Paneer Butter Masala | Restaurent and Dhaba Style | Tips To Make Perfect Creamy Gravy

I just happened to make this, because I wanted to use an open tub of fresh cream. Yes Paneer Butter Massala cannot be made without cream. If you want authentic real restaurant style gravy I will say please don’t skip cream.

How Paneer Butter Masala does taste like?

Very lightly spiced, tomato based gravy; thickened with cashews, cream and butter (ofcourse!). It is an indulgent dish, something in which you shouldn’t count calories or fat. For same reason it is also called as Paneer Makhani or Makhani Vale Paneer.

How to make restaurant style Paneer Butter Massala at home?

Yes, it is very easy to make restaurant style Paneer Butter Massala at home if you keep in mind the following tips.

-Do not overboard the gravy with spices and masalas. It has to be subtle. So if you use kitchen king masala power or any other spice powders, then stop it.

-Use nuts to thicken the gravy. Cashews are the best choice. You can use almonds too, but in that case soak the almonds and remove the skin. Again, do not go crazy with nuts too; you do not want super thick gravy.

-Put the paneer in the hot water and let it sit there for 20 minutes. This will soften the paneer and you will have that melt in mouth paneer cubes.

-Use butter and cream (full fat). There is no alternative for these too if you want good true paneer butter massala.

-To get that beautiful colour, use Kashmiri red chilli powder.

-Lastly use garlic, onion and tomatoes also in limited quantity. You do not want any of this to overpower the whole gravy.

How to make Dhabha style Paneer Butter Massala at home?

Okay, so those of you don’t know, dabha is a roadside restaurant in India. You will see so many dabhas on the highways, serving local cuisine. They are most commonly found next to petrol stations, and most are open 24 hours a day.

To make dabha style paneer butter masala you need to apply dhungar method or coal method. Here basically you heat up a piece of a coal till its red hot. Then place this charcoal in a steel bowl and place the bowl on the top of the paneer gravy. Add around ½ teaspoon of ghee on the coal and you will see smoke or fumes coming out it, immediately cover the pan with the lid and let it sit there for 2 minutes. Then remove the bowl and discard the coal. This method will give you that smokey paneer effect you get in the dhabha.

Is Paneer Butter Masala Healthy?

No absolutely not. Unlike other paneer dishes such as palak paneer or mutter paneer this paneer dish is loaded with calories and fat. It is not everyday kind of a paneer subji either –it is a royal treat that you can have once in a while.

What are variations to Paneer Butter Masala?

Over the years, trying paneer butter Massala at various places in india, UK and many European countries I have learnt some variations and I would like to share that with you all.

You can add makhane (fox nuts) in the gravy and it tastes good with paneer.

I have seen restaurants even adding peas (matar) with paneer gravy and it was a good twist too.

But my most favourite combination has been chunks of bell peppers in the paneer makhani gravy and in my recipe I have added it. (Feel free not to, but I promise there is something so magical about this variation).

Let us move to recipe now.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon oil

1 bay leaf/tej patta

2 green cardamom/elyachi

½ inch cinnamon stick/dalchini

5-6 cloves garlic/lehsun, roughly chopped

1 inch piece of ginger/adrak, roughly chopped

1 large onion/payaz, roughly chopped

3 large tomatoes/tamatar, roughly chopped

7-8 cashews/kaju

4 tablespoons butter

½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder

½ teaspoon garam Massala

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon black pepper powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt to taste

¼ cup cream

Water as needed

250 grams paneer chopped

1 capsicum chopped into cubes

2 teaspoons kasturi methi

1 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped.

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add bay leaf, green cardamom and cinnamon. Let it sit in oil for 20 seconds. Reduce the heat to slow.

Add in chopped garlic, ginger and onion. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt and cover it with the lid. Cook till onions turn soft and there is no raw smell.

Add tomatoes, cashews and around ¼ cup of water. Cover and cook again till tomatoes release the oil and it becomes soft and mushy.

