Paneer makhani is a delicious dish made of Indian cottage cheese simmered in creamy tomato cashew gravy. Paneer makhani is one of the simplest & most popular Indian paneer recipes that can be made even by a beginner.
It is super quick to make under 25 mins and goes great on a weekend or party menu. Paneer makhani can be served with naan, roti, butter naan, plain paratha or with plain rice, basmati rice or jeera rice.
This recipe is made with very few ingredients and uses no onion making it distinct from the Butter paneer or Paneer butter masala . This paneer makhani is made rich with the addition of cashews and cream.
To get the right taste I suggest sticking on to the quantities mentioned. Fully ripened red tomatoes and a good quality chilli powder that is not very hot contribute to the best color of the gravy.
This recipe has roughly been adapted from the Veg makhani and murgh or Chicken makhani recipes on this blog. If making for a party, paneer makhani can be made one day ahead, without the addition of paneer and cream. Just make the makhani gravy and refrigerate. The next day allow the gravy to bubble up, add paneer and then the cream.
Related recipes
Paneer malai kofta
Paneer tikka masala
Palak paneer
Matar paneer
Paneer makhani recipe
Paneer makhani
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
To puree
- 15 cashewnuts or almonds
- 2¼ cups tomatoes or 400 gms
Other ingredients to make paneer makhani
- 2 cups paneer or 200 grams Indian cottage cheese
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 green cardamoms or elaichi
- 1 inch cinnamon or dalchini
- 2 cloves
- 1 green chili (slit & deseeded)
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste (or ¾ tsp ginger paste)
- ¾ to 1 ¼ tsp red chilli powder (adjust as needed)
- salt as needed
- ½ to 1 tsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp turmeric (or haldi)
- 1¼ tsp garam masala (adjust as needed)
- ½ tsp kasuri methi (or fenugreek leaves)
- ¼ cup cream (adjust to suit your taste)
Instructions
Preparation for paneer makhani
- Soak cashews for 10 to 15 mins in hot water. If using almonds then remove the skin.
- Blend together tomatoes and cashews to a smooth puree. Filter if the puree is coarse.
How to make paneer makhani
- Heat a pan with butter. Then saute cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms and green chili.
- Saute ginger garlic paste for the raw smell to go away. This takes just 2 to 3 mins.
- Transfer the puree to the pan. Cover partially and cook until the puree thickens.
- Add chili powder, turmeric and salt. Saute until the mix leaves the sides of the pan.
- Next add garam masala and saute for 1 to 2 mins.
- Pour 1 cup water and sugar. Adjust as needed to make a gravy.
- Cook until the paneer makhani gravy thickens.
- Add in the paneer in the gravy. Stir gently. Cook covered for 2 mins on a low heat.
- Pour the cream and allow to bubble. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with cream and coriander leaves.
- Serve paneer makhani with roti, naan or jeera rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Preparation for paneer makhani
1. Soak 8 to 10 cashews in hot water for 5 mins. Meanwhile deseed the tomatoes and chop.
2. Add 2 heaped cups of tomatoes and cashews in a blender jar.
3. Blend to a smooth puree. If your blender doesn’t make a smooth puree, then filter the puree. I do not filter.
How to make paneer makhani
4. Heat 1 tbsp butter. Add slit chilli, 2 cardamoms, 2 cloves and 1 small cinnamon stick.
5. When they begin to sizzle, add ginger garlic paste (or ginger paste). Saute until the raw smell goes away.
6. Pour the tomato puree.
7. It will begin to splash immediately, so cover the pan partially. Continue to cook until the tomato puree thickens.
8. Add red chili powder and salt.
9. Stir and cook until it begins to leave the sides. You can adjust more or less chili powder now. I added about 1 ¼ tsp red chili powder since mine was not hot, adjust as needed to suit your taste. Add 1 ¼ tsp garam masala. If your masala is very strong, then use ¾ tsp garam masala and ½ tsp coriander powder. Mix and saute for a minute or 2.
