Paneer Butter Masala Recipe

🧂 Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons Butter

  (divided)
• 2 teaspoons Caraway Seeds (Shajeera)

  (you may also use cumin seeds )
• 2-3 Green Chili

  (chopped)
• 2 inches Ginger

  ( chopped)
• 6 Garlic Cloves

  (large sized)
• 30 Cashew Nuts
• 6-7 Black Peppercorns
• 4 cups Tomatoes

  (medium sized, ripe and firm, roughly chopped)
• 2 Bay Leaf
• 2 inch Cinnamon Stick
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 2 teaspoons Coriander Powder
• 1 tablespoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
• 1 tablespoon Kasuri Methi

  (dried fenugreek leaves)
• Water

  (as needed)
• Salt To Taste
• ¼ cup Heavy Cream

  (you may use lite cream )
• 1.1 lb Paneer

  (cut in 1 inch cubes)
• 1½ teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
• 2 teaspoons Sugar
• Live charcoal or lump coal (optional)
• 1 Cinnamon Stick

  (a very small piece)
• 2 Cloves
• 1 teaspoon Ghee or Oil

Instructions

• 1 In a pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add caraway seeds (shajeera) and fry for
  few seconds. Add green chilies, ginger and garlic, fry for few seconds.
• 2 Add cashew nuts, black peppercorns and fry for 30 seconds. Then, add tomatoes
  and sauté on for a minute.
• 3 Cook until tomatoes are soft. Take it off the heat and cool completely. Grind
  this tomato cashew masala to a very fine paste.
• 4 Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan or kadhai. Add bay leaf and cinnamon
  stick, fry for few seconds.
• 5 Lower the heat and add turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chili powder.
  Add kasuri methi and mix.
• 6 Add ground tomato cashew masala paste, saute on high for a minute. Stir in
  between. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until masala starts releasing the oil.
• 7 Add ⅓ cup of water, salt and then bring it to a boil. Do not add too much water
  at a time.
• 8 Add cream and mix, cook for 1 -2 minutes only. Add paneer, garam masala powder
  and sugar. Mix well. Cook for only a minute.
• 9 Proceed with the step of giving charcoal dhungar for the smoky flavour
  restaurant or Dhaba like flavour.
• 10 Switch on the IP and press sauté mode. After the Instant Pot displays 'hot',
  melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
• 11 Then, add caraway seeds (or cumin seeds) and fry for few seconds. Add roughly
  chopped green chilies, ginger and garlic, sauté for 30 seconds.
• 12 Add cashew nuts and sauté for another few seconds. Add roughly chopped tomatoes
  and fry 30 seconds.
• 13 Then, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, turmeric powder, coriander powder and red
  chili powder, mix. Add kasuri methi along with 3-4 tbsp of water.
• 14 Cancel sauté mode, cover the pot with lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing
  position. Press 'manual' or 'pressure cook' and cook for 6 minutes on high.
• 15 Once the cooking cycle is complete, carefully turn the valve to venting to do
  the quick release. Open the pot and discard bay leaves and cinnamon stick.
• 16 Blend the masala to a smooth paste using immersion blender.
  
  (You can also transfer the tomato cashew masala into a blender jar and blend it
  to a smooth paste. And then transfer the masala back to the pot.)
• 17 Switch on the sauté on low, add ¼ cup of water, salt and cream, mix well. Cook
  for 30 seconds.
• 18 Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, paneer cubes, garam masala powder and
  sugar. Gently mix and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute only.
• 19 Place a small bowl or a piece of aluminium foil on the gravy. Keep a live
  charcoal into the bowl.
• 20 Add a teaspoon of ghee or oil on live charcoal. Immediately cover the pot with
  lid. Let it rest for 5 minutes so that smoky flavours infuses in the gravy well.
• 21 After 5 minutes, discard the charcoal.
• 22 Dish out the the creamy gravy in bowl.
• 23 Garnish with some fresh cream, amd some crushed kasuri methi. You can also
  sprinkle some fresh corinader leaves.
• 24 Serve it hot with plain or butter tandoori roti, phulka, laccha paratha or naan.
  plain rice or pulao like jeera rice, peas pulao and even with zafrani pulao.
• 25 It pairs very well with plain rice or pulao like jeera rice, peas pulao and even
  with zafrani pulao.
• 26 Serve some onion slices, lemon wedges and cucumber carrot salad on the side.

Nutrition Info