PANEER MAKHANI | PANEER MAKHANWALA | PANEER RECIPES

I have posted various paneer recipes like Palak Paneer, Matar Paneer, Paneer Bhurji, Paneer Tikka in the past, as Paneer appears quite often in my weekly menu and I usually make it a point to include one paneer item in my menu when we have guests over. Coming to today's recipe, Paneer Makhani is one of the famous gravies of North Indian cuisine. The soft paneer and creamy delicious gravy pairs well with any Indian flat breads such as Naan,Kulcha,Roti or even simple Pulavs.

I always have this confusion about the difference between 'Paneer Makhani' and 'Paneer Butter Masala' and while my google search suggests that they are the same but somehow I find it difficult to believe that. Though the basic ingredients that go in the recipe are the same,I believe that 'Paneer Makhani' is basically the preparation of paneer in basic makhani gravy which is quite rich with cream and cashews while 'Paneer Butter Masala' is prepared in an overdose of butter laden spicy tomato gravy. While this is my interpretation, I am keen to know if any of you know the difference.
Paneer Makhani | Paneer Makhanwala Recipe:
(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
250 gms Homemade Paneer (or store bought),cut into 1" cubes
3 medium ripen Tomatoes
2 medium Onions,sliced
1 tbsp Tomato ketchup
1" Ginger,chopped
4-5 Garlic pods,chopped
12-15 cashew nuts or 1/4 cup Water melon seeds
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup fresh Cream(optional)
1/2 tsp home made Garam masala
1 tsp Kashmiri Red chilli powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds powder
1/4 Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Kasuri methi
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp Sugar
2 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Butter

Method:

• Cut paneer into 1" cubes and immerse them in a bowl of warm water and cover it with lid until its usage.This process will keep the paneer pieces soft.You can even shallow fry them for a couple of minutes until they turn slight brown and then immerse in warm water.
• Make a cross on tomatoes and blanch them in hot water for 3-4 mins.Remove the skin and chop them roughly.
• Blanch the cashew nuts in the same hot water for a couple of minutes and remove them.Ignore this step if you are using water melon seeds.
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and fry ginger and garlic pieces until slight brown,add sliced onions and fry until it is brown in color.Add a pinch of sugar while frying onion,it speeds up the caramelize process of onion.Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for a couple of minutes.Add tomato ketchup,coriander powder,cumin seeds powder,turmeric powder and some salt and fry for a minute.Let this mixture cool a bit.
• Grind the onion-tomato mixture to a very fine paste adding water if required.
• Grind the cashews(or watermelon seeds) to a very fine paste using the same water in which it is soaked.
• Heat oil and 1-2 tsp butter in a kadai/pan and crackle jeera and then add the pureed onion-tomato mixture into it and fry well until the masala leaves the oil in the edges.
• Add the finely ground cashew mixture and mix well,let it cook for a couple of minutes.Add more water to get the right consistency.
• Add red chili powder,garam masala and kasuri methi(slightly roast it on pan and crush it with your hands before adding) to it and mix well.
• Meanwhile gently squeeze extra water from paneer pieces and keep them aside.
• Now add paneer pieces to the gravy and simmer for 2-3 mins.Turn off the flame and let the gravy cool a bit.
• Add milk to it and mix well and switch on the flame and stir in fresh cream and give a stir on low heat and boil for 2 mins.Add milk after the gravy is cooled a bit which avoids curdling the gravy.(Here I did not add cream to the gravy, I added only milk after I removed the gravy from heat)
• Add 1 tsp butter to it and garnish with coriander.Adding butter at the end will enhance the taste.

Serve it hot with Roti's/Paratha's/Naan/Kulcha/Jeera chawal/pulao.
Notes:

1. I added watermelon seed paste instead of cashew paste as the fat content in water melon seeds is comparatively lesser than the cashew nuts.More over the taste provided by water melon paste to the gravy is better than the cashew nut paste,it gives a particular dhaba style gravy.
2. You can avoid cream in the above recipe and add little milk instead or completely avoid it for low-fat version.

In case you are interested check out  Paneer recipes both dry sabzi and gravy varieties in my blog :

Kadai Paneer - Restaurant style 
Paneer Butter Masala - Restaurant style!!
Paneer Modak Peda
Paneer Tikka 
Paneer Bhurji
Paneer Jalfrezi
Paneer Sabzi | Simple Paneer Curry
Palak Paneer
Grilled Corn-Palak Paneer | Makai Palak Paneer
Matar Paneer