A smooth and creamy Indian curry made with paneer. This curry is indulgent, with a perfect combination of spiciness and smokiness.

Have you ever had smokey Paneer Makhani?

It’s absolutely divine, creamy with a hint of smokiness that will satisfy you to the core and my version doesn’t require an open fire and hours of cooking. In fact, this is a super easy, yet delicious way to get maximum flavour with minimal effort.

This dish has a similar flavour to butter chicken, in fact makhani is taken from the word makhan, which translates to butter.

Paneer Makhani is usually a special occasion kind of meal, it’s not normally eaten on a bog standard week night, but hey, every day should be celebrated and if you fancy Paneer Makhani on a Wednesday night, who am I to stop you?

Plus this version is so easy to make, you might want to schedule it in as an easy, scrumptious week night recipe option.

INGREDIENTS

500g of paneer cubed into 1cm pieces
3 onions sliced
1 tbsp of garlic paste
1 tbsp of ginger paste
1 tbsp of cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
2 dried Kashmiri chilli (remove the seeds to reduce the heat)
2cm piece of cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
2 tbsp of avocado oil
1 tbsp of ghee
1/2 cup of Passata
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of cumin powder
1 tsp of chilli powder (or paprika for a milder version)
1/2 tsp of garam masala
1 tsp of coriander powder
A handful of cashew nuts
1/2 tsp of liquid smoke
1/2 cup of water (you may need more for a thinner consistency)
1 tbsp of double cream (some extra as a garnish)
1 tsp of kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Getting Started

I know, I know this looks like a lot of ingredients, but honestly its just a selection of spices that you need to add to get that authentic flavour. A lot of Indian recipes will use varying quantities of the same spices, so if you like food that’s bursting with flavour, I recommend you grab the basics.

Paneer

Paneer is an Indian cottage cheese, it’s pretty straight forward to make yourself, but it’s easy to just buy it. You can get a frozen batch ready cubed or fresh block like the one I used. I picked mine up from the Holland Village wet market, but it’s also available on amazon. Either way, you’ll need to cut it up into cubes, so go with whatever option is easier for you. Alternatively, you could replace the Paneer with Tofu or Halloumi.

Cashew Nuts

The nuts are used in the recipe to give it the creamy texture, in fact the cream is only used as a garnish, so if you omit the cream and the ghee and replace the paneer with Tofu, you’ve got yourself a vegan Tofu Makhani. (It’s kind of the same, but yet different).

If you are allergic to nuts, you could replace the cashew with sunflower seeds or try tahini instead. I can’t vouch for the taste, as I’ve not personally had it this way.

Instructions:

To start with, I tend to prep the onions first. After peeling, I use my mandolin to quickly slice the onions. The onions do not need to be perfectly fine, as you will blend them in the sauce later.

Next, I get my pan on the stove and add in the oil and ghee. Then throw in the first batch of spices. This would include the cumin seeds, bay leaf, dried chilli. cardamom, cinnamon stick & cloves.

As it splutters and starts to release the wonderful aroma, you can chuck in your sliced onions and saute until golden brown

I like to add in my salt while the onions are frying. The salt helps to draw out the water from the onions, allowing them to brown faster.

While the onions are cooking away, I get my paneer ready.

Once you see the onions turning soft and slighty golden (this will be about 5 minutes in), chuck in your ginger and garlic paste. You can opt to use fresh ginger and garlic, but I find having it in a paste in the fridge a quicker way to get food ready.

When the onions are bautifully caramalized, add in the passata. Again, fresh tomatoes blended into a paste, will work equally well. I personally use passata as it has a richer more intense flavour.

You want to continue cooking until you see the oil separating from the mixture and it turns a deep red colour.

Now you can add in the ground spices, the cashew nuts and my magic ingredient the liquid smoke. Remember to keep stirring, so the mixture does not burn.

This is the liquid smoke I added to the dish. A quick and easy way to get that amzing smokey flavour. A small amount, goes a long way.

Then using a blender, blitz the mixture until a smooth sauce is formed. If you find it is too thick add a little water, starting with 1/2 cup, until you get the desired consistency. You want a sauce that is not too thick but is creamy and smooth.

Once the sauce is ready, place it back in the pot and chuck in the paneer and cook for a further 10 minutes, to allow the paneer to absorb the flavour.

Add in a little cream and the kassori methi, mixing it into the dish.

You can then use a little more cream as garnish, along with fresh coriander and a some more kasoori methi if you like.

Then enjoy the delicious flavours with a keto roti or some cauliflower rice.