Paneer makhanwala recipe with step by step photos. Cottage cheese in a buttery, creamy, tangy and mildly sweet sauce. This delicious paneer makhanwala recipe has a restaurant like flavors and taste.
The recipe is a variation of Paneer butter masala, Paneer lababdar And Paneer makhani. basically makhani gravy is added in all these recipes. So some people say paneer makhani and paneer makhanwala is the same recipe and some say paneer makhani and paneer buter masala are same. All this confusion is because of similar gravy and the butter (makhan) which goes in the preparation of these recipes.
I won’t go into this discussion because at the end what matters is the taste. Basically all these makhani recipes taste awesome. generally, the makhani gravy does not have onion. However, in this recipe, I have added onion along with some whole spices. If you like creamy buttery taste in a paneer dish then you will love this recipe.
The method to make paneer makhanwala is similar to my Shahi paneer recipe except for the ingredients added. This is a rich curry and so is very filling. Along with the butter and cream I have also added cashews. A good paneer recipe when you have guests at home or to make during a festival or celebration. I made this dish for my parents who have currently visited us.
Paneer makhanwala and Veg makhanwala is often seen in the restaurant menus. Many years back this dish along with Chilli paneer would be mine and my sister’s choice of paneer dish in any restaurant.
Paneer makhanwala is best served with naan or tandoori rotis. The next best is to serve with chapatis or phulkas.
How to make paneer makhanwala
Making makhani paste
1. First mix chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cashews, mace, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom with 1 cup water.
2. Cook everything till the tomatoes and onions soften without a lid. Allow this mixture to cool. About 14 to 15 minutes on a medium flame.
3. Then add everything including the stock in a good blender or grinder. Grind to a smooth paste. Remember there should be no small pieces of cashews. Everything should be ground very well to a smooth paste. Add water if required while blending. But better to avoid adding water, if possible. As if you add water, then while sauteing the masala splutters.
Making paneer makhanwala
4. Then heat butter in the same pan. add tejpatta/Indian bay leaf (this is fresh tejpatta) and saute for a few seconds.
5. add the ground makhani paste. Stir well.
6. Sprinkle red chili powder. ( I have used Kashmiri red chili powder which gives a bright red color. You can also use deghi mirch).
7. Stir well and saute the masala on a medium flame. If the mixture starts spluttering, then keep a lid half covered on the pan. Let the moisture reduce and the spluttering will stop. But do stir in between.
8. Keep on stirring often. You have to saute the masala till you see the butter leaving the sides. It has to be sauteed so well. This takes time but patience is the key. You have to stir often. The masala would start clumping together and begin to reduce slowly.
9. Here is how the masala should look like with the fat oozing from the sides. This sauteing took me about 20 minutes on a medium flame.
10. Now add slit green chilies, salt and water.
11. Again stir very well and bring the gravy to a gentle simmer for about 2 to 3 mins.
12. Add sugar and again stir. Add the cottage cheese cubes. Stir gently and simmer for 2 mins.
13. Add the cream, crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) and garam masala powder.
14. Stir and switch off the flame. Check the taste of paneer makhanwala gravy and add more salt, sugar or red chili powder if required.
15. Serve paneer makhanwala garnished with cream, grated paneer, ginger julienne and coriander leaves, hot with naan or roti.
More Paneer recipes
paneer makhanwala
Ingredients
for ground makhani paste
- 1 medium to large onion or 80 grams onions or ¾ cup roughly chopped onions
- 3 to 4 medium tomatoes or 160 to 170 grams tomatoes or 1.5 cups roughly chopped tomatoes
- ½ inch ginger - chopped
- 3 to 4 medium garlic - chopped
- 2 single strands of mace
- 2 to 3 green cardamoms
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 2 tablespoon whole cashews or about 10 to 12 cashews
- 1 cup water
other ingredients
- 250 to 300 grams paneer - cut into cubes or squares (cottage cheese)
- 1 to 1.5 teaspoon kashmir red chili powder or deghi mirch (if using a hot variety of red chili powder, then add ½ to ¾ teaspoon)
- ¼ cup low fat cream (i used amul cream)
- 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
- 1 green chili - slit
- 1.5 cups water or as required
- ¾ teaspoon kasuri methi - crushed (dry fenugreek leaves)
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon sugar or 1 teaspoon honey - or add as required as per your taste
- 2 to 2.5 tablespoon butter at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon cream for garnishing
- 1 tablespoon grated paneer for garnishing (optional)
- ½ inch ginger - julienne
- salt as required
- few chopped coriander leaves for garnish (cilantro leaves)
Instructions
making makhani paste
- First mix chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cashews, mace, cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms with 1 cup water.