Let the tomato mixture cool down and then grind it into smooth paste.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Throw the tomato mix in the butter. Add in it kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Mix it all well. Add ¼ cup water. Cover and cook again for 5 minutes till you gravy bubbling up and leaving oil on the sides.

After 5 minutes, slowly add in the cream and sugar. Mix and let it cook covered for 7-8 minutes. You must see shiny creamy gravy. Have a quick salt test to see if you need anything.

In the meantime on a separate pan, heat ½ teaspoon butter and sauté paneer cubes till you see some light golden colour on its skin (do not over roast the paneer). In the same pan also roast bell pepper (capsicum) till you see some cooked or burnt spots on its skin. Set both aside.

Throw in paneer and capsicum in the gravy. Add ¼ cup water. Let it simmer covered on slow heat for 5 minutes.

Finally add in kasturi methi and coriander leaves.

Serve with dollop of remaining butter on the top. And swirl of some fresh cream.

Quick Pressure Cooked: Rajma Massla

What is that one advice you will like to give to someone who is attempting to cook indian food? Most of my non indian friends love to eat indian food but they never want to or are too scared to cook indian meals in their kitchen. Reason- it’s complicated. It’s no lengthy and time consuming. Well, to all those people I will opine one thing-please buy a pressure cooker.

Pressure cooker is a simple utensil that cooks food within minutes without compromising the flavours. Today’s recipe- Rajma Massala is also cooked in pressure cooker which takes half less time to traditional style rajma massla. So lets call this recipe Quick Rajma Massla.

So rajma comes from our north India/Punjab cuisine where red kidney beans are the star ingredient. The most conventional way to serve rajma is with white rice or Rajma Chawal as we call it hindi. Honestly there is nothing better then rajma chawal on a gloomy wet day. Scoops of rajma mixed with the rice is the taste I can die for.

Red kidney beans are very hard and would take hours if you are boiling it in open pan but with pressure cooker you can do it in 5-8 minutes. Also I have used only one bowl/utensil that is cooker to make this. So no kadai/wok or extra pan; just throw everything in cooker, wait for whistles and you are good to go.

Ingredients:

1 cup red kidney beans/rajma

3 cups water

2 tablespoon oil

2 medium tomatoes

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 inch ginger, finely chopped

2 green chillies slited

2 cloves/laung

1 bay leaf/tej patta

1/4 teaspoon cumin/jeera

1 teaspoon coriander powder/dhaniya powder

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder/lal mirch

1/4 teaspoon turmeric/haldi

1/4 teaspoon garam massala

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves chopped, for garnish

Method:

Soak rajma beans overnight. Next day drain the water and set the beans aside.

Heat oil in cooker. When oil gets hot add bay leaf, cloves and cumin seeds. Cook for 5 seconds. Turn the flame to low.

Add in it chopped garlic and onion. Cook till onions become pinkish-brown.

Add in chopped tomato, salt, turmeric, coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam massala and green chilli. Mix well.  Add 1/2 cup water. Cook for 1 minute or till you hear your pressure cooker is just about to whistle.

Open the cooker carefully. Add in remaining water and beans. Cook on medium-low flame till 7-8 whistles.

When the pressure is released, open the cooker. Mash some beans with a spoon to get thick consistency.

Garnish with ginger and coriander leaves.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Notes:

Instead of garam massala you can use rajma massla mix (available in Indian stores as well)

Please feel free to add more red chilli powder as per your taste

The quantity of water will depend on the size of your pressure cooker.

Palak Paneer: Punjabi Dhabha Style

A green recipe for today.

A popular one.

A Punjabi recipe.

No its not saag.

It has paneer.

