This restaurant style Paneer Tikka Masala recipe is brimming with bright flavors from the spiced and creamy tomato onion curry gravy/sauce and delightfully marinated grilled cottage cheese. While this dish may be considered a labor of love, the time and effort are well worth it! This delicious traditional Punjabi dish is something the whole family will love. Make it for dinner tonight and serve with a pile of naan, roti, or paratha. I can almost guarantee the whole family will clean their plates!
What is Paneer Tikka Masala
For any non-native Indians, I believe it is easiest to explain if we break it down into its component parts.
First, we have paneer. Paneer is ubiquitous in Indian cooking and is a great vegetarian alternative to chicken, lamb and other meats. It is a firm, non-melting cheese that is similar in consistency to tofu.
Tikka refers to a piece of food that has been marinated and grilled. In this case, the paneer cubes are first marinated and later grilled before adding to the gravy.
Finally, we have masala. While masala means any number of spices that are mixed, in this case the masala is referring to the spice laden gravy.
There you have it! Paneer Tikka Masala can literally be translated to a marinated grilled paneer in a creamy, spiced gravy!
How to make Paneer Tikka Masala
While Paneer Tikka Masala recipe has many steps, do not be discouraged! Nothing is particularly technical or difficult, and I will walk you through each and every step with detailed notes and pictures.
Marinate Paneer
1. In a large bowl, whisk 6 tablespoons hung curd until smooth.
Tip: Hung curd is made by bundling curd (yogurt) in cheesecloth and allowing the whey to drip away. This will result in a thicker yogurt. To omit this step, you can also use Greek yogurt, Icelandic Skyr or Middle Eastern Labneh.
2. One by one, add the spices, herbs and seasonings listed below:
- 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
- 2 to 3 pinches of grated nutmeg or nutmeg powder
- 1 generous pinch of crushed saffron or saffron powder
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or gram flour
- ½ teaspoon salt or as required
3. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice
4. Mix everything very well.
5. Add the paneer cubes (250 to 300 grams), 1 medium-sized onion (layers separated and cut in squares), 1 medium bell pepper (cut in squares or cubes).
6. Gently mix again so that the marination coats the paneer, onions and bell peppers evenly. Cover the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to overnight.
Tip: Do not skimp on marinating time! This marinating process imparts a lot of flavor and is an essential part of making this authentic Paneer Tikka Masala recipe.
Grill Paneer in Oven
7. Line a baking tray or pan with aluminum foil or parchment. While this step is technically optional, this method makes it much easier to clean the pan later.
Next, thread the paneer cubes and vegetables on bamboo or metal skewers and place them on the prepared pan. While you don’t have to skewer the paneer, I find that it makes for less work turning the cubes in all preparations.
Tip: If using bamboo skewers, you should soak them in water for at least 10 minutes before skewering the paneer. This will ensure that they do not catch fire while cooking.
Preheat the oven to 200° C (390° F) for at least 10 minutes before you grill the paneer cubes.
For a regular oven, keep the top heating element on and keep the pan on the top rack. For a microwave oven use the convection mode and preheat at 180° C (350° F).
8. Brush about 1 to 2 teaspoons oil evenly on the paneer, onion and bell pepper cubes.
9. Grill the skewered paneer cubes and veggies in a preheated oven at 200° C (390° F) for a total of 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the oven temperatures). Halfway through remove the skewers and turn over for even grilling.
Just keep an eye when the paneer is baking in the oven. You want the cubes to begin to brown at the edges, but you don’t want it to burn.
10. Below is the oven grilled tikka cubes. You can brown the edges a bit more if you want but do not overcook the paneer cubes.
Pan Fry Marinated Paneer
11. Heat about 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in a flat pan or frying pan or a skillet until shimmering. Place the skewers on the pan and begin to pan fry them on medium heat.
12. When one side is crisp and browned, gently rotate the skewers. Keep on rotating until all sides are browned. If necessary, add more oil to the pan while frying.
However you cook your paneer, you’ll want to remove the skewers and set the grilled paneer and vegetables to the side while you make your gravy.
More Prep
13. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add halved onions (2 medium sized) and 3 medium-sized tomatoes to the boiling water.