10. Add about 1 cup water, sugar and mix. You may need to adjust the amount of water slightly.
11. Cover and cook on a medium flame until the gravy thickens. You can now see butter begins to float on the gravy slightly. There is not much butter used, so you will only see little traces of butter.
Adding paneer
12. Add paneer (Indian cottage cheese).
13. Sprinkle crushed kasuri methi. Gently stir, cover and cook on a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
14. Add cream as desired. I add about ¼ cup of cream and cook until it begins to bubble. This quantity goes well for our taste and it balances the sour taste from tomatoes. You can add more or less to your liking.
Serving suggestions : Paneer makhani can be served with
Indian flat breads like – naan, roti or plain paratha.
Plain or Flavored rice like
Jeera rice
ghee rice
pulao
This image is with an addition of just 1 tbsp cream.
Pic after addition of ¼ cup of cream to the gravy.
Neha says
Perfect recipe! Thanks! I tried out your paneer makhani recipe & it was a tasty success!
swasthi says
Welcome Neha
Glad you liked it.Thank you!
Jessie says
Excellent recipe- tastes like restaurant. I didn’t have Garam masala so ended up using MDH kadhai paneer masala. Yummy!!
Amber says
Hi there, this recipe looks amazing.
One question – can I use canned diced tomatoes?
swasthi says
Hi Amber
Thank you. Yes you can use if the tomatoes are not too sour.
Ritika says
Hi
Just a question can I use readymade tomato paste instead
swasthi says
Hi Ritika,
Yes you can use if it is not too sour. I haven’t used ready paste any time. Just add more cream if needed to adjust the sourness.
Ritika says
Thanks so much
Nami says
Thanks so much for sharing such an “awesomely” simple recipe and yet, palatably delicious! Loved it!!
swasthi says
You are welcome Nami
Thanks for the comment
🙂
James says
Hi Swasthi
Love this blog for the simple recipes with awesome results. I follow your recipes when ever i long for Indian food. Very good recipes. Kudos!
Sarah A. says
Pakistani-Canadian woman here. I made this a couple nights ago and it was absolutely delicious. My husband loved it. His (indian) coworker had some leftovers the next day and she said it was restaurant quality. Thank you for this excellent recipe.
swasthi says
Welcome Sarah,
So glad to know paneer makhani turned out delicious. Thanks for the comment.
🙂
radhika says
yesterday there was a get together in my house. prepared the same it turned a super duper hit everyone loved it .thanks a lot for your receipe
swasthi says
You are welcome Radhika
Thanks for the comment. Glad to know it turned out good.
HM says
Hi Swasthi ,
Firstly great job on the blog and the recipes . You are doing an amazing job of sharing your skill with others .
I am planning on making this for 12 people and am wondering how to upscale the quantities . Your input will be much appreciated. Thanks
swasthi says
Welcome HM,
Thanks for the appreciations. You can just triple the recipe and cut down ginger garlic paste to 2.5 tsps . Hope this helps
Amy says
I am eating this as I type. It is absolutely delicious; it tastes exactly like the restaurant dish. I married into an Indian family, love Indian food, and cook it often, but I never was able to find a recipe for Paneer Makhani that tasted authentic. Thank you so much, I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
swasthi says
Welcome Amy.
So glad to know you liked it. Thanks for trying!
Morgan says
Absolutely in love with this recipe, and this blog in general. I’ve made this recipe for family and friends whom are very familiarized with restaurant quality Paneer Makhani, and they prefer mine (this recipe) over the restaurants! I would make this everyday if I had endless time!
swasthi says
Thanks Morgan, You made my day!!
🙂
Happy to know you all like the paneer makhani
sagar says
Wow…
Really awesome taste.. yummyy…..
Same like restaurent taste… Wondered with it..
Very simple method…
Thanks for posting madam
swasthi says
Welcome Sagar garu
Thanks for sharing the outcome
Archana says
So Beautyful in test … I can’t explain. But i have a question on my mind that what should we use replace of cream ??? Plzz reply me …
swasthi says
Thanks Archana
Just use more cashews in the recipe to skip cream. May be another 5 to 6 whole cashew nuts will do the job.