- Cook everything til the tomatoes and onions soften without a lid. Cook for about 14 to 15 minutes on a medium flame. Allow this mixture to cool.
- Then add everything including the stock in a good blender or grinder. Grind to a smooth paste.
- Remember there should be no small pieces of cashews. Everything should be ground very well till smooth.
making paneer makhanwala
- Heat butter in the same pan. Add tejpatta (indian bay leaf) and saute for a few seconds.
- Add the ground makhani paste. Stir well.
- Sprinkle red chili powder. ( I have used kashmiri red chili powder which gives a good color. You can also use deghi mirch).
- Stir well and saute the masala on a medium flame.
- Keep on stirring often. You have to Saute the masala till you see the butter leaving the sides. it has to sauteed so well. This takes time but patience is the key.
- Takes about 20 to 22 mins on a medium to high flame. Check the step by step pics (picture no 9) for the consistency of how the masala paste should be before you proceed to the next step.
- Now add slit green chilies, salt and water. Again stir very well. Cook for 2 to 3 mins.
- Then add sugar and again stir. If you want to add honey instead of sugar then kindly check the notes section below.
- Add the paneer cubes and simmer for 2 mins.
- Add the cream, crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) and garam masala powder.
- Stir and switch off the flame. Check the taste of gravy and add more salt, sugar or red chili powder as required.
- Serve paneer makhanwala garnished with cream, grated paneer, ginger julienne, and cilantro leaves, hot with naan or roti.
Notes
- As per ayurveda, honey should not be added to hot drinks or anything hot or heated above 40 degrees c/104 degrees f. The honey becomes toxic.
- For this paneer makhanwala recipe, you can Let the gravy cool down a bit and then add honey. you can also add sugar instead of honey.
????????????????????I try this recipe…..very yummy taste….thank you so much….my son like d dish.????????????
thanks a lot. glad to know. welcome and happy cooking.
This turned out to be really restaurant style! Both my husband and brother in law loved it! Thanks.
thanks for sharing this feedback. glad to read and welcome.
Thanks for the recipes. I have been cooking Palak Paneer and Paneer Makhanwala from several years and it tastes mouth watering.
Steps are so easy to follow.
Thank you and keep posting awesome recipes.
It’s amazing.
I was just wondering how didn’t I found ur site before.
But now m checking it daily,and finding a lot more of simple dishes.
Thanks Amit for the wonderful website u hve made for decilious recipes.
It’s awesome ????.
Now I have subscribed to Ur channel at you tube too.
M a usual user of Ur site now.
Again thanks a lot for sharing delicious recipes.
Now m making new receipes in my free time.
Welcome Nikitayadav. Glad to know that you are liking the website and the recipes. Thanks for your positive feedback and appreciation.
I tried it at home, and it was so delicious. You make feel cooking so easy. You are definitely my favourite Mr. Dassana Amit.. Lots of love and appreciation
Thanks Raj Kishore for your positive feedback.
Could you tell me how much paneer ,tomatoes and onions I would need to make this for 25 people? I know you rely on andaaz,but I feel I could attempt so only for the masala part.Please help..I am a great fan of yours.As I am not much of a cook, I blindly follow your recipes..
indu, i will try to increase the proportions of onions, tomatoes proportionately. for spices, oil, ghee and water andaaz is required. but with paneer, onions and tomatoes, you can easily increase them proportionately. so i would use 4 cups onions, 7.5 cups tomatoes and 1 to 1.25 kilo paneer.
thanks for the kind words 🙂
Hi,
Tried this receipt, it’s ws awesome.