Cook for one or two minutes. Turn off heat. Cover and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
Tip 1: For a slightly sweeter gravy, you can add 10 to 12 cashews to the hot water with the onion and tomato. Adding cashews gives a creamier consistency with a nice sweetness. You can add them to the onion paste in the next step.
Tip 2: To make the tomatoes easier to peel, make a small “x” in the skin with a paring knife or a small knife before adding to the boiling water. The skin will slide right off!
14. Later chop the onions roughly and make a smooth paste in a grinder, blender or with a mortar and pestle. Do not add any water while blending the onions.
15. Peel and roughly chop the tomatoes. Make a smooth puree of the tomatoes in the grinder or blender. Keep both the onion paste and tomato puree aside.
16. Whisk or beat 2 to 2.5 tablespoons fresh curd (yogurt) till smooth and keep aside. There should be no lumps in the yogurt and it should be beaten well.
Sauté
17. In a sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat until shimmering and add the onion paste.
Tip: If you pan fried the paneer, use the same pan for easier clean up!
18. Stir often and sauté until the onion paste turns golden. This takes time so do not be in a hurry.
19. Add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste and sauté until the scent of raw ginger and garlic goes away. This should take approximately some 5 to 10 seconds.
Tip: Burnt garlic has a very bitter, acrid taste. Be sure to stir the ginger-garlic paste continuously and add the tomato purée as soon as the garlic is cooked through.
20. Add the prepared tomato purée. Stir well and sauté until you see fat leaving sides of the masala. Do not rush this process.
21. Now add all the dry spice powders listed below:
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder or kashmiri red chili powder or sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder – optional
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder or tandoori masala
22. Stir and combine well so that the spices are incorporated in the masala paste evenly. Now remove the pan from heat and place it on the kitchen countertop.
23. Add the 2 to 2.5 tablespoons of beaten fresh curd (yogurt). Be sure to use full fat fresh curd.
Tip: When adding cultured dairy to a dish, you should always remove the pan from heat before stirring it in. This will keep the dairy from breaking or separating in your sauce.
24. Mix very well.
Make Paneer Tikka Masala
25. Add water and salt. Mix and stir again. Place the pan again on the stovetop on low to medium-low heat.
26. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes or till the gravy thickens and you see fat floating on the top. The consistency ranges from medium to slightly thick.
You can alter the consistency to your liking by adding more or less water.
27. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons light cream (or low-fat cream) or 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream and ½ teaspoon crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves).
Stir to mix well and simmer on a low heat for a minute. Check the taste and add more salt or cream if you prefer.
Tip: You can also about ½ to 1 teaspoon of sugar for a bit of extra sweetness.
28. Finally, add the grilled or pan-fried paneer and veggies cubes.
29. Turn off the heat and mix well.
30: Garnish with 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves and serve your homemade Paneer Tikka Masala with some naan, roti or jeera rice.
Tuck in with a spoon and watch your family’s faces dissolve into ecstasy! This dish is always a hit, even with people new to Indian cuisine.
Expert Tips
- Gravy or sauce: For the gravy or curry, use ripe, red and slightly sweet tomatoes. Avoid using tomatoes which are too tangy or sour or unripe.
- Curd (Yogurt): For marinating the paneer cubes, use fresh hung curd or use fresh full fat thick yogurt (thick curd). Do not use curd which has become sour.
- How is hung curd made? Hung curd is made by allowing all the whey (water) to drain from fresh curd or yogurt. The curd is bundled in a muslin or cheese cloth, placed on a sieve having a bowl beneath (to collect the whey) overnight or for 4 to 5 hours in the refrigerator. A heavy object like a small pan or pestle is kept on top of the bundle. Use 1 cup of fresh curd (yogurt) to make hung curd for this recipe.
- Paneer: Paneer is firm cottage cheese made by curdling milk with lemon juice or vinegar. It is very easy to make paneer. For making any paneer based curry dish, it is always best to make the paneer at home. If using packaged paneer, then follow the instructions mentioned on the pack before marinating them. Check my Homemade Paneer recipe.
- Grilling or pan-frying: Do not grill or pan-fry the paneer cubes for a long time as this will result in the cubes getting dense and rubbery.
