Paneer Butter Masala is seriously one of my fav dishes from Indian food. If you never tried it before, you’re missing out big time. It’s really creamy and buttery and has these soft paneer cubes inside a tomato gravy. Sounds easy, but the taste is like WOW.
Paneer is like Indian cottage cheese, but softer and doesn’t melt when cooking. The gravy is mostly tomatoes, butter, cream and some spices. You need garam masala, chili powder and kasuri methi (which is dried fenugreek leaves). Kasuri methi smells kinda funny but trust me, it tastes amazing in this dish.
Cooking this dish isn’t very hard but takes some time. You have to cook the tomatoes well, till they’re soft and oily. If not, the gravy tastes a bit raw or sour. Then you add butter and cream for that rich and smooth taste, which is what makes it so special.
Some people fry paneer first so it doesn’t break in gravy. I tried both ways and both taste good but frying gives a little better texture I think.
Paneer Butter Masala is usually served with naan or roti, but honestly it’s good with rice too. I like it best with butter naan because more butter is always good lol.
One thing I mess up is putting too much chili powder, so sometimes it’s too spicy for me. So be careful with that if you don’t like spicy food. Also, roasting the spices before adding is a good idea, my mom told me once. I always skip it but sometimes try it.
If you want to impress your friends or just want yummy food, try making this at home. It might not come out perfect first time but it’s worth trying. Just clean up after because butter can be messy!
So yeah, Paneer Butter Masala is creamy, buttery and a bit tangy. I’m getting hungry writing this lol. Go try it!!