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 Naans or Tandoori Rotis.
Serves 2 to 4.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. paneer (cubed)
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 green chilly
- 1/4 inch piece ginger
- 1/2 cup green peas (optional)
- 1/2 cup yogurt, whipped
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Pinch of hing
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 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.
In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil. Add hing and cumin seeds. After the cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, red chilly powder and bay leaves. Cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat. The tomato spice puree will start to leave the oil and will become 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.
- You can add the 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!
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August 21st, 2008 at 11:26 am
My niece absolotely loved it. its looks very tampting indeed
August 7th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Hi aunty,
Could you please send me the receipe for gobi manjurian.Thanks.
August 4th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Hi Dhairya,
I have not found good Indo-Chinese recipes so far, although I love Indo-Chinese food.
If ever I do locate some, I will pass the information along to you all.
August 4th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Hello Dhairya, I enjoy italin and maxican but I have never tride chinese. Sorry
Manjula
August 4th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
well thanks for the tip and a quick reply to the question.
but u didnot mention anything about chinese(the indian way) recipes
cheers
August 4th, 2008 at 4:54 am
Hi Dhairya,
I also don’t deep fry my paneer, BUT…what does work is to fry them in a non-stick fry pan with a thin layer of Pam oil spray (if you live in U.S. it’s easy to find).
You can also add the paneer as is, without any frying.
I haven’t tried baking or toasting paneer because it may dry it out too much - but if you want to experiment with a few pieces and see how it comes out, that’s what cooking is all about.
August 3rd, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Hi Manjula,
I highly appreciate you in putting the effort to compose these videos extensively while paying attention to every little detail.
I just had a suggestion for this recipe. In the beginning you fry the paneer pieces until they turn pinkish in colour. I just had an idea for the people who want to consume less oil. Instead of frying it, how about if we just sort of barbeque them in the toaster oven on the grill? i mean if the purpose here is just to get them a bit crispy and pinkish in colour then why not try this. moreover, everyone in north america has the toaster oven
Just a suggestion
keep up the good work.
P.S- would it be possible to put up some videos cokking about chinese food. like vegetable manchurian or noodles or something.
July 15th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Hello Jaya,
Thanks a lot for ur reply.
July 12th, 2008 at 6:49 am
hi jaya
thanks again, I am in the gulf, so I am not sure exactly where I would find it, but as u said maybe in large grocery shops , I will check with that, and I will let u know if I found that or not…:)
July 11th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Hi Eva,
“Cilantro” is also called: “Chinese Parsley”, “Coriander”, or “Coriander Greens”. In Hindi it is called “Hara Dhania”.
You can get it at any Indian grocery store, most natural health food stores if they carry fresh produce, and most American grocery stores.
Just make sure you get “Chinese Parsley” and NOT the Italian type Parsley. The Italian Parsley that all American grocery stores sell cannot be substitued. It has a totally different flavor that doesn’t work with Indian spices.
If you can’t get Cilantro/Chinese Parsley, just omit it from the dish.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Dear Manjuladi,
I like your butter paneer receipe but I want to know what is “cilantro”.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Hi Munna,
I’m in the U.S. and cheese cloth is available in the kichen section of most larger grocery stores, or try stores like Linen ‘n Things or Wal-Mart. Natural health food store might also carry it.
July 9th, 2008 at 5:00 am
hi jaya
thanx a lot for ur reply, i will try with wot u said…..is “cheese cloth” vailable in market? if yes which type of store should I look for it….?
July 7th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Hi Munna,
Any clean, thin woven, cotton kitchen towel will work. You can use a type of towell called “cheese cloth”, but anything similar works fine. Don’t use thick bath-type towels.
July 1st, 2008 at 4:58 am
Hi aunty
thanks a lot for your reply. Can u pls tell me what type of cloth should ne used for draining paneer, or any cloth will do?
June 29th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Hi Munna
It is sap of the tree. In english its called Asofetida.
June 29th, 2008 at 6:35 am
what is hing?
June 29th, 2008 at 6:30 am
Hi manjula aunty
yours is the best site I have seen because you know how to teach cooking very well, Pls i have a suggestion could you also try to include chinese didhes like chicken fried rice and other recepies and also pls include butter chicken…..thankyou:)
June 28th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Thank you Kailas,
June 28th, 2008 at 9:22 am
I do not worry about what to cook every day, I just open your web site and pick the great tasting recipe you have. I have made Moong dal dosa. My family loved it.
Thanks for great contribution.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Welcome @ Stephanie
@ Manjula: I cooked your “Paneer Masala” with my kids in school. They really love it!
