
- Add the green peas and paneer. Let it cook for a few minutes until the peas are tender.
- Add the garam masala and cilantro. Add a little sugar if the gravy is sour.
Variations:
- You can substitute the yogurt with heavy cream for a richer flavor.
- 1 tablespoon of fresh or dried methi leaves (Fenugreek leaves) can be added at the end.
- Add in the yogurt powder of 4 to 5 cashews to make it creamier.
- This gravy can be used in any combination of vegetables you desire.
- This recipe is only a method – feel free to be creative and experiment!
[...] Butter Paneer Masala: http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/06/16/butter-paneer-masala/ [...]
This looks amazing, I will try it tonight, thank you so much!!!
easy way ,to make a hydrabadi biryani
HI
I wanted to know what can i buy if i Can’t get Paneer.. I live in UK and I tried looking into supermarkets for Paneer.. Will any Hard, drained Cottage cheese will do the same??
Hi Katy,
I am in UK as well , you do get Paneer not just in the Asian stores but also stores like Tesco stock them now. Look near the milk/cheese/yoghurt aisle or just ask the store incharge. I am copy/pasting the link of the product at Tesco… tk a luk so that you can identify it or take a print-out and bring it to the store nearby.
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=258556943
Hope this helps. Enjoy
!!
yoghurt…..can v use normal curd?
Indu, Yes I thaught they both were the same.
is bay leaf essential??
Indu,
You can do without bay Leaf.
thanks for your recipes which look so easy to make/
But why dont you use Onions and garlic. Could you please specify
Thanks
she’s jain, and in jain cuisine, onions and garlic are not used – …i don’t know, but I’d estimate anywhere between 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced finely and 1 onion, minced finely…especially for recipes like rajma, shahi paneer, etc. You would fry them initially with the oil, after adding the jeera (cumin), and before the tomatoes.
Onions & garlic are not used in Buddhist cooking either, and I believe in orthodox Hindu, as well. They are considered impediments to meditation. Usually asafatoeda (hing) are used as a substitute. In my experience, the other spices make up for them not being used in that the food is delicious without it.
Thanks a lot for your all wonderful recipes. I tried this recipe and it turned out absolutely delicious.
Hello Manjulaji, I tried this receipe and we loved it. Thank you so much for making cooking such a easy job. Regards, Shalaka
Thank u MANJULA JI for being JAIN! because we also don’t eat ONION n GARLIC.I’m so thankful to u to open such a lovely website.After my daughter found this website and we discovered that you are not using onion and garlic I was so HAPPY I was not able to controll my HAPPINESS !!!!!!!! Now I open your website to know more and more RECIPES!!!!