Indian cuisine · Vegetable Dishes

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer cubes in a velvety pureed sauce of tomatoes, cashews and butter, mildly spiced and finished with cream.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 400 g paneer
• 800 g ripe tomatoes
• 60 g cashews
• 2 onions
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 60 g butter
• 100 ml cream
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp fenugreek leaves
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the cashews in hot water for 20 min, cut the paneer into 2 cm cubes, roughly dice the tomatoes and slice the onions into wedges.
2. Melt 30 g butter in a wide pot, sauté the onions and ginger-garlic paste over medium heat for 5 min until the onions are soft and light golden.
3. Add the tomatoes, Kashmiri chili powder and 150 ml water, and simmer covered for 15 min until the tomatoes have fully broken down.
4. Stir in the drained cashews, puree everything very finely with a hand blender and pass through a sieve – this is what makes the sauce truly velvety.
5. Return the sauce to the pot, stir in the remaining butter, sugar, salt and pepper, and simmer uncovered for 6–8 min until it coats the back of a spoon.
6. Add the paneer cubes and let sit for 4 min, then fold in the cream, garam masala and the fenugreek leaves crushed between your palms, and serve with flatbread.