Greetings from Germany
Tobi
June 17th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Thank you Tobi
June 17th, 2008 at 3:13 am
Hi anty,
I Love Paneer butter Masala n u make it so easy to prepare at home itself. Tank u 4 ur teaching.
With love,
Sindhu
June 15th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Hello Tobi Thanks for the garam masala recipes.
June 15th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
…sorry for the typos at the end of my comment below!
June 15th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
In U.S., “Asian” groceries stores usually imply Japanese, Korean, Chinese kind of Asian. Go only to “Indian” grocery stores. Even though India is in Asia, the term Asia almost always refers to the “oriental” countries.
ANY “Indian” or “Inidan/Pakastani” grocery store will have Garam Masala. It’s too staple of an ingredient for them not too.
June 15th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Garam Masala
8 cardamom pods
2 indian bay leaves
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
5 cm piece of cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon cloves
Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods. Break the bay leaves into small pieces. Put them in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar with the remaining spices grind to a fine powder. Stor in a small airthight container until needed.
Alternative:
10 dried chillies
5 cm cinnamon stick
2 curry leaves
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp chilli powder
- Dry-roast the whole dried red chillies, cinnamonsticks and curry leaves in a kharahi, wok or large pan over a low heat for about 2 minutes.
- Add the coriander and cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, fenugreek and mustard seeds, and dry-roast for 8-10 minutes, shaking the pan from side to side until the spices begin to darken in colour and release a rich aroma. Leave the mixture to cool
- Using either a spice mill or a stainless mortar and pestle, grind the roasted spices to a fine powder.
- Transfer the powder to a glass bowl and mix in the chillipowder….
As u can see there are lots of different recipes for Garam Masala.
June 15th, 2008 at 9:20 am
I searched for Garam Masala in asian-shops but I didn´t found it. Can I mix it by myself? Which ingredients do I need to make it?
June 15th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Garam Masala is a spicemixture you can buy in any asian-food-shop.
@ Manjula: Great authentic recipes. I feel like back in India.
Greetings from Germany
Tobi
June 7th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Hello,
what is Garam Masala?
May 28th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Fabulous!
May 28th, 2008 at 4:53 am
Hello.How do you make yoghurt.What is the difference between curd(dahi) and youghurt? thankyou!
May 19th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I use corn starch to give some thickness to gravy, you can use lightly roasted plain flour
May 19th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Hi! it looks so lovely the paneer butter masala. i would love to try but what is corn starch? i cant find it. Can i substitute with something else?
May 12th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Hey, my name is Priyanka, I watched your website recently while trying to cook Samosas. For the first time in life I made samosas and they were awsome. My husband liked them very much and since then I am your fan. I have watched almost all of the receips and made few dishes. Thanks so much and the best part is that you don’t use onions as well as garlic and still the food is amazing. Good Luck and keep adding
May 12th, 2008 at 5:06 am
Awesome!
Thank you Aunty. Website looks rocking!
Shashi
April 26th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Dear Manjula Aunty,
I recently watched your website and got to know the live recipe of all the dishes I felt as if you are teaching me in my own kitchen being next to me. I use to watch many website where I could see only the recipes written only some time it comes out well. But your website is good to learn even for the person who is a starter to cook. I wish to know more recipe like masala puri, vegetable biryani and many more new recipes.
Thank you auntyji,
Priyaa
April 25th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Hi mital
Becasue manjula aunty is jain and they do not use garlic and onion in any food.
April 25th, 2008 at 1:17 am
i like the way u make all ur recipe. i have a see almost all ur video but in none of the i saw u using onion, y is it so????????
April 24th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Dear Manjula Aunty
i found your site from youtube. I really liked your style and simple way. ilove to cook and love to try different food. I made cabbage pizza and paneer masala following your receipe and they tunred out really really good. Can’t wait to try more stuff. Please aunty post receipe for pani puri as it is really hard to find in nj where we lives. Thanks again for the all the hard work you are doing for the people who lives away from home.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Hello Indra, I will show soon how to make paneer.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Can you please let us know how to make panneer?
April 19th, 2008 at 7:27 am
hai manjulaji,
tried paneer butter masala and it came out very well. thanks a lot. I am going to try batura soon, thanks a lot.
April 18th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Dear respected manjulaji,
y can’t I see this video as I haven’t tried this recipie also your chola tikkie recipie was great kids liked it they say thanks to u but would like to learn more vegtables & tandoori roti your style thanks & regards
March 24th, 2008 at 9:59 am
The recipe carnival is up at Expatriate’s Kitchen. Thanks for participating.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:52 am
hi, manjula ji. reyali your myk v.good food i am tring.my famlie v. like.