Oh now I have said it all. Yup it is Palak Paneer. Put three Ps together –Punjab, Palak and Paneer and you know one is talking about Palak Paneer. So palak paneer is northern Indian delicacy made with palak (spinach) and paneer (cottage cheese). Honestly there is no right or wrong way to make this curry. Some like to use boiled and purred palak in the gravy; some use chopped spinach while some put coarsely purred spinach as well. In the restaurants here in the UK I have noticed huge chunks of paneer are used in medium spicy spinach gravy (coarse spinach). Back in India the spinach is grinned into a smooth paste and later mixed with tomato gravy.

Looking for more Paneer Recipes? Check these out:

Paneer Kofta (fried paneer balls in tomato gravy)

Achari Paneer (Paneer curry in spicy pickled spices)

Palak Mutter Paneer (combination of spinach and peas in tomato gravy)

Paneer Corn Bhurji (grated paneer with chunks of corn)

Hydarbadi Paneer (paneer stir fry with bell peppers)

Paneer Butter Masala (paneer in creamy and rich tomato gravy with butter and tomatoes)

Kadai Paneer (paneer cooked in wok with whole spices)

Paneer Tikka Masala (marinated paneer chunks coated with spicy garlic gravy)

What I share today is the authentic dhabha style Palak Paneer. Whats dhabha? Dhabha are typical roadside restaurants (rural) mostly present on the highways in India. If you ever take road trip in India, you will surely find at least one dhabha on the highway. Food served in dhabha is simple and flavorful. Simple in terms of menu, you will find basic menu, no exotic dishes. Flavorful because they don’t compromise on taste-the food is richly spiced with garlic, spices and lot of oil and butter. So if you want dhabha style cooking, don’t shy from adding oil or butter. Some recipes are good with calories-worth it, I promise.

I clearly remember that taste. Papa, mummy, my brother and me- we stopped at a dhabha in Jhalander (city in Punjab) and ordered Palak Paneer , Plain Kulcha and Aloo Subji. It was a cold night. We sat on a khaat (Indian rural style bed) and between was a wooden patta (plank) on which they served food. After placing the order, the waiter came with a steel jug of water and four glasses. Second round, he placed some chopped onions, pickle and spicy garlic chutney.  After 20 minutes of wait, the food arrived. Piping hot kulchas, aloo subji and palak paneer.  Maa, look how much oil they have added in palak paneer, I told my mother. My mom grabbed a spoon and gave palak paneer a quick mix. Now oil is not visible she said. I smiled.

First bite of that curry was burst of amazing flavors in my mouth. Lot of garlic, ginger julienne, spice from whole red chillies, tang from chopped tomatoes and velvety paneer- all mixed and made into scrumptious Indian subji. This is the best thing ever, my brother said as he licked his fingers. Last weekend, when I was on call with mummy, we were recalling that taste. She gave some instructions and tips and then I dared to make that tasty Palak Paneer.

This is my replication of the Dhabha Style Palak Paneer.  Pair it with any Indian roti, paratha or puri. Even good old basic jeera rice taste very nice with this.

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach/palak chopped

1 cup paneer chopped in cubes

1 large tomato

1 medium size onion
2 green chillies

10 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger chopped in juleins

3 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon ghee

2-4 whole red chillies

1 cinnamon stick/dal chinni

1 bay leaf/tej patta

½ teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi

¼ teaspoon coriander powder/dhaniya

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon garam massala
Salt to taste
Water 4 cups

Method:

Put 4 cups of water to boil. In it add chopped spinach. Boil for 2 minutes. Strain the water and keep aside. Puree spinach and green chillies coarsely.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, whole chillies and cinnamon. Let it cook for few seconds.
Add chopped onion. Cook till onions are soft and transparent.
Add chopped tomatoes. Mix in turmeric powder and coriander powder. Cover and cook for 5-8 minutes.
Mix paneer in the tomatoes gravy. Cook covered for 2 minutes.
Add in purred gravy, salt, garam massala and lemon juice. Mix and cook for 2 minutes.
In a seprate pan Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. When hot, saute chopped garlic and mix in the gravy.
Finally mix in ghee and ginger julienne. Cover and turn off the heat.
Serve.

