North Indian
Paneer Butter Masala
Paneer Butter Masala is North Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 14 oz paneer
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 onion
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1.5 tsp garam masala
- 3/4 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 tsp salt
How to cook it
- Soak the cashews in hot water for 10 minutes, then blend them smooth with a splash of the water.
- Melt 2 tbsp butter in a pot and cook the onion, garlic, and ginger until soft, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin, chili powder, and crushed tomatoes and simmer for 12 minutes, then blend the sauce smooth and return it to the pot.
- Stir in the cashew paste, remaining butter, cream, and salt and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Fold in the cubed paneer and warm through for 5 minutes, then crush in the dried fenugreek leaves.
- Finish with garam masala and serve hot with roti or rice.
Serve it with
A North Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Paneer Butter Masala, read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The cooked vegetable
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What it is eaten with
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The sharp little thing
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Something cool and fresh
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Paneer Butter Masala carries tree nuts and dairy. It is free of the remaining 8 allergens on that list.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | Yes | Masala Omelette |
| Dairy | Yes | Masala Omelette |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Hearty
- Protein
- High
- Protein quality
- Complete
- Food groups it covers
- Vegetables, Dairy, and Nuts and seeds
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Paneer Butter Masala takes about 45 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on paneer, tomato, butter, and cashew.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from North India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.