Anu says
Awesome recipe. Followed the exact measurements you gave. It came out fantastic. Better than restaurants. Low oil, healthy & tasty. The only thing which i changed was that i added milk powder instead of cream since I didn’t have it. But it gave the same creamy taste. Thanks a lot for posting this.
swasthi says
Welcome Anu
So glad to know paneer makhani turned out good. Thanks a lot for writing
shadab says
Yesterday i prepared paneer makhani with this recipe….taste is better than restaurant….thanks
Neha says
Your recipees are just osamm….
Everytime wenvr I try ..I get lotsa appreciations …
Thanks..keep posting more..?
swasthi says
Welcome Neha
Thanks a lot. Glad to know you are appreciated.
🙂
Sam says
Hello Again!
Please can you advise if I can make sauces ahead of cooking and keep in the refrigerator a day earlier? Is there a rule for sauces like this for chicken and Paneer ie Makhani or Butter sauces? For example is it different for sauces using onions and not using onions?
swasthi says
Sam all these dishes taste best when made freshly with fresh ingredients. To reduce the work on the day, you can keep all the spices powders & tomato puree ready on the previous day. You can also marinate the chicken the previous night. Refrigerate and use them the next day. It doesn’t take much time to cook these dishes if you are done with .preparation well ahead. Hope this helps
Sam says
Hello, can I use Fenugreek Powder instead of dry crushed? Also, if want to double paneer, would I double the powder spices & use 1.5tbsp of Kasoori Methi & 1.5tbsp of Ginger Garlic paste as in Butter Chicken?
swasthi says
Hi Sam
To double the recipe you can use 1.5 tsp ginger garlic paste, generous pinch of fenugreek powder and then 2 tsps garam masala.
Please note it is tsp and not tbsp as u mentioned in your comment.
Sam says
Thank you! It was amazing if I say so myself! I am really enjoying cooking your recipes!
(Just a quick reference to the tsp vs tbsp. I asked this question about the same dish with chicken. You said “tbsp” in your reply. Is it different for Paneer or a typo error? Just so you know I followed it with tbsps of K.Methi and Garlic Ginger Paste and that was amazing too!…I use cubed frozen Kasuri Methi available from British supermarkets. I blotted it witha paper kitchen towel.
swasthi says
Welcome Sim. So glad to know it turned out good. Thanks for trying.
Yes for paneer it is different for 2 reasons
Firstly for chicken there is marination while paneer no marination since we want to remove the meat smell.
Secondly chicken needs much more spices and all other ingredients than used for paneer. Though this paneer recipe is roughly adapted from chicken makhani, all the quantities differ and the recipes cannot be used interchangeably.
1 tbsp of kasuri methi would be a lot even if you double this recipe but since you used the frozen cubes and then blotted them as well, probably they are less bitter. So worked out.
Have a lovely week ahead
🙂
Sam says
Thanks so much! I will be making this again very soon!
Vishal says
Hi Swathi, I cooked the dish but i did little edit on your recipe, not added ginger & garlic paste (as i not like the taste) but still it tastes good. I want to ask you if there is any big diffrence in taste by not add ginger garlic paste compare to your original recipe.
swasthi says
Hi Vishal
Making without garlic may not impact the taste mush but without ginger the flavor would be missing. But depends on the personal choice, since this is a paneer dish it will still taste good. Actually ginger garlic is used to make a dish masaledar and this is not such recipe so you can skip it if you do not like. Thanks for rating the recipe
Archana says
Turned out good. My husband loved it.
swasthi says
Thanks Archana
DZ says
Swasthi, thank you so much for this recipe. I followed everything to a t except for the kasuri methi but it turned out perfect ! I also made paneer using your recipe… Perfect too ! Love Delia from Malaysia
swasthi says
Hi DZ
You are welcome
So glad to know paneer makhani turned out good. Thanks for the feedback
DZ says
When I was making the paneer, I added yogurt but it didn’t seize. But as soon as I dropped the quarter cup of vinegar, all was well. Thanks for your reply Swasthi! Looking forward to dig deeper into your food blog and cook up some more. Love Delia
swasthi says
Yes DZ, with vinegar and lemon the milk splits very quickly. Hope you will enjoy trying the recipes.