My daughter just loved it.
Thanks for sharing
thanks madhavi for sharing this feedback. glad to know that your daughter liked the recipe.
Hi dassana
I have one doubt can I fry panner and keep that in curd or water before putting it in to the gravy
And if I put panner directly will it become hard
Swetha, you can do either way. paneer will not become hard.
Hello Dassana.. I love your recipes and follow it to the tee. Always with awesome results. Thank you very much. I owe you big time. For this recipe of Paneer, why do you add honey? Would it make a difference in taste if we use sugars?
honey is added just to give a slight faint sweet taste to the paneer makhanwala gravy and also to balance the tanginess of the tomatoes. both honey and sugar taste different. the difference is felt but its very subtle. if using honey, i would suggest to add it when the gravy becomes warm.
Hiiii dear….
I tried this recipe 3 days back and it turned out very tasty, delicious is the perfect word.
Thanks a lot… thanks a lot for the simple method & tasty dish???? ????? lots of love?
welcome sheetal, thankyou for your kind and positive words 🙂
I have tried every single paneer recipies of yours and they have come out really amazing. I always recommend VRoI to everyone. I wish there is an option to upload pics along with comments.
thanks a lot varun. currently there is no option. we did look into this, but the plugin that has this feature makes the page loads slowly.
Thanks a ton for this super simple recipe! And of course the awesome pictorial representation! I loveeee it! 😀
you are welcome ruchira pleased to know this and thankyou 🙂
hi dassana,
I tried this recipie 2 times in 15 days time..It came out very well,
infact the guest who had come over enjoyed it too much..
Thanks a ton to you for this , you are my cooking Guru.
i admire you .
Dassana can you suggest some recipied for 14 months old baby,
who is very fussy eater and more importantly doesnt like
eating veggies, which I m keen to include in diet on daily basis
thanks a lot sonia for this feedback. your comment had gone in spam and hence the late reply. try giving mashed or cooked semi sweet veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, beetroot. you can even cook these veggies with moong dal and then make a mixed veg khichdi. you can also make rotis/parathas with grated veggies or mashed veggies. even something as basic as a dal can have mixed vegetables in it. first try with veggies that are on the sweeter side like carrots or beetroot or cabbage. then you can introduce veggies which are not sweet but still good to taste like cauliflower, beans, potatoes etc.
I tried this recipe for last week, didnt add ginger n mace but added almond n cashew mix, came out amazing. Everyone loved it.So i want to make it for potluck for 50 people.pls tell me how make.
thanks for the feedback sari. i cannot help you in increasing the quantities as curry or gravy recipes need to be made by andaaz or by eye balling the ingredients.
Thanks Dassana for the quick response, i will only make it for 25 people, rest a friend will make. Do you think tripling the recipe will be enough.Sorry to bug you again.
Thanks a lot.
welcome sari. i would just suggest doubling it. but i am taking the risk here also by suggesting this to you. because i have made gravy recipes in bulk and i know that doubling or tripling the recipe does not work always. you need to use approximation/andaaz. check the taste and add some ingredients as required.
Hi!!!! I tried this recipe yesterday….. Wow!!! Amazing taste….. All my family members luvd it!!!! Thnk yu sooooooo much fr sharing d recipe
welcome sowmiya and thanks for sharing the positive feedback.
Hi Dassana….
Thanks for sharing this restaurant style recipie….Steps with pictures helped me in every manner.This recipie turned out to be fantastic.Now my husband does not want to go out for dinner. I got appreciation but for me you are my star.Thanks a lot once again.Keep sharing such recipies.
welcome bhavna. thanks for sharing this sweet feedback. glad to read your positive words.
I tried your receipe. It turned out so well.amazing. Quite impressed with the step by step procedure of the receipe which is very helpful indeed while making it.great site. thanks dassana
thanks rajeshwari for sharing your positive review on recipe and for your encouraging feedback.
