Restaurant Style Paneer Butter Masala

Restaurant Style Paneer Butter Masala

Ingredients

1. Paneer 200g 

2. Onions 2 medium

3. Tomatoes 3 large 

4. Cashews 10

5. Mace 1/4 tsp

6. Cardamom 2

7. Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp

8. Kasuri methi 1 tsp plus 1 tsp(for sprinkling)

9. Dry roasted coriander powder(optional) 1 tsp

10. Garam masala 1/2 tsp

11. Fresh cream 1/4 cup 

12. Milk 2 tbsp

13. Green chillies 2 slit

14. Ginger 1"

15. Garlic 4 pieces

16. Oil 2 tbsp

17. Butter 4 tbsp

18. Honey 1 tsp

19. Cardamom powder a pinch

Method Of Preparation

1. Cut the paneer into rectangular or square shapes and immerse it in hot boiling water for 10 minutes. Discard the water & keep the paneer aside.

2. Heat oil and butter in a pan. Add cardamoms, green chillies, ginger & garlic.

3. Add mace.

4. Sauté everything well till everything changes color.

5. Add cashews & sauté it for a minute till it becomes golden in color.

6. Add kasuri methi & sauté for a few seconds.

7. Now add the onions & sauté till it becomes translucent.

8. Add the tomatoes & cook till it becomes soft & mushy.

9. Turn off the gas & allow the mixture to cool.

10. Once it's cooled, put everything together in a blender/mixer & blend to a smooth paste.

11. You may add 2 tbsps of milk & three pieces of paneer to the mixture while blending so that the gravy gets a silky texture.

12. Strain the mixture using a strainer & keep it aside.

13. In a pan, add butter.

14. Add the strained mixture to the butter in the pan & keep stirring well on medium heat. You need to keep stirring till the oil leaves the sides of the pan. The mixture needs to become thick. It is very important to keep stirring till it gets thick.

15. Add dry roasted coriander powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder & chilli powder & stir for another 2 minutes. Please make sure that you don't burn the mixture. 

16. Add 1/3 cup of water(add more if you want to, if you feel it's too much, then reduce the quantity of water) & bring it to a boil. The water needs to reduce & the gravy needs to become a little thick. Boil until then. It may take around 5 minutes.

17. Add a pinch of cardamom powder & give it a stir.

18. Add garam masala & salt & give it a stir.

19. Add cream & give it a stir & let it cook for a few seconds.

20. Add the paneer cubes to the gravy. You may also add a teaspoon of butter along with the paneer pieces.

21. Crush kasuri methi between ur palm & add it to the gravy.

22. Cook the gravy on a low flame for a minute.

23. Turn off the gas & now add honey & give it a stir.

24. Paneer butter masala is ready.

25. Serve it with roti, naan or veg pulao.

Notes: 

1. If you don't want to add onions, u may skip it.

2. Do not purée the tomatoes & add it. If you do it that way, you will not get the bright red color. You need to do it exactly the way that is shown above to get the right color.

3. The texture of paneer butter masala needs to be silky, hence you need to strain the blended mixture before adding it to the pan.

4. You can skip cashews if you want to, but it will alter the taste of the dish a little. Also if you don't add cashews, the dish will have more red color.

5. The more Kashmiri red chilli powder u add, the more redness the dish will get.

6. Adding coriander powder is optional.

7. Do not use tomatoes that are too sour. Even after adding honey if you find the dish too sour, then you may add 1/2 to 1 tsp more honey.