Paneer Butter Masala, a favorite at Indian restaurants, made in the Instant Pot or a traditional Pressure Cooker. This dish is also popularly known as Paneer Makhani.
Paneer Butter Masala has chunks of paneer or cottage cheese cooked in a mildly spiced onion tomato gravy. It is so smooth and creamy that you will not want to stop eating it. My daughter is a very very picky eater and has repeatedly requested this paneer dish, so I can attest that it is very kid friendly.
If you like paneer, check out other instant pot recipes – Palak Paneer, Paneer Tikka Masala and Matar Paneer.
How to make Instant Pot Paneer Butter Masala? – A different preparation
The preparation for this paneer butter masala is very different than the usual onion-tomato gravy. Usually to make gravy, we first sauté onions and then sauté tomatoes. However this one is done in a completely different way.
Add all the ingredients, except paneer, cream and honey in the instant pot and pressure cook for 8 minutes. You don’t need to finely chop the onions and tomatoes, as we are going to blend them later. This is also the reason, I suggest to add the whole spices in a pouch made from thin cheesecloth or a spice bag. This helps to get the flavor, but you can also remove it before blending.
Then blend the cooked ingredients using an immersion blender or in a regular blender. I used my immersion blender, which I could use directly in the pot. If using a regular blender, you would have to pour the contents into the blender and may need to let them cool before blending. Then pour them back to the instant pot after blending. The gravy is now ready. Add cream, honey and paneer chunks. Stir and let the curry rest for 5 minutes.
Paneer butter masala is ready. Garnish with some kasoori methi or cilantro and enjoy with naan, roti or rice.
Isn’t it a lovely color? And the most easy dish to prepare? This is my go to dish when I have not done much preparation…and oh, perfect to serve if you have guests coming over.
Love this gravy? Make it a dip with naan and serve it as an appetizer. This used to be a complimentary appetizer served at an Indian restaurant I frequently visited in Chicago.
This gravy also freezes well. Prepare in advance and freeze. Then when needed, defrost, give a boil and add chunks of paneer. And why only paneer, you can add green peas & paneer to make matar paneer or add green peas & sliced mushrooms to make mushroom matar. See notes for variations.
Don’t forget to check out my post on 23 Best Instant Pot Indian Recipes.
Paneer Butter Masala - Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb Paneer or Cottage cheese chunks
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 Green chili pepper (optional)
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 Onion cut in large pieces
- 1 tbsp Ginger minced
- 1 tbsp Garlic minced
- 4 Tomato cut in large pieces
- 1/4 cup Cashews
- 2 tbsp Dried Fenugreek leaves (Kasoori Methi)
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1/4 cup Cream heavy whipping or coconut cream
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Salt adjust to taste
Spices
- 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 tsp Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin (Jeera powder) or Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Cayenne or Red Chili powder adjust to taste
Whole Spices
Instructions
- Make a spice pouch by adding the whole spices to a cheesecloth. Tie it such that the spices cannot come out of it.
- Except paneer, cream and honey, add all ingredients and spice pouch to the Instant Pot including the spices. Close lid with vent in sealing position.
- Set the instant pot to manual or pressure cook mode for 8 minutes.
- After the instant pot beeps, release the pressure naturally.
- Remove the spice pouch carefully. Blend the contents in the instant pot with an immersion blender or regular blender to a smooth paste. If using regular blender, you may need to cool the ingredients before blending. Get the contents back to the instant pot.
- Add the cream and honey. Stir into the sauce.
- Add paneer chunks. Stir them into the sauce and let it rest for 5 minutes. You can cover with a glass lid.
- Paneer Butter Masala is ready to be served. Garnish with dry fenugreek leaves or cilantro.
Video
Notes
- This gravy freezes well. Skip adding the paneer and keep this sauce handy to prepare this or other curries.
- Variations:
- Matar Paneer / Mushroom Matar / Roasted Cauliflower - You can also add different veggies to this sauce and make delicious curries. All of the veggies can be added after making the sauce. Simmer for 3-4 minutes on saute mode to cook the veggies.
- Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani - You can also cook butter chicken with this recipe. Add chicken thigh pieces on top of the other ingredients before pressure cooking. Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure. Remove chicken and cut into 2-3 inch size pieces. Add back to the sauce. Voila, butter chicken is ready! (Update: Butter Chicken Recipe here)
- Love this gravy? Make it a dip with naan and serve it as an appetizer.
- Vegan: To make this curry vegan, replace cream with coconut cream and paneer with tofu or vegetables.
- Make it a meal: Cook white basmati rice pot-in-pot (PIP) when pressure cooking the curry. Check measurements here.
- Inspired by recipe from thegirlthatmadeitall.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Check out other Instant Pot Curries you might enjoy:
Planning to make this for a potluck. Can I just double the ingredients for more quantity? Thanks!
Hi Devi – Yes, just doubling the ingredients will work for this recipe. Hope everyone enjoys it!
This recipe has become a staple in our family! We are going to make it for some guests who can’t eat nuts- what would you substitute for cashews? More cream/coconut milk?
Hey Mia – So glad to hear you all are enjoying the paneer butter masala. I would say just skip the cashews and add a bit more cream/coconut milk as needed at the end. You might want to reduce down the curry to make it thicker by just putting on sauté for few minutes. Hope the guests enjoy it!
Oh boy…this was going great and then I made the mistake of substituting ground fenugreek (2 teaspoons, eeeeek) for seeds. It smelled and looked wonderful, but tasted awful! My mistake as it’s been a while since I’ve used fenugreek, so I’m trying again this week…wow, and I just went back to check the amount of seeds and noticed it said LEAVES. Facepalm.
Hey BenRad – Yes, fenugreek seeds will not work in this recipe. The leaves have a very nice aroma and taste. The seeds have a very strong flavor and can be bitter when added in such curries. Do add the fenugreek leaves in your next try. Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Everything went as planned last night and everyone loved it. Excellent recipe and I will make again. I’ve used seeds in the past but remembered it’s typically a very small amount, so once I realized my mistake I found a box of leaves. Great recipe, my daughter had 3 servings.
Glad you all enjoyed the Paneer Butter Masala. Thank you for sharing back your review!
Loved it, second recipe of yours that i have tried and both came out well!
Hey Neha – Glad you enjoyed the paneer butter masala. Thank you!
Hiya, hoping to attempt this recipe tomorrow. My daughter is allergic to cashews. Wondering if i can use almonds instead? Not sure if that would work…
Thanks.
Hey BAV – Almonds will work. I would just suggest to grind them before adding them, as they don’t get as soft as cashews and might not blend well along with the gravy.
Turned out great with almonds, thank you 🙂
Hey Bav – So glad to hear. Thank you for sharing back your review!
Can you recommend a substitute for the cashews? My daughter is allergic.
Hey Dhvani – Can you use another nut or no nuts at all? You can skip them, just that the gravy won’t be as thick. If you have tried any seeds that have worked in the past, you can add a paste of the seeds.