Notes:
I used baby spinach, but you can use spinach bunch as well.
Green chillies and whole red chillies will bring the spice. You can add more red chilli powder if you like it hot curries.
The paneer I used is very soft so I just added in the curry. If you wish you can put paneer in hot water and then use it.

Aloo Gobi

Aloo Gobi or Cauliflower Potatoes Curry is a very popular Indian vegetarian side dish. No matter which of India you come from, I am sure there is a version to make this dish. South Indians like to throw in some curry leaves and coconut.  Bengalis like to use whole spices and mustard oil. Up in the north it is made using lot of garlic and tomato paste. In the western India it is more like an everyday curry made with simple steps.

Cauliflower also known as gobi, gobhi, phool gobi or fool gobi is a beautiful vegetable and my personal favourite. Enjoyed cooked or raw, cauliflower is a great addition to one’s healthy diet; it is affordable and is available year round. Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B6. It is a very good source of choline, dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, manganese, phosphorus, and biotin. Additionally, it is a good source of vitamin B2, protein, vitamin B1, niacin, and magnesium. Above everything it is not a boring vegetable like greens.

Looking for more cauliflower recipes? Check these out:

Kadai Gobi

Achari Gobi

Gobi Matar

If you have ever searched for Aloo Gobi recipe, you would know there are hundred ways of making it and no one way is right of wrong. You can make it simple with minimal spices or make it very rich with whole spices. Today I share how to make Restaurant Style Aloo Gobi

Restaurant style curry is like a royal treatment given to a simple everyday curry. In it go whole spices and lots of patience. Cooked in slow heat where every spice penetrates its flavour in the cauliflower florets and potato chunks. Stop worrying about the steps listed in the recipe and just try this version because it is super easy and in the end all the efforts are worth it.

If you have made this before and you ended up with mushy curry just keep these things in your mind.

• Cook cauliflower and potatoes before till they are half done.
• Cook on low heat.
• Never cover the pan. Let the steam out.
• Do not add in water.
• Mix salt in the end.
• Stir with wooden spoon with light hands.

Author: Shweta Agrawal

Cuisine: Indian, Punjabi

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes/aloo sliced

1 medium cauliflower/gobi cut into florets

1 tomato chopped

1 onion finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds/rai

1 teaspoon minced or grated garlic

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder/lal mirch

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder/dhaniya

1/4 teaspoon garam massala

1 teaspoon lemon juice (see notes)

4 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon ghee (optional)

5-8 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and cook cauliflower florets. Cook on low heat till they are half done. Empty the pan and set aside cauliflower.

Heat 1 tablespoons of oil again in the same pan and cook potatoes till they are half done. Empty the pan and set aside potatoes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds, let it crackle.

Add in garlic and cook for 10 seconds. Add chopped onion and cook till onion gets soft.

Mix in chopped tomato, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam massala. Cover and cook till tomato becomes mushy.

In it add lemon juice. Also mix in cauliflower and potatoes. Stir lightly and cook on low heat. Cook for 10 minutes. Keep stirring after every 3 minutes. Cook till potatoes and cauliflower is done.

Add coriander leaves and ghee. Serve.

Notes:

Add amchoor powder (dry mango powder) instead of lemon juice.

Adding ghee in the end adds in great flavour and aroma. Ghee is clarified butter available in any Indian grocery store. I used

You can make it without garlic and onions as well.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with any Indian bread.

Serve as side with lentils and rice.