Thanks and have a lovely week ahead
🙂
sarah says
thanks for sharing – is there no sugar in this ?
swasthi says
Hi Sarah, Welcome
Yes you can use half tsp along with water. Thanks for the mention, I updated it.
pooja says
Look stunning and easy to make.big thanks for this tasty recepies
swasthi says
Welcome Pooja
Virali says
Great recipe. I’m giving it a try today. This quantity is suited for 2 people?
swasthi says
Hi Virali
This recipe serves 3 to 4 people
Adriano says
Hi, the dish looks great! Curious to try it myself, by I wonder, what is paneer?
swasthi says
Hi Adriano
Thanks. Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. It is available in Indian stores in the frozen section or you can also make it following this paneer recipe.
Neetu says
Yummy ? loved it ? ?
Anya says
I have a small doubt why r v not using onions here?
Im thnikng try this recipe this weekend
swasthi says
Hi Anya,
Paneer makhani is made without onion. If you want to use onion, try this paneer butter masala
Anya says
Okii ill try
Ty so much
Nd all the best
Shwetha says
What is that cream used at the last? Is it compulsory?? What is it made of? I am really looking fwd to prepare this at home!!!
swasthi says
Hi Shwetha
That is amul milk cream. If you do not want to use cream you can use more of cashews to get a creamy taste.
Nandu says
Tried this so yummy. Cannot wait to share this at the weekend party. Thanks for this recipe. Keep up the good work
A V RAMARAO says
Very good
Alka says
So delicious that everyone praised me very much. Thanks u made my day
swasthi says
Welcome Alka
I am happy to know everyone praised you. Have a great day. Thanks for the feedback
janhvi bora says
I like ur rcpies, plz dont give up to share with us your network w recipes.
swasthi says
Hello Janhvi
Will surely keep sharing more recipes. Thanks for the feedback.
have a good day
Reshma Khatun says
Khub bhalo.
swasthi says
Thanks Reshma
ayushi rathore says
Simply awesome recipes jst loved it
swasthi says
Thanks Ayushi
Mital says
Thanks you for sharing this. As all steps are very clearly mentioned, it made my task easy!
swasthi says
welcome Mital
Mona says
Thanks for sharing this. I made this for a family dinner on the weekend. Turned out very very well. Everyone appreciated. thanks again
swasthi says
welcome and thanks mona for all the feebacks on this blog. so happy to know it was nice.
Girish Kantt says
A Big thanks to you dear swasthi for your fabulous and amazing recipes.I am following your method of statement and cooking since I am single and alone..so you are my inspiration and source of pride and my kitchen queen..God Bless you Keep doing a wonderful job……It’s me ….Girish.Kantt…Dubai.
swasthi says
Welcome Girish Kantt,
So Glad reading your comment. I am more than happy knowing you get inspired and try my recipes. Thanks a ton for your time, wishes and all the motivating words on this blog. Have a wonderful week ahead.
🙂
mrunalini says
Madam, can u suggest a substitute for cream…??
swasthi says
Hi Mrunalini, hope you are doing good.To get a rich taste cream is used. You can just increase the quantity of cashews and skip cream. Curd or anything else cannot really give the rich taste. If cream is not available in ur place, You can collect the milk cream that comes over the milk after boiling. Everyday you collect and refrigerate. When the quantity is sufficient, then just blend it a bit and use in this recipe. Hope this helps. Have a nice weekend.
mrunalini says
Thanq madam for ur wonderful tips…
Sadhna Grover says
Nice and tempting recipe and colour of the gravy.
JollyHomemadeRecipes says
Looks really tempting..lovely recipe..Thanks for sharing !