Paneer Makhani (Restaurant style)

Succulent cottage cheese cubes cooked in a creamy tomato sauce with a hint of tang and sweetness makes the irresistibly delicious Paneer Makhani or Paneer Butter Masala, just how you get at the  restaurants! This classic paneer recipe captures the authentic flavors and is effortless to make.

The only task is to make the makhani sauce. But once that's ready , then everything just happens in a bliss.The best part of this is that the makhani sauce can be made ahead and frozen for later use. So the next time you have to make a paneer makhani or paneer butter masala, you just have to thaw the sauce and heat it along with some cream and paneer. Add a dash of kasoori methi and garam masala and there you go, your authentic restaurant style paneer makhani is ready in hardly five minutes.

Ingredients

 250 gm paneer/cottage cheese

For Makhani Sauce :

3-4 tomatoes, pureed

1 onion, sliced

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp ginger paste

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder

1 1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin powder

3/4 cup cooking cream

2 tsp tandoori masala powder

salt to taste

1/4 tsp kasoori methi/dried fenugreek leaves

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

Method

• Heat the butter in a sauce pan. Add the sliced onion and saute on medium low heat until the onion starts to sweat.
• Now add the ginger paste and garlic paste. Fry for just 30 seconds. Now add the tomato puree and mix well.
• Add the tomato paste(this gives that beautiful red color to the dish) and mix well.
• Add the chili powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Mix everything well. Cook this for 5-7 minutes or until the tomato is cooked well and the sauce starts to turn slightly thick. The color of the sauce also will change into a slightly darker shade.
• Now remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
• Once cooled, gring this into a smooth paste. The makhani sauce is ready.
• (For 250 gms of paneer we will be using only half of the prepared makhani sauce. You can freeze the remaining for later use.)
• Heat half of the makhani sauce in a pan. Once it starts to bubble add the cooking cream and mix continously.
• Add the tandoori masala powderand salt.(Some tandoori masalas have salt in them , so adjust the salt accordingly). Mix well.
• As it starts to boil, add the paneer cubes and mix everything well.
  
• Cook on a low heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Sprinkle crushed kasoori methi  and garam masala powder. Mix well. As you see the oil layer oozing from the sides, remove from heat and serve.

*You can add a dash of sugar or honey too if you prefer in the end. They do add that in the restuarants!