- Consistency: The consistency of the gravy is medium to medium-thick. So add water accordingly to get the consistency you prefer.
- Paneer Swap: Simply substitute extra firm tofu or seitan for any recipe that calls for paneer. You could also opt to use soya chaap (or soy curls) instead.
FAQs
Yes! You can easily sub a few pinches of hing (also known as asafoetida) for the alliums. For the marinade, add a pinch of hing instead of garlic paste.
For the gravy, add one to two pinches of hing when you add the ginger paste. You can also add the paneer tikka pieces in a makhani or makhanwala gravy which does not use yogurt or onions.
Kasuri Methi are fenugreek leaves that have been sun-dried. It tastes like a combination of fennel and celery with a bit of a bitter bite. If you don’t have access to kasuri methi, just omit it from the sauce entirely.
Absolutely! Simply switch out extra firm tofu for the paneer. Use a coconut or cashew yogurt that you have strained in place of the hung curd. Swap coconut cream for the heavy cream.
Certainly! If you’re lucky enough to have one, this recipe would be even more authentic in a tandoor oven.
Yes! You will definitely want to skewer the paneer and vegetables on metal skewers.
More Questions Answered
What is hung curd? Is there something I can use instead?
Hung curd is regular yogurt that is then strained with cheesecloth to remove all the whey. For this recipe you can use 1 cup of fresh curd (yogurt) to make hung curd.
If you prefer to omit this step, Greek yogurt, skyr and labneh are all perfectly acceptable substitutes.
Can I use store bought paneer?
While I highly recommend making your own paneer at home (it just tastes so much better!), you can certainly use store bought in a pinch. Be sure to follow any package instructions before marinating.
What makes this dish Punjabi?
Punjab is a region in Northern India, and Punjabi cuisine is the food that originates from there. Punjab is a highly agricultural region, and their cuisine is made up of locally grown staples.
Dairy is quite prevalent in the region, meaning many famous Punjabi dishes are made with milk or cream. Other Punjabi dishes you might be familiar with are Chana Masala, Rajma Masala, Kadhi Pakora and Lassi.
Why does my paneer taste rubbery?
Rubbery paneer is often a result of overcooking. First, be sure that you aren’t overcooking it in the “grilling” step. Second, you should add the paneer to the sauce after it has been removed from the heat. You want to allow it to warm in the sauce, but not continue cooking.
More Tasty Indian Paneer Dishes
Paneer Recipes
Paneer Recipes
Paneer Recipes
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Paneer Tikka Masala Recipe (Restaurant Style)
Ingredients
For marination
- 250 to 300 grams Paneer (cottage cheese) – cut into cubes or squares
- 1 bell pepper or capsicum, medium-sized – diced (green, red, yellow)
- 1 onion medium-sized, halved and the layers removed
- 6 tablespoons Hung Curd or Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste – or 3 to 4 small to medium garlic cloves and 1 inch ginger crushed to a smooth paste in mortar-pestle
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or lime juice
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch or red chili powder or cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder – optional
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala or tandoori masala powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- 2 to 3 pinches nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg (ground nutmeg)
- 12 to 15 saffron strands – crushed, or 1 generous pinch of saffron powder – optional
- 1 tablespoon gram flour or chickpea flour or cornstarch
- 1 to 2 teaspoons oil – for brushing, only if grilling or baking
- ½ teaspoon salt or as required
- 4 tablespoons oil – for pan frying
For blanching
- water as required – for blanching
- 1 pinch salt – for blanching
- 2 onions – medium-sized or 1 large onion or 100 grams onion – peeled and halved
- 3 tomatoes – medium-sized, or 200 grams tomatoes
Other ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste or 3 to 4 small to medium garlic cloves + 1 inch ginger crushed in a mortar-pestle to a paste
- 2 to 2.5 tablespoons curd (yogurt), full fat or made with whole milk – whisked well till smooth
- 2 tablespoons oil or 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin), optional
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder or kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch or cayenne pepper or paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- ½ teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves – crushed (kasuri methi)
- ½ cup water or add as required
- 3 to 4 tablespoons light cream – 25% to 35% low fat cream or 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- salt as required
- ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar – optional
- 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves – chopped (cilantro), for garnish
Instructions
Marinating paneer
- Whisk the hung curd or greek yogurt till smooth in a large bowl. You can also use a really thick curd instead of hung curd.
