Learn how to make Indian Makhani Gravy (Curry) for when you're responsible to cook meals but don't have the time to go through every step, every day! This recipe is really easy and the gravy is freezer friendly, so it can be stored for later use. Freeze it in jars or zip lock bags!
If you know me, you know how much I love meal prep to make my weeknight dinner game even easier and more hassle-free. There's no better feeling than finishing work and not having to stress about what to make for dinner, because you have a fridge and freezer prepped with some quick and easy meals. And This Indian Makhani Gravy is hands down, my favorite thing to have in the fridge.
If you are a busy bee and never have time to cook (like most of us), make a large quantity and just freeze them in small jars or freezer friendly zip locks. It's perfect for all sorts of deliciousness: paneer makhani, murgh (chicken) makhani, paneer butter masala, chicken butter masala, veg makhani or even egg makhani if you are into that kind of thing. This basically works for everything except dal makhani.
Quick Walk Through: Indian Makhani Gravy
Top Tips To Make The Best Makhani Gravy
- This recipe makes gravy for 8 - 10 servings. But you can easily double or halve the ingredients depending on your requirement.
- Make sure you use good quality ziplocks or freezer friendly containers to avoid spoilage or health hazards.
- If you don't have cashews, you can easily replace them with soaked almonds for similar results.
- You can easily make this curry vegan by replacing butter with oil and fresh cream with coconut milk.
FAQs
Makhani gravy is a made with a base of onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and a mix of whole and ground spices. Ingredients like cashews, poppy seeds, and cream are used to give it that typical creamy luscious finish.
Most restaurants have gravies which are deep red in color. People, if you still haven't figured it out, that's just food coloring. Which we will steer clear of, except when we are making our Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies. That's why this gravy is restaurant style, but orange instead of the crazy red that we are all used to seeing.
I know you are tempted. Trust me you'll never make makhani any other way!
How To Make Indian Makhani Gravy (Curry)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Butter
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1 Green Chili
- 4 Kashmiri Red Chilies
- 2 tablespoons Ginger Paste
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 2 Bayleaves
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 5 - 6 Cloves
- 2 Cardamoms
- 1 teaspoon Peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons Cashewnuts chopped
- 1 tablespoon Poppy Seeds Khus Khus
- 14 Tomatoes large (1 ยฝ Kg , coarsely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ยฝ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 3 tablespoons Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Sugar or Jaggery (Optional)
- 2 tablespoons Kasuri Methi Dry
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Cream
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan or kadhai, heat a tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons oil.
- Add green chili, red chillies, ginger, garlic paste and whole spices. Saute for a minute or two and add cashew nuts, poppy seeds and tomatoes. Mix well. Cover and cook this for ten to fifteen minutes till the tomatoes start breaking down. Switch off the flame and set aside to cool.
- Once cool enough to handle, fish out as many whole spices as possible, and grind the mixture to a smooth paste.
- In the same pan or kadhai, heat the remaining butter and add the ground paste from step #3. Add garam masala powder, chili powder, turmeric, ketchup, salt and sugar or jaggery (if using) along with ยฝ cup water. Bring this to a boil.
- Once the curry comes to a boil, simmer and cook for 30 minutes, till the oil separates slightly. In another pan, dry roast the kasuri methi and grind it to a fine powder. Mix kasuri methi and fresh cream in the curry and switch off the flame.
- Let the curry cool completely before dividing it into smaller portions and freezing it in ziplock packs.
Notes
- Tomatoes: Substitute fresh tomatoes with three 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Or use 4 cups Tomato Puree or Tomato Passata
- Garam Masala: I use homemade garam masala, but you can substitute it with any store bought garam masala. Please note that garam masala is different from curry powder
- Butter: I love adding butter to this dish, but you can substitute it with ghee
- Sweetness from Ketchup: I think a really mild sweetness in butter chicken is actually nice and it balances the sourness from tomatoes. But feel free to reduce or increase the amount of ketchup based on what you like.
