Paneer Makhani is succulently cooked cottage cheese cubes in a smooth sauce of tomatoes and cream, which is lightly spiced with a hint of tang and sweetness.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 35 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • 200 grams paneer ((Indian cottage cheese))
  • 250 grams tomatoes (or 4 to 5 medium-sized)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons light cream ((low fat 25%) or whipping cream)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tej patta ((Indian bay leaf))
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or 1 inch ginger + 3 to 4 small garlic crushed to paste in a mortar)
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (or kashmiri red chilli powder or cayenne pepper or paprika)
  • 1 to 2 green chillies (slit or sliced)
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala (or tandoori masala powder)
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar (- add as required* check notes)
  • ½ to 1 inch ginger (- julienned)
  • ½ teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves (- kasuri methi, crushed)
  • 1.5 cups water
  • salt (as required)

Method

Making tomato puree

  1. First rinse and chop the tomatoes. Use the tomatoes that are ripe with a sweet tangy taste and not overly sour.
  2. In a blender or grinder make a smooth puree of the chopped tomatoes. No need to add any water while blending the tomatoes.
  3. Keep the tomato puree aside.

Making paneer makhani

  1. Melt butter in a pan. First add the tej patta (Indian bay leaf) and saute for a few seconds till aromatic.
  2. Then add the crushed ginger-garlic paste and saute for a few seconds or till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away.
  3. Add the tomato puree and stir well.
  4. Now add the red chili powder and saute this mixture till the fat begins to leave the side of the tomato paste. Takes about 14 to 15 on a low heat. Keep on stirring often.
  5. When you see the tomato mixture clumping together and the fat leaving the sides, then add water.
  6. Stir and simmer till the gravy or sauce thickens a bit. Takes about 7 to 8 minutes on a low flame.
  7. Then add the slit green chilies and ginger julienne. Stir and simmer for a minute.
  8. Add sugar, salt as required and crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves).
  9. Stir and then add the paneer cubes.
  10. Mix gently and switch off the heat. No need to cook the paneer as then they can get hard or chewy and won't taste good.
  11. Lastly add cream and gently stir. Switch off the flame and then sprinkle with garam masala. Give a gentle stir again.
  12. Serve the paneer makhani with roti, naan, paratha or jeera rice or saffron rice or biryani rice or plain steamed basmati rice.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.