How To Make Indian Makhani Gravy (Curry)
on Dec 29, 2015, Updated Aug 31, 2020
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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 1/2 Kg , coarsely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/2 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 1/2 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.
My husband unfortunately cannot eat chili at all – even without the seeds and pith. What are some flavorful substitutions? Thanks
Hey rayma, you can skip the chillies because unfortunately there is no substitute for them. The colour won’t be the same though
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?
Hey Sheelu, you can skip the khus khus
This looks great! Been looking for the “perfect” 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?
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.
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
Use cayenne pepper and paprika instead
Thank u so much for sharing this recipe
Most welcome, Farzana! Stay tuned for more authentic Indian food!
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!
Hey Yvonne! That’s great, we’re thrilled you and your husband loved this makhani gravy recipe!
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.
So sweeet. Thanks for leaving a comment! Soooo glad you liked it Shreya
Hi Richa,
Thank you for the upbeat web site in general and the recipes in particular. I mean to make this makhani but am confused about a couple things-
1) as Peter asked below, are there no onions in this recipe? Your reply said you do use onions but the ingredients dont list them
2) Is the overall cooking time for this more likely to be about an hour (it’s listed 10 minutes but various steps add about 15 min, 30 min etc. Not aproblem just wondered.)
thanks
N.
Hey Nalini, onions are not used in this recipe. cook time is 45 minutes.
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 !
Sure you can
How much tomato paste? Not stated in ingredients
Sorry Sue, the tomato paste refers to the ground paste from step #3