Denzil a Sequeira says
Richa,
I made this Gravy a few days ago,One of the best recipes I have made.My wife and I both enjoyed it very much.What was very interesting is that there are no onions in this recipe.Great!!!
Richa says
So happy you liked it Denzil!
Jacob jose says
Very good recipe
Richa says
Thanks!
Rayma says
My husband unfortunately cannot eat chili at all - even without the seeds and pith. What are some flavorful substitutions? Thanks
Richa says
Hey rayma, you can skip the chillies because unfortunately there is no substitute for them. The colour won't be the same though
Sheelu says
Hi Richa, I would like to try this recipe as I like my dishes 'makhani' style. But here in Singapore, khus khus is a banned item. So can I substitute that with s'thing else. Or will it affect the taste if I omit that ingreduent?
Richa says
Hey Sheelu, you can skip the khus khus
Brian says
This looks great! Been looking for the โperfectโ makhani gravy that approximates that from our favorite restaurant. My wife loves lamb makhani. Does one cook the meat separately, then add to the gravy to let meld?
Richa says
No you can let the lamb cook in the makhani gravy. It'll take a good 1.5 hours of simmering. Just go ahead and add some water as it simmers.
Emily says
I cannot seem to find Kashmiri child here in Australia. What would a suitable substitute be for this ingredient that would work for this recipe
Richa says
Use cayenne pepper and paprika instead
Farzana Begum says
Thank u so much for sharing this recipe
Richa Gupta says
Most welcome, Farzana! Stay tuned for more authentic Indian food!
Yvonne says
I make tons of scratch Indian at home, but this was one of the best recipes I've ever stumbled upon! My husband polished off two bowls, despite being full after the first. I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
Richa Gupta says
Hey Yvonne! That's great, we're thrilled you and your husband loved this makhani gravy recipe!
Shreya Jalavadia says
HEY!
Made this recipe recently with a little tweak ( but 90% sticking to this recipe), I couldn't be happier. It is one of the best makhani gravy recipes on the internet. Polished off the batch in one meal!
My husband loved it; "it couldn't be a better Sunday meal, he said.
So, Richa, Thank you for this recipe.
Richa says
So sweeet. Thanks for leaving a comment! Soooo glad you liked it Shreya
Devika says
Hi,
I found this recipe when i was searching for a sweet greavy, have with rice. Can i use this as a greavy only, without mixing any meat or vegetable ?
Thanks !
Richa says
Sure you can
Sue says
How much tomato paste? Not stated in ingredients
Richa says
Sorry Sue, the tomato paste refers to the ground paste from step #3
Susan Nichols says
I LOVE this recipe. Thank you so much for posting it. Living in Canada sometimes it's hard to get good tomatoes off season so I use 2 large cans of Marzano tomatoes and a bottle of Marzano Passat.Getting the Kashmiri peppers is also not happening in my small town so I use a tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder and 2 green Thai chillis. Also because I am lazy I toast the first round of whole spices than put them in a food grinder that way I don't have to fish them out later and the taste is consistent with the original recipe. I make a big batch and it gets divided into 4 with us using it the day after it is made then the rest gets frozen. We use it with chicken marinated in tandoori spices and yoghurt and also chick peas with sliced onions. It is now our favourite. I'm going to try it with some paneer next!
Richa says
Wow! I love all the details Susan. I bet this is going to help all the other readers too. I'm really glad you enjoy this recipe.
Neeyati Saraf says
Learning the perfect makhani gravy is a winner and this recipe is just perfect to get those delicious restaurant style flavours. I also added 1 onion while making the paste while the rest of the recipe being as youโve mentioned and it was absolutely packed with the best flavours. Thank you ๐ keep more recipes coming please
Richa says
Perfect Neeyati! So happy this met the bar
John says
There is no Tomato paste in the ingredients, yet there is in the method. Is the tomato paste the result of the liquidised first stage after fishing out the spices?
Richa says
Hey John, yes, the tomato paste is basically a result of liquidising all the ingredients sans the spices in the first stage
christian says
excuse me, why wont this work as dhal makhani, please