Indian Paneer Makhani

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a warm cozy day! Although Spring is around the corner (literally, a week away), we, the East Coast just got hit with snowstorm Stella so this is a perfect recipe to make on a cold snowy day.

Today, I will be sharing my Paneer Makhani recipe. This is an Indian dish that is full of flavor and can be paired with naan bread and rice. You can modify the taste to how spicy you want it. Paneer is firm cubed cottage cheese and Makhani directly translates to Butter. So this recipe can be heavy and shouldn’t be eaten all by one person in one sitting- no matter how good it is! Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

• One block of paneer
• 3 tomatoes
• Half an onion
• Butter
• Heavy cream or milk
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Garam masala powder
• Fenugreek leaves
• Kashmiri red chili powder
• Red chili powder
• Honey or sugar

Directions:

1. First, finely chop half an onion, 3 tomatoes, ginger, and garlic.
2. In a big pot over medium-low heat, add the chopped onion, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic.
3. Let simmer for about 20 minutes and add about half a cup of water in between.
4. Stir occasionally.
5. Let cool for about 10 minutes and place in a blender. If you have a food processor that allows hot liquids, then you don’t have to let the tomato mixture cool.
6. Pulse about 3 times to make the tomato base for the curry.
7. Pour this mixture back into the pot and add about 5 tablespoons of butter.
8. Let simmer for another 5 minutes.
9. Add about 2 tablespoons of the garam masala powder, kashmiri red chili powder, and red chili powder. Of course, you can add more or less according to your taste.
10. Add one spoon of honey or 1 tablespoon of sugar.
11. Crush a good amount of fenugreek leaves into fine powder and add it to the pot.
12. Let simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. 
13. Add half a cup to a cup of heavy cream and the cubed paneer.
14. Simmer for 5 minutes and at this point, add more chili powder if needed.
15. Serve with naan bread and rice!

Suggestions, Substitutions, Tips & Tricks:

• This recipe yields about 4 servings.
• You can skip making the tomato puree steps and just buy a can of crushed tomatoes and just making it into a puree by blending it down.
• You can find all of the ingredients at your local Indian store.
• The more butter you add the more thicker the curry will be.
• The more heavy cream or milk you add, the more bland it will be so I suggest adding more chili powder after adding the cream or milk.

Although it takes about an hour or so to make this delicious paneer makhani, it’s definitely worth it and feeds many. I hope everyone can cozy up and have some Indian paneer makhani this weekend.

Tag me on Instagram, @cookingwithovenmitz, if you do make it. I would love to see your version of it. Click follow and hit the like button to keep updated on new recipes!

See you next Wednesday!

-Mitz