PANEER BUTTER MASALA

            A GO-TO CURRY FOR NORTH INDIAN VEGANS 

 

 If you hand over the menu of any Restaurant to some vegetarian person in North India, he or she will first pick up Paneer and in that too, Paneer Butter Masala. Unless and until they are sure of any other variety in the world of Paneer, they will go for Butter Masala gravy. The magic of this curry is that if you take a bite of it, it will melt  in your mouth and this is the reason why it is everyone's favorite. There are several ways to prepare this curry and I'll be giving you three recipes of this curry.

1. Restaurant-style Paneer Butter Masala: The most-liked style of Paneer Butter Masala is the Restaurant-style. Its texture is really smooth and it is rich in look and taste.
                                          

                                                     
              Serves-6, Preparation Time-45 mins
Ingredients:
Paneer- 200 gms
Tomatoes- 5 no.
Onions- 4 no.
Green Chilli-2 no.
Cashews- 10 to 15 pieces 
Cardamom- 3 no.                                                                                                   
Black Cardamom- 1 no.
Cinnamon- 1 small piece
Cloves- 4 to 5 no.
Black pepper- 5 no.
Kashmiri Red dried chilli powder- 3tsp
Butter-4 tbsp
Kasturi Methi- 2 tbsp
Salt- as per your taste
Cream-3 tbsp
Condensed milk or sugar(for sweetening)- as per your taste
Water- As directed below
Coriander leaves- For garnishing

Recipe: 
Roughly cut the Tomatoes and Onions. Slit the green chillies into half. In a Pan or Wok, boil 4 cups of water. After the water gets boiled, put the onions, tomatoes, green chillies, cashews and the spices along with 2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder into it. Cover the pan with a lid and let the vegetables simmer for 15-20 mins on medium flame or till the vegetables soften. Check the vegetables and turn off the flame. Let them cool down. Till then cut the paneer into cubes. Take out the black cardamom and cinnamon from the mixture because grinding it with them will give the curry a brownish colour.
                               Now take a mixer jar and put the cooled vegetables into it. Grind it into a smooth paste. You can add water if needed.
In the next step, add butter to a wok and let it melt a little. Then add 1 tsp of Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder and crushed Kasturi methi. You have to crush the Kasturi Methi between your palms. Then add the paste into the butter and cook it on low flame for 20 mins or so. Till the oil gets separated from the paste. Now add water and salt into it. Adjust the consistency of the gravy so that it becomes creamy. Now put cream into it and mix properly. Pour 1 tbsp of condensed milk or put 1 tbsp of sugar and mix again. At last add the paneer cubes.
 Turn of the flame and garnish the Paneer Butter Masala with a little Cream, butter and a coriander leaf on the top. Your mouth watering Paneer Butter Masala is ready to eat. Enjoy it with Naan or Tandoori Roti.

2. Dhaba-style Paneer Butter Masala: When people travel from Buses or when the traders travel from Truck to export and import goods from one town or city to another, there are small Highway side hotels which are specially made for the passengers who are travelling by Road or Highway, who want to rest or eat. These are called Dhabas. They offer amazing food so quickly so that the passengers fulfil their hunger and travel on time. The Paneer butter masala curry made in Dhabas has a different taste and method. It is more spicy and piquant in taste.
                                                    

              Serves-4, Preparation Time-20 mins
  Ingredients:
Paneer-100 gm
Onions-2 no.
Tomatoes-3 no.
Green Chilli-1 no.
Ginger- 1 inch
Cardamom- 3 no.                                                                                                   
Black Cardamom- 1 no.
Cinnamon- 1 small piece
Cloves- 4 to 5 no.
Black pepper- 5 no.
Kashmiri Red dried chilli powder- 3tsp
Butter-4 tbsp
Kasturi Methi- 2 tbsp
Salt- as per your taste
Cream-3 tbsp
Coriander leaves- As per requirement.

Recipe:
Roughly cut the Onions, tomatoes, green chilli and ginger and grind them in raw form coarsely. Keep the puree aside. Now take the whole spices and grind them properly in powdered form. You can replace the whole spices with Readymade Garam Masala powder. Switch on the flame and add Butter to the wok. Then add Kashmiri chilli powder, crushed kasturi methi, and finely-chopped coriander leaves into it. When the tadka is looking cooked, pour the coarse puree in it. Mix properly and add salt. Cook it for 5 mins and add a little bit of water in it. After the gravy is cooked, add cream to it and finally paneer cubes. It is ready to serve.
  
3. Classic Paneer Butter Masala: This one is the traditional curry of Butter Masala. I ate it once at my aunt's home and I loved it. It's like the home made version in which you can feel the taste of every spice and element.
                                                     

               Serves-6, Preparation Time: 1 hour
 Ingredients:
Paneer- 200 gms
Onions- 4 no. (large)
Tomatoes -2 no. (small)
Butter- 4 tbsp
Cashews- 7-8 no. (soaked)
Fox nuts- 10-15 no. (soaked)
Poppy seeds- 2 tbsp (soaked)  
Garam Masala- 2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder- 1 tbsp
Kasturi Methi- 2 tbsp
Salt- as per taste
Cream- 2 tbsp
Sugar- 1 tsp

Recipe:
 Roughly chop the onions. Boil the onions until they softens. After boiled, strain them and cool them down. Grind their paste. Take the tomatoes and make their puree. Turn on the flame and put butter in the pan. After heating the butter a little put the onion paste and cook it until it becomes golden brown. Then pour the tomato puree and let them get cooked for a while. Make the paste of the soaked cashews, fox nuts and poppy seeds. After the tomato, onion spice is cooked, add the cashew, fox nut and poppy paste to it. Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Then add Garam Masala Powder and cook the mixture for about 1/2 an hour. When the oil gets separated, and the mixture gets cooked properly, add water and cook for another 10 mins. Later, add salt, sugar and cream and cook a little bit. Add crushed Kasturi methi. At the end, put paneer cubes and your Classic Butter Masala is ready. Serve hot.
           
        All the above, three gravies are those experienced by me. You can find many more methods like how to do the onions, tomatoes. Look, the maximum difference comes in these three just from the cooking style of Onions and Tomatoes. Rest things might also bring a slight change. So try these recipes for sure and I assure that you all will definitely love them. And also, tell me which one did you like the most. 
                      
                                       
     
                                                       

                                                                    

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