Peas Rice: Matar Ke Chawal: Peas Pulav

So it was the hottest day of the year in London yesterday. People were freaking out, no one was happy with the sunshine. What do people want, I asked myself? When it is raining they sulk about it; when it is cold and windy they complain about it and yesterday they had problems with sunny weather too. No one seemed happy and everyone was just frowning-boy oh boy it is sooo hot!. Another funny thing, my Indian friends were going crazy too. Don’t you come from a place where it is more 40 degrees? How can they not tolerate 30C? Anyways moving on, I totally loved crisp clear sky, lots of sunshine and cold water shower for a change :)

Those of you follow me on instagram would know, I treated myself with some beautiful lilies and these lilies are now blooming, giving amazing fragrance in my hall. That fresh aroma, pink beauties and lots of sunshine helped me to complete this book. By the end of the day I was totally relaxed but was in no mood to slave myself in the kitchen cooking some elaborate meal. It had to be something quick and not spicy or hot.

Yeah yeah, pasta was my choice too, but Mr. Husband had pasta in lunch so I knew he wouldn’t eat it. So I did some quick search on my blog and decided to do something with rice. Rice and lentils. Daal Chawal. Simple yellow daal (no onion or garlic) just pressure cooked. For rice I made Matar Pulav. Green Peas Rice. Ah the comfort food!

What to pair with Peas Rice? Check these out:

Panchmel Dal

Simple Kadhi

Lehsuni Daal

Daal Makhani

Green Peas Rice or Matar Ke Chawal is one step ahead from the very basic jeera rice. I would say it is one beautiful rice dish but with least efforts. Just throw in some frozen peas, cooked rice, some spices and you are done. It is like a quick makeover or leftover rice magic too, infact leftover rice works perfectly fine :). I tried to keep it simple with fragrant whole spices.

There are many variations you can do in this recipe. You can add other veggies such as potatoes, capsicum, carrots, beans, onion and what not. In that case it will be very much like veg pulav which is a meal in itself, just pair it up with any riata. Then, you can also use Indian spices like turmeric (for colour) or red chilli powder. Some people also like to add nuts such as cashews (kaju) or raisins (kismis). As mentioned already, I crafted it real simple.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup green peas/matar

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

4 cloves/laung

2 black peppercorns/kali mirch

2 bay leaf/tej patta

1 teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera

1 tablespoons ghee or oil

Method:

Heat oil in wok or a pan. When oil gets hot, add bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns. Roast for 5 seconds.

Add cumin seeds. Let it crackle. Reduce heat to low.

Add ginger garlic paste. Sauté it for 1 minute.

To it add frozen peas. Cook till peas get soft.

Mix in rice. Stir properly. Do not apply pressure, else rice will get mushy.

Cover and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes:

You can omit ginger garlic paste.

If using fresh peas, boil it before using.

See all instructions on how to cook rice here.

Use a good quality indian basmati rice for best results. I used Tilda Basmati Rice.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side with any indian curries.

Serve with lentils and dry curries.

Mix with salad, chutneys and stuff in tacos or burritos.

Jeera Rice: Basmati Rice With Cumin Seeds: Indian Rice

Some one the other day asked me for the recipe of Jeera Rice and I was so shocked to know that the recipe is not on my blog. I mean you aren’t an Indian food blogger if you don't have jeera rice recipe on your blog. No seriously, I was so ashamed. Jeera Rice is like run in the mill in most of the Indian homes. Anyways, that day itself I made jeera rice clicked the pics and here I am posting it without any further delay.

Jeera as we call in Hindi is cumin seeds and is THE most important ingredient in Indian Punjabi cooking. Personally I cant do without this spice, be it paneer curries, kofta curries or homemade spice mix like chaat massala or garam massala. The ancient Ayurveda and age old wisdom of grandmothers insist on having cumin seeds because of its medicinal values.

Common benefits of cumin seeds are:

Improves digestion

Increases concentration

Reduces cholesterol

Weight loss

Relieve stress

Deceases bloating and gas

Detoxifies liver

Reduces menstrual cramps

Increases lactation in new mothers

Coming back to the post, Jeera Rice is basmati rice (chawal) which is flavored with cumin seeds. Cumin seeds are roasted in ghee or butter to release the aroma, later cooked rice is mixed in it. Now here is one modification that take place, some use cooked rice (boiled rice) while some cook the rice with cumin like how you would do for biryani or pulav. No method is right or wrong, you do what you prefer. Things that remains the same is ghee (clarified butter), some cloves (laung), bay leaf (tej patta) and lots of cumin seeds.

