Golden Hour Paneer Butter Masala

⏱ 45 min · Serves 4

Silky, gently sweet tomato-cashew gravy with butter-blistered paneer cubes. It tastes like the restaurant version but comes together in one pan on a weeknight — no cream-of-tomato shortcuts, just soaked cashews doing the heavy lifting.

Per serving: 760 kcal · 27.0g protein · 24.0g carbs · 63.0g fat

Ingredients

• 400g paneer, cut into 2.5cm cubes
• 500g ripe tomatoes (about 6), roughly chopped
• 60g raw cashews
• 60g butter, plus 1 tbsp for finishing
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3cm piece ginger, peeled and sliced
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (for colour, mild)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp sugar (or honey)
• 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed
• 100ml double cream
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 250ml water
• Fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1. Soak the cashews in just-boiled water for 15 minutes while you prep everything else.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil and 20g of the butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the cardamom and cinnamon, sizzle 30 seconds, then add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook 8 minutes until soft and just golden.
3. Add the tomatoes, 1 tsp salt and 100ml water. Cover and simmer 15 minutes until the tomatoes have completely collapsed.
4. Fish out the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Tip the mixture into a blender with the drained cashews and blitz until absolutely smooth — a full 2 minutes. For a truly silky sauce, push it through a sieve back into the pan.
5. Meanwhile, melt 1 tbsp butter in a frying pan and fry the paneer cubes over medium-high heat for 2 minutes a side until patched with gold. Set aside. (If your paneer is firm, soak the fried cubes in warm salted water for 5 minutes to soften.)
6. Return the pan of sauce to low heat. Add the remaining 40g butter, chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander and sugar. Stir until the butter melts in and the sauce turns glossy and deep orange, about 5 minutes. Loosen with the remaining 150ml water to a pourable, cloak-the-spoon consistency.
7. Stir in the cream, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Slide in the paneer, simmer 3-4 minutes so it drinks up the sauce. Taste and adjust salt and sugar — it should be gently sweet, tangy and rich.
8. Scatter with coriander and a last swirl of cream. Serve with naan or basmati rice.