Delicious Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer Butter Masala is one of our family favorites. It tastes so good plus it's simple and quick to make. I made this dish in under 30 minutes. Paneer is essentially Indian cottage cheese, high in protein and since it is not made using rennet it's completely vegetarian. You can find all the ingredients for this recipe at your local Indian grocery store. So here goes:


Ingredients:

1. 2 tbsp cooking oil + oil for frying paneer cubes
2. 1 tsp ginger paste
3. 1 tsp garlic paste
4. 3 tomatoes pureed
5. 1/2 cup of water
6. 12 cashews ground into a fine powder
7. 1 tsp cayenne powder (red chilli powder) 
8. 1 tsp corriander powder
9. 1 tsp cumin powder
10. 1 tsp garam masala powder
11. 300 grams of paneer
12. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp of cooking oil in a pan
2. Add the ginger and garlic paste and let it cook for about 20 seconds
3. Add the pureed tomatoes and water. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes on a medium flame.
4. Add to the pan, the powdered cashews, chilli powder, corriander, cumin, garam masala powder and salt to taste. Mix and cover the gravy, cook on simmer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the paneer. Once the oil begins to separate from the gravy, it means that the tomatoes have been cooked well and you are ready to add the paneer pieces.

Oil has separated from the gravy, which means the tomatoes are fully cooked

5.       Cut the paneer into small cubes and fry them until they turn golden brown. After draining the excess oil, add the fried cubes to the gravy. 

    6.  Let the curry cook for 5 more minutes or until the gravy is a nice thick consistency.
         

There you go, you're fresh paneer butter masala without the restaurant price! 

This dish tastes great with Naan, rice or any other Indian flat bread. If you would like to make a milder version of this recipe, reduce the amount of chilli powder and garam masala.