Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer. Butter. Masala. Each noun makes one salivate. Put them all together, and it’s easily one of the most popular Indian dishes you can come across. I have not met anybody who’d pass on this dish, especially in a good Indian restaurant. I have tried a couple of my own versions of this classic dish, but not surprisingly, my recipes have never come close to the awesome taste of the gravy whipped up in a good restaurant. Then one evening, a friend made this dish at her place and it blew my “socks” off. Anand couldn’t stop licking his plate and lavishing rare compliments ;). I asked her for the recipe and she sent me this link:
www.cookingandme.com/2009/10/paneer-butter-masala-restaurant-style.html

I tried out the recipe and I have to say - it magnificently, incredibly, lives up to its claim - even if I prepare it! It tastes just like the awesome dish you indulge in at your favorite restaurant. And the author/cook has to be applauded for directing us novices through every single step. I also learned a few precious lessons/tips with regards to preparing North-Indian gravies:

1. Add minced garlic after the onions are sauteed/caramelized. I used to add garlic, wait for it to slightly brown and then add onions. This makes the garlic turn brown/burn faster and hence they lose much of their flavor. Add them after the onions, and they make such a discernible difference!
2. Use tomato ketchup/maggie ketchup to get a tangy, sweet, spicy, flavorful tomato gravy as the base for the cream.
3. Kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves add that special, unique flavor that I had never been able to figure out in restaurant dishes.
4. If it’s a cream based gravy, add cream/milk/half and half at two different points, giving the cream time to cook and seep through all the spices. I used to add the cream at the very end, hence depriving it from simmering longer.
5. Don’t go overboard with masala powders/spices in your obsession to get all that complex flavors. The right quantities of just a few spices will bring out the best, without overwhelming and confusing the palate.

The only changes I made to the recipe - I used 2% milk and low-fat half-and-half instead of gleefully emptying a carton of rich whipping cream. But the dish tasted sooo good, nonetheless. Since Anand loves golden raisins and cashews, I added lots of them (especially the raisins). I also tried this recipe with tofu instead of paneer, and you couldn't really sense much of a difference. And, I added cumin seeds at the beginning.