- Add all the ginger-garlic paste, spice powders, lemon juice, corn starch or gram flour and salt. Mix well.
- Add the paneer cubes, onions, bell pepper.
- Gently mix again so that the marination coats the paneer, onions and bell peppers evenly. Cover the bowl and marinate for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator.
Grilling paneer in oven
- Line a baking tray or pan with aluminum foil. This method makes its easier to clean the pan later.
- Thread the paneer cubes on a bamboo or metal skewers and place them on the prepared pan. Preheat the oven to 200° C (390° F) for at least 10 minutes before you grill the paneer cubes.
- For a regular oven, keep only the top heating element on and keep the pan in the top rack. For a microwave oven use the convection mode and preheat at 180° C (350° F).
- Brush about 1 to 2 teaspoons oil evenly on the paneer and bell pepper cubes.
- Grill the skewered paneer cubes and veggies in a preheated oven at 200° C (390° F) for a total of 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the oven temperatures). While grilling remove the tikka halfway, turn over each paneer cubes & vegetables and then continue to grill.
- Just keep an eye when the paneer is getting grilled in the oven.
Pan frying tikka cubes
- Heat about 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Place the threaded paneer cubes and veggies with the skewers on the pan.
- Fry the paneer cubes on medium heat. Adjust the heat as needed.
- Gently rotate the skewers, when one side is crisp and browned. Keep on rotating till all the sides are browned.
- Add more oil if required, while frying. Keep the fried paneer cubes and veggies aside.
Making onion and tomato puree
- Boil water with a pinch of salt. Add halved onions and tomatoes to the boiling water.
- Cook for one or two minutes. Turn off the heat. Cover and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
- You can also add cashews to the hot water. Adding cashews gives a creamier consistency with a nice sweetness.
- Later drain and chop the onions and tomatoes roughly. It is not necessary to blanch, but blanching reduces the cooking time later.
- Next chop the onions roughly and make a smooth fine paste in a grinder or blender.
- Peel and roughly chop the tomatoes. Make a smooth and fine puree of the tomatoes in the grinder or blender. Keep both the onion and tomato puree aside.
- Whisk or beat the yogurt till smooth and keep aside. There should be no lumps in the yogurt and it should be beaten well.
Making paneer tikka masala
- In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil and then add the onion paste.
- Stir often and saute till the onions paste turns golden.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for some seconds till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
- Add the tomato puree. Stir well and saute till you see fat leaving sides of the masala.
- Now add all the dry spice powders – turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala or tandoori masala.
- Stir well so that the spices are incorporated in the masala paste evenly.
- Turn off heat and remove the pan from the stovetop and place on the kitchen countertop.
- Add beaten fresh curd (yogurt). Removing the pan from stovetop, won't allow the yogurt to curdle. Use full fat and fresh curd.
- Stir to mix well. Add water and salt. Keep pan back on the stovetop on low to medium-low heat. Stir again.
- Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes or till the gravy thickens and you see fat floating on the top. You can keep the consistency from medium to slightly thick. The consistency can be altered by adding more or less water.
- Add cream and kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves). Stir well and simmer on a low heat for a minute. Check the taste and add more salt or cream if you prefer. You can also about ½ to 1 teaspoon of sugar for a light sweet taste.
- Then add the grilled or pan-fried paneer and veggies cubes. Turn off the heat and mix well.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve Paneer Tikka Masala with some naan, roti or jeera rice.
Video
Notes
- Tomatoes: For the gravy or curry, use ripe, red and slightly sweet tomatoes. Avoid using tomatoes which are too tangy or sour or unripe.
- Curd (Yogurt): For marinating the paneer cubes, use fresh hung curd or use a thick yogurt like Greek yogurt. Do not use hung curd which has become sour. For the gravy too, use fresh curd or yogurt.
- You can easily make hung curd:
- Line a clean muslin or cheesecloth on a strainer on top of the bowl.
- Place the fresh curd or yogurt on the muslin or cheesecloth.
