Paneer Butter Masala

A Panjabi Restaurant Classic. Paneer in a creamy spicy tomato sauce.

As a kid this was pretty much the only dish I would eat at restaurants. I was a weird kid who liked to eat home-cooked vegetables and didn’t particularly like the ones in restaurants other than roti with achaar (That typical Panjabi pickle with lemons and raw mangoes which is a staple in small restaurants along with onion slices and lemon wedges) and Paneer Butter Masala.

Needless to mention I judge this dish quite critically. In my 6 years in the U.S. I have yet to taste the perfect rendition of this one! You don’t want me to verbalize how I felt some of them tasted. But most nicely put, I would say most tasted like the chef accidentally added chilli powder and paneer cubes to a pot of Basundi (An Indian sweet made with condensed and evaporated milk, flavored with cardamom).

My recipe however is a perfect balance between the rich flavors from the spices as well as the sweet-creamy delicateness that the dish is supposed to have 🙂

Now what sets apart restaurant cooked Panjabi dishes from home cooked versions is the signature tandoori smoke aroma (provided you did everything else perfectly :P). Years ago I experimented a lot with getting the right smoke aroma into Panjabi dishes. Tried out different recipes from books and TV shows, consulted cooking experts I know, observed cooks in restaurants (they do not smoke with coal, their food gets this taste naturally which I was trying to emulate) and also took a couple cooking classes! And here I have it now. The perfect taste. Follow the smoking technique at the end of this recipe to get that tandoori smoky aroma to any Panjabi style curry, kebabs and biryanis!

For the curry, You will need:

1 large onion diced

4 tomatoes (Red, juicy) diced – Important to choose ripe red tomatoes, in order to get the right color and sweetness

1/4 cup cashew nut pieces

2 tsp oil

1-2 tbsp. butter + 1 tbsp. oil

2-3 cloves garlic, 1 small piece of ginger – grated

whole spices: 1 bay leaf, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom pods, 6-8 peppercorns, 1 inch piece of cinnamon

ground spices: red chilli powder, cumin, garam masala

about 1/2 lb paneer cubed

1/4 cup cream

1 tsp crushed Kasuri methi

Procedure:

•  In a pan heat oil and fry the onions cubes on medium-low heat until soft.
• Next add the tomatoes and cashew nut pieces.
• Cover this mixture and cook on low flame for about 15 minutes. Without letting it brown
• At the end of cooking t should look as seen in the photo. The cashew pieces should be soft. Cool the cooked mixture and grind it to a smooth paste. Add little water as needed.

• For prepping the paneer, you can either cut it in cubes and keep it submerged in warm water to soften it or sprinkle with dry powdered spices (chilli powder, garam masala and salt) and lightly sauté it on a skillet (as shown above)
• I choose either way based on the quality of the paneer and my mood 😛

• In another pan heat 1 tbsp. oil + 1-2 tbsp. butter (more is better obviously) and heat on medium heat
• Add whole spices to the oil (1 bay leaf, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom pods, 6-8 peppercorns, 1 inch piece of cinnamon) let this sizzle
• Lower the eat and add the finely grated ginger-garlic (you can use 1 tsp of paste instead). Ensure that this is added at low heat as you do not want it to brown.
• Once the raw garlic smell goes away, add the onion-tomato-cashew paste. Again, do not brown the ginger-garlic as this will change the profile completely.
• Cook down this mixture until its smooth and creamy as shown. Add warm water, little at a time, as needed. Adding cold water will change the way this gets cooked and will result in water separating at the end.
• Add the ground spiced (garam masala, red chilli powder) and salt as per taste. This dish is supposed to be slightly sweet. Add sugar as per taste, this also depends on how sweet your tomatoes are.
• Once the gravy is cooked and attained desired consistency, add the paneer cubes and cook covered for a couple of minutes or until the paneer is soft.
• Finish with crushed kasuri methi leaves and a generous addition of cream (1/4 cup) – come on! its paneer butter masala, doesn’t taste good for no reason 😛

Now for the charcoal smoking!

Read through the following instructions first and keep everything ready!

• Place a steel bowl/ cup in the pot of curry.
• Heat a piece of natural charcoal on the stove and heat it until it becomes red hot.
• Place the red-hot coal in the cup
• Quickly add a pinch of garam masala followed by a tsp of oil on the red-hot part of the coal.
• The mixture should start smoking, quickly put the lid over the pot and let it stand till the smoking stops (about 5 minutes).
• Remove lid. You have now successfully incorporated the magical deliciousness of the tandoori-smoke aroma in your dish 🙂

Garnish with more cream and chopped cilantro leaves. Serve hot with naan or jeera rice.