Use a good quality long grain basmati rice for best results. You can read a complete post on how to cook rice perfectly for moretips and clear idea. I always cook rice in microwave to save time and then just pour the cumin seeds tempering on the rice, mix and cover it for 1 minute so that flavoures remain intact. This is the Plain Jeera Rice recipe, which is more like day-to day rice; to give it more elegant restaurant feel then you must add cashews and raisins (kaju and kismis).

What to pair with jeera rice? Check these out:

Panchmel Dal

Simple Kadhi

Lehsuni Daal

Daal Makhani

Matar Paneer

In simple words, jeera rice is a step further both in looks and taste from the regular plain boiled white rice. The little golden coloured cumin seeds mixed with pure white boiled rice gives a uplifting colour combination. 

Author: Shweta Agrawal
Cuisine: Indian: Punjabi: Bangladeshi: Pakistani
Serves:2-3

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups basmati rice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoon cumin/jeera

1 bay leaf/tej patta

2-3 cloves/laung

3 cups water

2 tablespoon butter/ghee

Salt to taste

Method:

Wash basmati rice two three times. Soak the basmati rice in water for 30-40 minutes. Drain the rice and keep aside.

Put rice in microwave safe bowl. Add 3 cups of water, lemon juice and salt. Cook on high power for 12 minutes. Cover the bowl with plate and cook again for 8 minutes.

Heat a pan. Add ghee or butter. Reduce the heat to low.

Add in cloves, bay leaf and cumin seeds. Let cumin seeds turn golden. Heat a pan.

Add cooked rice and stir with softly. Make sure not to apply lot of pressure else rice will become mushy.

Let it sit covered. Fluff the rice and serve jeera rice hot.

Notes:

You can also use cardamom (elyachi) or cinnamon (dal chini) in the recipe. However I don’t like sweet aroma in rice so I avoid it.

You can use vegetable oil or sunflower instead of ghee or butter.

Lemon juice helps to separate the rice grains and gives nice white colour.

Use good quality long grain basmati rice. I recommend Tilda Basmati Rice.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side with any indian curries.

Serve with lentils and dry curries.

Mix with salad, chutneys and stuff in tacos or burritos.

Dum Aloo Recipes: 7 Dum Aloo Styles

Dum aloo , baby pototes cooked with spices. Dum Aloo (baby potatoes in gravy) ,takes on different flavours as it travels from state to state throughout the India. Todays post is collection of different dum aloo recipes.

Punjabi Dum Aloo:

Royal north Indian style dum aloo cooked with spices and dipped in tomato gravy. Get the recipe here.

merry tummy

Kashmiri Dum Aloo:

Gets it name from kashmir, northern most part of inida. In it goes kashmiri red chillies which is not at all spicy but gives dark red colour to the curry. Get the recipe here.

cook with manali

Benagli Dum Aloo:

Also known as Aloor Dum is richly spiced. The most important ingredient is mustard oil. Get the recipe here.

veg recipes of india

South Indian Style:

Also known as potato roast. Very dry curry with simple south indian spices. Get the recipe here.

Lincy cook art

Lucknowi Dum Aloo:

Baby potatoes are scooped and then stuffed with paneer. This is mildly sweet version. Get the recipe here.

sowmyas kitchen

Shahi Dum Aloo:

Which literally translates to Royal Dum Aloo. Royal because in it goes many whole spices and is then coated in cashews gravy. Get the recipe here.

saffron streaks

Niramish Dum Aloo:
Simplest style, no onion, no garlic and no tomato. Get the recipe here.

ecurry

So next time when you have baby potatoes, do try these Dum Aloo recipes.