cooking · Main Course
Paneer Butter Masala
From a video by Chef Ranveer Brar · 13 min watch
Restaurant-style paneer butter masala made with a rich tomato-onion-cashew gravy finished with a butter-onion-tomato tempering, honey, and fenugreek. The paneer is soaked in warm salted water for softness and freshness. A second tempering distinguishes this from paneer makhani.
Main CourseCurryIndian

Source video — Chef Ranveer Brar on YouTube
From the creator
Total time
~2 hoursEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Hands-on
~35 minutesEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Servings
~4 servingsEstimated by Unreel from the complete recipe.
Difficulty
MediumEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Extraction confidence: high
Auto-generated from the video and rewritten in our own words. Double-check quantities against the source before cooking.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled to 4 servings
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 green cardamom
- 3 cloves
- 1 ginger, chopped
- 3 garlic, crushed
- 1 green chilli, cut in half
- 2 onion, medium, sliced
- 1 teaspoon degi red chilli powder, heaped
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder, heaped
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 tablespoons curd
- 3 butter, small cubes
- 2 dry Kashmiri red chilli, dry, deseeded
- 18 cashew nuts
- 6 tomato, medium, cut in 8 pieces
- salt, to taste
- ½ teaspoon degi red chilli powder
- 1½ cups water
- 2 drops kewra water
- 200 g paneer, cubes
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, medium, chopped
- ½ teaspoon degi red chilli powder
- 1 tomato, medium, chopped
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
- fresh curd
- fresh coriander leaves
Preparation
- Step 1Soak the paneer cubes in warm salted water and set aside.
- Step 2Mix together the degi red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, curd and butter cubes to make the curd mixture. Set aside.
- Step 3Heat the ghee in a kadai. Add the bay leaf, green cardamom, cloves, chopped ginger, crushed garlic, halved green chilli and sliced onions. Sauté until the onions are translucent.
- Step 4Add the prepared curd mixture and the deseeded dry Kashmiri red chillies. Cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Step 5Add the cashew nuts, tomatoes cut into pieces, salt to taste, and degi red chilli powder. Sauté for 2 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Step 6 · 10-12 minutesAdd the water, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
- Step 7Add the kewra water, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove whole spices, then blend into a fine smooth paste using a hand blender or mixer grinder. Strain if desired.
- Step 8In a separate kadai, heat the butter. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Add degi red chilli powder and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Step 9 · 10-15 minutesAdd the chopped tomato and cook until soft. Pour in the prepared blended gravy. Add additional water if needed to adjust consistency, then add honey, butter, and crushed dried fenugreek leaves. Mix well and bring to a boil. Simmer 10-15 minutes to balance flavors and achieve desired richness.
- Step 10 · 4-5 minutesAdd the soaked paneer (drained) and simmer for 4-5 minutes on medium heat.
- Step 11Remove from heat. Garnish with fresh curd and fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot.
Notes
- Soak paneer in warm salted water instead of frying to keep it juicy and fresh.
- Cook onions fully before adding tomatoes to avoid raw onion flavor.
- Kewra water (diluted, not attar) enhances whole-spice aroma without imparting noticeable kewra taste.
- The second butter-onion-tomato tempering is what makes this paneer butter masala rather than paneer makhani.
- Balance sourness (tomato, curd), sweetness (onion, honey), and spiciness. Finish with butter for shine instead of cream.
- Strain the blended gravy for smoothness as is traditional.
- Crush the dried fenugreek leaves before adding.