Nothing like eating warm Naan with that delicious spoonful of orangish color Paneer Gravy or Vegetable Gravy at restaurants. You can achieve the same taste and that richness when you prepare at home too. The best part of this recipe is you don’t need to add cream. Milk + Cashews give enough richness to the gravy and it doesn’t need additional cream or canned tomatoes. Cream is something which will not be available in our Indian Kitchen all the time. Same with Canned Tomatoes too. Whenever there is a potluck happening I am that designated ‘side dish’ person 🤣 I use this particular Makhani gravy as a base. If my friends prefer Paneer I will prepare this as just Matar Paneer or if they are ok with adding Vegetables I make Vegetable Makhani. It has always been a crowd pleaser and a hit recipe of mine among our friends circle. Thought of sharing some of the tips and tricks, how to fix common issues and stuff related to preparing this delicious restaurant style Red Gravy/Makhani Gravy.
Few points to remember :
- Don’t add too much of ginger garlic paste while making the gravy. I generally use fresh ginger and garlic pieces and I usually add 1 teaspoon of chopped pieces.
- Always make sure to boil/reduce the tomato paste first before adding milk and cashew paste
- Pressure cooking tomatoes helps in reducing the time taken for the raw smell to off. Especially when you are cooking for a big group of people this step helps. In case if you are making this only for two servings or small portion then directly grind tomatoes with ginger garlic pieces and then cook the tomato paste
- I used an Instant Pot since I was preparing for 10 and i didn’t have a large pan. Hence you will be seeing IP pics below. You can always use wide bottomed vessel or even pressure pan to prepare this gravy (as seen in one of the pics above).
- Always taste inbetween to balance the flavors
- No curry leaves or whole spices required for this gravy
- Adding a good dose of fat (be it oil, butter or ghee) helps to enhance taste. Don’t skimp too much on this
FAQs :
1.How many tomatoes required for making the gravy for two people?
For two people I use 250 gms of Paneer & 4 medium sized Tomatoes. I usually make a paste with 3 Tomatoes and add one chopped tomato to give some texture to the base. Also there are some varieties of Tomatoes which are too bland. Adding chopped tomatoes gives that extra sourness to the gravy. Increase quantity depending on the number of servings you will be making. Like I always say everything is based on your preference. If you are someone who isn’t a fan of too much Tomatoes the you can very well skip adding extra chopped tomatoes to the gravy 🙂
2.Shall I add onions along with Tomatoes while grinding the base?
Sometimes onions might be bitter and grinding them will ruin the taste of the gravy. From personal experience this had happened to me twice with Red Onions. Hence I prefer to use only tomatoes for preparing base. Chopped onions can however be added to the gravy along with other Veggies or Paneer
3.What is the substitute for Cashewnuts?
Cashewnut is the main ingredient that gives that creaminess to the gravy. In case if you don’t have Cashews you can use Almonds. Soak alomds in water for sometime. Remove skin and then prepare a paste with milk. If you don’t have any nuts either then mix 2 tablespoon of wheat flour with Milk and add this to thicken the gravy. Increase quantity of whear flour depending on the amount of Veg Gravy you are preparing.
4.What is the substitute for MDH Kitchen King Masala Powder?
This is another ingredient which gives that Restaurant style flavor to the gravy. Personally i use this powder in so many dry subzis too. If you don’t have it at home then use regular Garam Masala and a teeny tiny bit of Chaat Masala instead. Chaat masala adds a mild sourness to the gravy. Its all a personal preference. Do taste test and add extra if you want
5.What if the gravy becomes spicy? How to balance?
Adding extra Milk and Sugar might help. Alternatively you can also add little lime juice before serving the gravy. Start with adding less amount of chilli powder and then gradually add extra if needed. Tasting inbetween helps in balancing the flavor
6.My base gravy is always watery and doesn’t have smooth texture. How to solve the issue?
When grinding tomatoes you don’t have to add extra water. Adding water will make the tomato paste very thin. Also make sure the tomato paste gets cooked first in the pan. The tomato has to be reduced for few minutes before adding cashew paste or anynthickenener of your choice. You can save the gravy by adding more milk.
7.Can I make the gravy in bulk and freeze it?
I have personally made the gravy in bulk and stored in refrigerator for 4-5 days. It was good. I generally don’t preplan or precook much. So not sure how it will turn out when you thaw from freezer. But it is worth giving a shot. I shall update here if I freeze the gravy
8.What can be added to this creamy Makhani Gravy?
Steamed Veggies, Boiled Potatoes, Paneer, Tofu, Plain Cauliflower & Peas, Sweet Corn, Capsicum and there are number of combination you can try with vegetables. You can even add Eggs or Animal protein too if you want
9.Is adding Kasuri Methi really important?