- Bring together all edges of the muslin and make a knot.
- Gently press and keep the muslin on the strainer.
- Press a heavy weight object like a lid or bowl or tray on top of the muslin.
- Place the bowl, strainer, muslin with the curd, weight et all in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours or overnight. The whey will collect in the bowl and creamy smooth hung curd will be left in the muslin.
- For this recipe you can use 1 cup of fresh curd to make hung curd.
- Paneer: For making any paneer based curry dish, it is always best to make the paneer at home. If using packaged paneer, then follow the instructions mentioned on the pack before marinating them.
- Grilling or pan-frying: Do not grill or pan-fry the paneer cubes for a long time as this will result in the cubes getting dense and rubbery.
- Curd: Be sure to use curd or yogurt made from whole milk or full-fat curd for the tikka gravy or sauce.
- Consistency: The consistency of the gravy is medium to medium-thick. So add water accordingly to get the consistency you prefer.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Paneer Tikka Masala recipe post from the archives first published in October 2014 has been updated and republished on February 2023.
Hi Dasanna
I like all your recipes. Your website is my first choice for reference. I am happy that your website can be installed on phone. Now it’s easy for us to follow. I have one more suggestion to add other languages especially Hindi in your web page. This will add more readers and popularity to your website. I really appreciate your website so I want that it should have more access to people.
Thank you Poonam. With the current technical setup, it is very difficult for us to have additional Hindi webpages. We did have it earlier but it messed up may things technically. So we have decided to keep only one language for the entire website. Thanks for the suggestion though.
All your recipes are very authentic. Almost all dishes come out very delicious. And the way they are explained is so good that it becomes very easy to follow and make exactly same way.
Thank you so much for sharing recipes with us!!
thank you shilpi for sharing this lovely feedback and review on the recipes. felt nice to read your comment and also know that the explanation is simple for the recipe to be easily followed and made. thanks again. most welcome and happy cooking.
Thank you so much mam for sharing delicious and easy to make receipes
Very nice recipe i tried nd liked by everyone in my family
Welcome Neha
I started cooking about two years back. Since then, I have been following your recipes with good amount of success. When I started searching the web, I found that there are many sites, but in most of the sites they assume that we know how to cook. For a novice like me, someone had to tell me whether I have to put the mustard seed first or the curry leaves for tempering. Also, all sites never give an accurate masurement. e.g., they will say take one papaya, add 1 tsp o this and 1 tbsp of that. For me, that would not do because I would have to be told whether the papaya should weigh 200 gms or 500 gms. And of course, the size of the cup too. Your recipes are structured and easy to understand. Thank you.
One suggestion, kindly repeat the quantities in the how to make section also. (I know, in some of the recipes you do it). This will, if we have not taken all the ingredients in a plate separately, solve us the trouble of reerring to the ingredients list back and forth from the ‘how to do’ section.
One doubt in this recipe,
When do I put the lemon juice (I guess it is with the other masalas while marinating the paneer)
thanks anshuman for this detailed feedback. it does help when i get to read feedback like yours. i have taken a note of your suggestion. in most recipes the quantities are mentioned in the how to make section. whereas in some recipes, escpecially the recent ones, i have not added the quantity of ingredients as i felt it was repetition for the reader. though have taken a note and will implement in the recipes i add newly or when i update existing recipes.
yes, lemon juice is added when marinating with the rest of the masala and ingredients.
Hi….I made this yesterday and surprisingly it turned out so well…Just like restaurant…Thanks so much ….I really like your recipes…
thank you sheetal for the feedback as well as rating. glad to know. happy cooking.
i just love all your recipes…this one just turned out the best for me …thank you so much…
thanks a lot mitul.
Thank you so much for your wonderfull reciepe i love your reciepe as it turn out delicious
welcome sakina. glad to know this.
Hello,
I wrote in about the cashews. I didn’t mean to be ungrateful, I was just frustrated. I added 140 g! Anyway, I doubled the tomatoes and the spices by 1/2 and it came out great. I’ll try it next time without the cashews, but it really is a great recipe!!
i can understand laura. glad to know that inspite of this the recipe turned out good. you can definitely try without cashews also. i will be updating the post also. thanks for the feedback.
