North Meets East In This Kolkata Style Paneer Butter Masala
Image Credit: snehasinghi1/Instagram

Paneer Butter Masala. Just the name must have you thinking about the rich, North Indian curry, right? But did you know that like so many of India’s most popular dishes, there are different recipes across the country. Now you might consider yourself a hardcore Punjabi and think that anything other than the rich tomato gravy is just a pale comparison of the iconic dish, but maybe you’ll be able to find some room in your heart and stomach to welcome another version from Kolkata.

Chef and restaurant consultant Sneha Singhi Upadhaya, recently took to Instagram to share her take on this dish which she had tried herself in Kolkata. “If you’re from Calcutta you’ve had this at Kwality or BarBQ or any only North Indian restaurant, and you’ve definitely loved it!” she said. This version may look very different from what you’re expecting from Paneer Butter Masala but has every bit as much creaminess and nuance. 

So if you’re ready to put all your preconceived notions of what North Indian food has to look like and embrace the Bengali touch to this legend of a dish, try out the recipe below.

Ingredients:

Masala Paste

  • 3 Large Onions
  • 10 Cloves of Garlic with the peel
  • 10 Cashews
  • 2 tbsp Khus Khus/ Poshto
  • 1 tbsp Jeera
  • 1 inch Cinnamon
  • 1 Peppercorn
  • ½ cup water
  • 3 Green Chillies

Paneer Butter Masala

  • 2-3 tbsp Butter
  • 2 bay leafs
  • Salt
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 ¼ cup Water
  • ¼ cup Cream
  • 250g Paneer ; cubed
  • ½ tsp Sugar
  • ¼ tsp Black Salt

Method:

  • Roast the onion and garlic till they’re black, remove the peel and all the blackened parts.
  • Boil all of the remaining masala paste ingredients (except for the chillies) together, till the cashew softens. 
  • Let this cool and blitz it with the roasted onions and garlic along with the chillies.
  • Melt Butter in a pan. 
  • Add in the bay leaf and cook for 15-20 secs. 
  • Add in the masala paste along with salt and turmeric powder and cook for 7-8 mins on low heat, you’ll see the butter starting to separate a bit. 
  • Pour in the water and bring it to a good boil. 
  • Add in the cream, mix well add in the sugar cook for 30 secs, add in the paneer, mix it well. Finally, add in black salt. 
  • Mix well. Serve this hot with some butter and a drizzle of fresh cream.