Hi Dassana,
I look to your recipes everytime I need to make something and they are always fantastic, this recipe however was mind blowing!
Thank you!
welcome anju. glad to know this.
Hi,
I tried your receipe it turned out very well.very impressed by the method of showing step by step pics of the receipe along with the context.will surely try out other receipes too.
thanks rajeshwari for sharing positive review.
Hi dassana!!
Just made this yesterday for some guests we had over. It turned out perfect. Very creamy and delicately spiced. Everyone loved it.. All credit goes to you :-*
Just one small change, it isn’t restaurant -style.. It’s much much better 😀
I love your blog and have tried so many other recipes – gobi manchurian, schezwan fried rice, methi muthiya, methi theplas, methi matar malai, mawa cake, steamed bread pudding and fruit custard too… They all turned out fantastic.. Thanks a lot for your precise and beautifully illustrated recipes.
You’re my food superstar 🙂
Lots of love and thanks for being so inspiring.
thanks a lot natasha. i agree home cooked restaurant style food is much much better than the actual restaurant food:-) and thanks for the title of food superstar 🙂 i get inspired with all the positive comments i get everyday. thanks once again.
I tried out your recepie and it came so super. Thanks for this wonderful site.
welcome anima. glad to know this.
Hi Dassana,
The recipe says to add 1 inch piece of cinnamon. So, do you blend this also in Step 3? I’ve done this before and ended up with chunks of cinnamon stuck in everything 🙂
adam, you need to grind it very well. some blenders don’t do this job well. indian masala grinders work very well. otherwise you can add cinnamon powder (1/8 to 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder).
Hi
Thanks for all the recipes. I have only one word…. fantastic
Just wanted to ask that in this paneer makhanwala recipe it took me really a lot of time to bhunao masala till oil separates. Kinda an hour. . I was doing on non stick pan on induction cooktop.
Is there any faster method??
Thanks again
Dr Swati
hi swati, it should not take an hour. it just takes about 18 to 20 minutes. must be due to the induction cooktop. there is no faster method but another alternative. in this you saute the onions, spices, tomatoes etc in oil. then grind with some water to a smooth paste. don’t grind the tej patta. then heat oil again and then add this ground paste. but remember when sauteing don’t brown the onions too much. they curry will have bitter notes. a light brown or translucency is fine in the onions. and thanks for the feedback on the recipe.
Dear Dassana,
I made this dish ‘Paneer Makhanwala’ today following your recipe and it turned out to be great. I must say that I love your website and your recipes have started giving me confidence that I can cook as well. Thanks for making it look so simple!
welcome mukul. glad to know this. do try some more recipes.
I made this and your punjabi chhole recipe for a date with my boyfriend and it came out amazing!! Both of us loved it!
I have to say trying your recipes really brought out the confidence in me that I can cook well. Now the chhole recipe has become a staple and I cook it at least once a week. However, I make this super simple paneer recipe when I want to impress someone 😉
thanks ash for this positive feedback on recipes. glad to know that the blog is helping you in cooking.
hi friend….
I tried this recipe & veg handi just. it was superb. i loves cooking from my collage days. i m trying many recipies from d net. this may i m marrying. so ur recipies helps me a lot to try new recipies. i wil try peda & coconut burfi with condensed milk soon..
thnk u so much for ur recipies.
welcome rubina. glad to know this. do try some more recipes.
Hi Dassana, just tried this receipe but with a small twist. Instead of paneer I added mix veggies and it has turned out yumm. Thank you so much for all your efforts. Gos bless u!!!
thanks for the feedback verena. veggies are a great substitute. i was anyways going to add veg makhanwala recipe soon 🙂
Wonderful recipes dassana…me &my hubby enjoining with ur recipes…I request u for
Sum more chiwda or snacks recipes…plz..&kip it up..dear
thank you. there are three chiwda recipes posted on the blog. you can also find many starters and snack recipes already shared on the blog.