Adding cashews is recommended, but there’s no mention on how many or what to do with them. I processed them with the tomatoes. (???) I suggest if you’re going to add something in, include the amount and what to do with it.
about 2 to 3 tablespoons of cashews can be added. you can blend them with the tomatoes. i have not added as i understand that most indian readers will have an idea on how many cashews are added and how to use it. i will update the post.
Hi i m ur gr8 fan.. i always want to see ur recipes..ur recipes are too gud… thanks for helping us
Welcome Sweta. Thanks for your kind words.
Wow. Made this recipe last night and it was fantastic. Perfect recipe, so tasty and worth the little bit of effort. The only ingredient I didn’t have on hand was the cream so I used a couple spoons of yogurt which worked out fine. Thank you so much and I’ll be making again!!
Welcome Theresa. Glad to know this. Thanks for sharing your positive feedback and the variation you did.
Dassana, I wanted to say a massive THANK YOU! I spent 11 years in the UK where Indian food is so popular and have eaten in some of the best Indian restaurants. I have never attempted to cook Indian myself, however, as it seemed too complex and time consuming. I now live in Poland and when I got my hands on some paneer while visiting London, I’ve decided to bring it back from my trip and cook it for my friends, introducing them to Indian cuisine. Not believing in huge success I followed your recipe to the dot (minus fenugreek leaves as couldn’t Buy them anywhere) and – WOW. This was easy and on a par with some of the best Indian dishes I have ever tasted. I have substituted paneer with some chicken for some of my meat eating friends (not a fan myself – and most of them said paneer was the winner anyway!) and the whole pot was polished and the praise they were expressing so generous and nice!! Will be coming back for more to your website! Thank you again, I am so grateful!!
Welcome Kasia. Glad to know that the recipe post helped you in cooking indian food at home. Do try some more recipes. Feel free to ask any query on recipes posted. Thanks for sharing this awesome feedback. Happy cooking.
Wow never been on this site before.. Love the way u explained prifessionally as well as method of making.. Step by step photos really help as well.. I used to always cook through youtube and had the hassle of pausing and going back on the video again and again.. Now i will always come here.. Makes life easier.. I am a beginner in cooking and living in Australia so ur site is a Godsend (-:
Thanks Neha for your kind words and appreciation. We have just started putting videos on youtube. However the website is around 8 years old. Do try some recipes and feel free to ask any query on recipes.
Awesome recipe dassana…it came out really well.. M not good at making paneer cuisines.. But this one is just too good… For any recipes.. I always look for u… Thanks…
Welcome Khushbu. Nice to know that dish came out well. thanks for your positive feedback.
You haven’t mentioned the quantity of Cashews to be used and when do we add them?
arjun, i have not used cashews in the recipe. but cashews can be added. you soak 10 to 12 cashews in hot water for 20 minutes. then make a paste of them with little water. or you can blanch the cashews along with the onions and tomatoes.
hi dassana,i loved the use of kesar in marination.the recipe turned out even tastier with the use of your garam masala.thank you for helping me to bring the restaurant style flavours to my home.
thanks meveera. glad you liked the paneer tikka masala recipe 🙂
Great recipe.so delicious
thanks abi.
just wonderful. Thanks a lot for such a nice recipe
welcome and thankyou krishna 🙂
hi
Yr receipe is great. yr step by step explanation with a photograph is helpful especially for the begineers. thk u
welcom always vidya thankyou so much for your kind and positive words. glad we could help you 🙂
Nice I love a your recipe thanks to upload
welcome rahenuma 🙂 and thankyou.
As a bachelor I have learned almost all major recipes credit goes to you sis..
Even my mother says from where do u learned cooking?
But I never shared the secret..!(sorry)
You had a god gifted talent, may god bless you always.
Thank you.. Thank you
we are very pleased to know this nitin 🙂 god bless you too be happy.
Your recipes are very nice, and the step-by-step photos and explanation make them very easy to try. I’ve tried a few of these at home and they turned out delicious..! Thank you and keep up the good work..
thanks a lot rasika.
hii
I like ur recipes very much
The way of ur explanation is very nice step by step photos
Keep posting more recipes
thankyou so much rekha for your kind words 🙂
Thnk u sooo much 4 this awsm recipe..it taste delicious…
thanks for the feedback manju.