Yes! Crushing the dried methi leaves and then adding it at the end is mandatory. It gives that restaurant style finishing touch to the gravy. Also the mild bitterness in the leaves helps to balance the richness of the gravy
10.How do I get that perfect orangish/red color?
A good mix of Turmeric Powder, Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder, Plain Red Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder,MDH Kitchen King Masala Powder and milk yield this color. It also depends on the variety of Tomatoes you use.
I have tried and explained most of the common queries. In case if you need any more information do comment below or comment in my Instagram Post. Shall try and respond with whatever I know.
The following measurement serves 10 people. I prepared this Vegetable Makhani Gravy for a potluck lunch that happened few days back. You need to reduce quantities of Tomatoes and Spice powders according to your preference. I will also give a rough measurement for preparing for two at the end of this post. Hope it will help for those who wanted to prepare small quantity of this gravy
| Prep Time | 25 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 15 minutes Soaking time for Cashewnuts |
| Servings |
people
|
- 10 Medium Sized Tomatoes to be made into a paste
- 2 Tomatoes to be chopped and to add some texture to base
- 25 Cashew Nuts
- 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped ginger garlic pieces
- 1 small green chilli
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 2 teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- 2 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 2 teaspoon MDH Kitchen King Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt add extra if needed
- 2 cups milk add extra if needed
- 2 teaspoon Dried Kasuri Methi Leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoon Vegetable Oil or any cooking oil
- 400 gms Paneer
- 2 onion
- 2 Carrots
- 10 Beans
- 25 Cauliflower florets
- 1 cup Frozen Peas
Ingredients
For the Base Gravy
Vegetables and Paneer to go into the gravy
|
|
- Soak Cashewnuts in 1/2 cup warm milk for atleast 15 minutes
- Grind them to a smooth paste and keep it aside
- Chop 10 tomatoes roughly and then pressure cook them along with a green chilli & ginger garlic pieces
- Turn off after one whistle. Once they are cooled down grind it to a smooth paste and keep it aside
- Turn on 'Saute' mode in Instant Pot. (if you don't have an IP use any wide bottomed pan)
- Add half tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon Oil to the Instant Pot
- Add two finely chopped tomato and saute for a minute.
- Add the Tomato+Ginger+ Garlic+Green Chilli paste to the pot and continue stirring
- Add salt, turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder and regular chilli powder
- Let the whole mixture boil for about 4-5 minutes
- If the mixture splashes you can keep the pot closed with the lid
- Add sugar and stir the mixture well
- Taste and see if there is enough salt and spice. Add extra if you want
- Add cashewnut paste,one cup milk and 1/4 cup water
- Stir everything together. Add Coriander powder, Garam Masala powder, MDH Kitchen King Masala Powder and a teaspoon of Oil
- Mix everything together
- The gravy will start to thicken
- If you want a runny gravy you can add more milk
- Or you can just leave it as it is
- Delicious Red Gravy Base is ready
- Chop all the vegetables lengthwise
- Steam the vegetables mentioned in the list above except Paneer & Peas
- In Instant Pot add the chopped veggies, turn on 'Steam' mode and set the timer to 2 minutes
- Don't add salt. Also make sure you don't over steam. The vegetables should retain crunch
- Once they are steamed remove the veggies from Instant Pot and keep it aside
- Heat a teaspoon of Oil in a pan and saute Paneer pieces for a minute
- Remove them from pan
- Now add the steamed veggies and saute for a minute or two with a pinch of salt
- Once the moisture is removed from the vegetables remove them from pan
- Add sauteed veggies, paneer & frozen peas to the base gravy
- Mix everything well. Adjust salt
- Garnish with crushed kasuri methi leaves and add a teaspoon of milk on top before serving
Quick and Simple Base Gravy Recipe for two :
1. Grind 3 tomatoes along with ginger and garlic pieces, a small green chilli to a smooth paste
2. Soak 10 Cashew Nuts in Milk for 5 minutes and grind that to a smooth paste
3. Heat a teaspoon of Butter in a pan and add Paneer Cubes. Pan fry Paneer cubes for few seconds and remove it from the pan. Keep them aside. In the same pan add one finely chopped onion and one tomato and saute for 2 minutes
4. Add the ground Tomato Paste to the pan and add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder, 1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder, Red Chilli Powder and coriander powder
5. Mix everything together and let them boil for 5 minutes in low flame
6. Once the tomato paste is reduced add Cashewnut paste, little water and 1/2 cup milk
7. Add a teaspoon of oil and keep stirring the mixture. It will start to thicken in 2-3 minutes. Add extra milk if you want a runny gravy
8. After a minute or two add Sauteed Paneer and Frozen peas
9. Mix everything well. Adjust salt and serve this simple Paneer Peas gravy with Roti or Rice