This is an incredible recipe can’t wait to cook it I always love ur site seeing further to go through all of your wonderful recipes more often <3
thanks sufiya for sharing positive feedback.
such a wonderful recipe , i tried it and it turned out delicious , thankyu !
welcome pooja
My hobby is cooking, specially tr u ing new and old dishes in new format. This is usually on weekends for kids.
while searching on net I came across your website two days back. I found it very useful. You have very well explained the recipe with pic of each step. Yesterday I prepared paneer tikka masala. It was delicious and kids loved it. Thanks.
welcome rajesh. glad to know this.
Hi Dassana,
There’s a Himalayan restaurant that I love, and they make the best tikka masala. I can’t wait to make this!
Instead of amul cream, could I use heavy whipping cream? Thanks.
yes you can use heavy whipping cream. you can add about 1 tbsp.
Thanks a lot. this is the first dish ive ever cooked in my life and turned out to be perfect. Made this for my parents…my dad did not try until my mom approved as it was my first time entering kitchen. Lol. Thanks for step to step photography. It takes an effort.
welcome meet. i congratulate you for this good beginning in cooking. do try more recipes and i hope you learn cooking quickly.
Tried this recipe today. I have to tell you that I am Mexican married to a Punjabi man. Yes it took me a while to somewhat perfect my Indian cooking(still in progress). I’ve been learning from MIL and other videos online that’s until I found your website! I love how you explain it very clearly and gives a little feedback on the recipe. Hands down my MIL was sooo surprised by how well I cooked it and all my family ate and cleaned their plates! Thank you very much. I love Indian culture and food of course and this has made me less intimidated in the kitchen. Especially when I have to cook it for my hubby’s family.
welcome dani. glad to know this. i hope you master indian cooking specially punjabi cuisine soon. wish you all the best.
Yummy…yummy..
thanks barath
The recipe turned out simply awesome. ..thanks a tonne. Waiting to try out the other recipes.
welcome melita. thanks for sharing positive review on paneer tikka masala.
Vry delicious recipe…creamy….simple nd easy
Tastiest curry I have ever cooked. Had a lot of trouble finding the Kasuri methi, so used celery leaves instead. SUPER TASTY!
Thank you for sharing this.
Welcome Zef. Thats very interesting and unique variation of adding celery leaves. thanks for sharing this and giving your positive feedback.
Looks perfect, will try and then revert back.
thanks jaya
I made this paneer tikka masala today. This turned out very well. I will be making this again. The recipe you have posted is flawless. I used coconut oil for this recipe. I might even try adding coconut milk instead of cream and yogurt while making the gravy. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
welcome vani. coconut milk will give a very good taste. i have had one potato curry recipe which is actually a north indian recipe with the onion tomato gravy but the coconut milk was added and it was superb.
I have just made Dal Makhani from your simple recipe that cooks everything in the pressure cooker. It turned out wonderful! Now I am on your website and don’t know where to start trying more. The photos are so mouthwatering I an almost taste them. Thanks for your website! My wife and I love Indian food!
welcome florian. glad to know. thanks for sharing your positive feedback.
Thank u so much….learned a good recipe from this site….All d best
welcome charmi
Really good.. Too much good..
thanks soma
Hi Dassana!
I must say your recipes are delicious..have tried out a few and have loved them.
Dassana could you please suggest how to substitute onion & garlic in this recipe . Also if possible could you mention a substitute for onion, garlic in all your recipes.
hi trish, just add hing/asafoetida. basically hing is used a substitute for onion and garlic. for the marinade, add a pinch of hing instead of garlic paste. skip the onions. just add paneer, capsicum to the marinade. for the gravy, add one to two pinches of hing when you add ginger paste. you can also add the paneer tikka pieces in a makhani/makhanwala gravy which does not use yogurt as well as onions. garlic can be skipped. even this way the gravy will taste good.
Amazing recipe !! I’m making this for 3rd time !! Cheers
welcome ritu. glad to know this.
I really like the recipe of paneer tikka….its soooooo tasty………my family & i also like it….thanks u sooo much 4 this recipe….
thanks divya for the feedback. good to know you and your family liked the paneer tikka masala. thanks for sharing with us.
this looks so good! but one question: why would you have to put the cheese and veggies on skewers before frying them in a pan? can you not just fry them as thy are?
you can fry them as they are. i prefer threading them on skewers as its less hand work while frying. otherwise each cottage cheese an veggie cubes you have to flip separately.
Nice recipe
I know this is a vegetarian site, but I was wondering, for my meat-eating friends and family members, if I just substitute chicken for the paneer, would this recipe work for chicken tikka masala?
yes it would.
My family and I are new to Indian food. I love to cook so am always looking for recipes. We’ve had paneer tikka masala and love it, so I’m going to give this recipe a try. Will post again once I’ve made it. P.S.: Thanks for giving step by step instructions!
welcome elly. will look forward to your feedback.
I’m a fan of your recipes as they r healthy n easy to do ones. Especially ur cakes as they are eggless n use whole wheat. Gr8 job Dassana
thanks vidya. glad to know that you liked the recipes.
Thanks a lot this turned out delicious … Love he pictures in your site… Keep posting…!
welcome monika and thanks for motivating feedback.
Turned out delicious. Great recipe and pictures were really helpful.
BTW I used low fat yogurt and 1 tbs of philladelphia cheese intead of cream and still turned out great.
thanks smita for your feedback. good to know the variation of low fat yogurt and philadelphia cream cheese worked great.
thnk u so much for the recipe.. though it turned out a little more sour than i expected..but on the whole the dish smelled and luked awesome.. and tasted lovely too albeit a little sour! btw thnx for the visual representation.. it helped a lot!! congratulations on the good work! 🙂
okay. the taste is a bit sour due to the addition of yogurt. i think this taste may be liked or not liked by some people. for making this recipe, i always suggest to use ripe tomatoes and fresh yogurt. then the taste is not that sour or too sour. thanks reshmi.
In the recipe Dassana does say that you could add a little sugar. That will reduce the sourness.
Hi there,
For the gravy I used only half the tomato and curd mentioned in the recipe. Still it turned out a bit sour. Is that how its supposed to be? I loved the taste though. Especially the paneer. I had marinated it over night and it was delicious. The consistency was good too. Can you throw some light on why its called tikka masala?
there is slight sourness but not much. there are many variations of paneer tikka masala. the sauce can also be just onion-tomatoes and spices in cream or cashew paste which is a bit sweet. we don’t prefer the sweet version and hence i add yogurt. you can also reduce the amount of yogurt. the sourness also depends upon the quality of tomatoes and yogurt. i always use tomatoes which are not sour or tart and the yogurt has to be fresh. its called tikka masala where masala means the sauce or gravy.
Taking a second here to comment on the quality of this post. The food is without a doubt delicious, but I really appreciate the detailed steps and photos that you post. Made it a lot easier for me to prepare the dish, for example understanding the texture of the sauteed masalas. Keep up the good work! Will be following this website from now on, for sure!
welcome aditya. its good you shared your feedback as it helps us to make the content better and more reader friendly. thanks for your inputs. keep visiting the site.
Excellent taste and you are great that you made me to prepare a delicious side-dish.
thanks kamal for the positive feedback.
Great recipe! Very tasty – one of the best home-made curries I’ve made. I halved the amount of water for a lovely thick sauce.
thanks david for your feedback. glad to know that you liked the recipe.
Awesom
Thanks a lot for such a nice explanation of the recipe. I just wanted to ask what other alternative one can use if one does not have a oven .! Will tandoor work?
you can make the paneer tikka in the tandoor easily. you can also use a tava or griddle to make the tikka. just add little oil on the tava and then pan fry the marinated paneer cubes.
Thanks a lot for the recipe. Well described and delicious.
welcome trek
Nice recipe….
Enjoyed eating it today =D
thanks yashraj
UR recipe Photographs r very wonderful. Will u take them yourself?
thanks papia. yes i only take them.
wow… looks delicious and yummy….
Beautifully done! Labour of love. I also love “prashad”. It inspires me to get up and do something.
Love the beautiful colors in your dish!