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Restaurant Style Tofu Butter Masala Recipe – Easy Indian Butter Tofu “Paneer”. Dairy-free Tofu Paneer Butter Masala. Tofu is marinated and baked then simmered in tomato ginger cashew sauce. Vegan Butter Tofu Gluten-free Recipe. Jump to Recipe
You have got to make this Butter Tofu! Butter Tofu, Butter Masala or butter curry or whatever you want to call it. Red butter sauce for everything. Butter masala sauce is a popular sauce used with meats, paneer cheese or vegetables in Indian restaurants (that have a mostly North Indian Menu). It can be called makhani sauce (translates to “buttery” sauce) or butter sauce. Each restaurant can have its own version of sauce. I generally use my makhani sauce to make butter masala with veggies, tofu,chickpeas or fake meat. That makhani sauce is a rich creamy general masala sauce that makes everything taste amazing.
This butter sauce is a simpler and more restaurant like variation and can be used with veggies, chickpeas or any other additions. I use baked tofu to work as “paneer” to make a Butter Paneer. Serve with flatbread, rice, Roti or Vegan Naan. No Butter in this sauce. Feel free to use vegan butter instead of oil.
Video:
More restaurant style Indian Mains from the blog
- Mushroom Matar Masala
- Bombay Potato and Peas
- Tofu Pasanda
- Tofu Matar Masala
- Tofu in Spinach Curry – Saag Tofu
- Vegetable Jalfrezi – Veggies in smoky tangy curry
- Gobi Broccoli Makhani
- Tempeh Tikka Masala with Kale
Like this recipe? Then there are 20 more options in my Indian Kitchen book.
Tips and Troubleshooting:
- Troubleshoot: If the sauce flavor has a bitter after taste, it could be from ginger(over mature ginger can be bitter, use young juicy ginger), from the tomatoes that have not roasted well (cook them longer on medium low heat to roast well), or a larger amount of Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves, use less).
- Fenugreek leaves are the only ingredient in this recipe that needs to be either ordered online or picked up from an Indian store. To sub use 1/4 tsp powdered fenugreek (fenugreek seed powder), or 1/4 tsp ground mustard. Do get some fenugreek leaves as they are used in many Indian sauces and have a fabulous authentic flavor profile. Try the Instant Pot Version of Vegan Butter Chicken here.
- Soy-free: This recipe can be easily made soy-free with Chickpeas, seitan, Chickpea tofu or Veggies.
Step by Step Photos:
Marinate the Tofu, then bake.
Baked and ready for sauce.
Some elements of this recipe are inspired by Manjulas Kitchen and Veg Recipes of India Paneer butter masala recipe.
Make the Butter Sauce. I use canned diced tomatoes as they give a deeper color.
Fold in the Tofu, sliced ginger and sliced green chile. Serve hot with Roti or Naan. Let me know in the comments how it worked out! Please also rate the recipes.
What is Butter Masala
Butter Sauce, or makhani or butter masala sauce is a creamy tomato based sauce often found in Indian restaurants. It is a mild savory sweet creamy sauce that is often served with meats or paneer cheese (butter chicken or butter paneer). Versions differ based on restaurants and chefs and i have slightly different versions on the blog and my book too. Try all the sauces with this baked tofu to find the one that you love!
To make more like a restaurant version, add more oil and vegan butter 🙂
Butter Tofu Paneer - Restaurant Style Tofu Butter Masala Recipe
Ingredients
Baked Tofu "Paneer"
- 12 oz firm tofu, pressed between paper towels for 10 minutes, then cubed
- 1/2 tsp each of garam masala, ,paprika, salt, and turmeric
- 2 tsp ginger paste , or minced ginger
- 2 tsp garlic paste or minced, or 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp water, 1/2 tbsp
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch, or other starch such as arrowroot
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast, optional
- 1 tsp oil
Butter Sauce:
- 1 tsp oil , or vegan butter
- 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 3 large ripe tomatoes , or 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 inch cube of ginger, 1/2 inch chopped, 1/2 inch julienned or thinly sliced into sticks
- 1 hot or mild green chile juilenned or thinly sliced, or use very thinly sliced green bell pepper
- Cashew cream made with with 1/4 cup soaked, 15 mins cashews blended with 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp paprika , or kashmiri chili powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp kasooori methi - dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar or other sweetener, to preference
Instructions
Bake the Tofu:
- Press and cube the tofu if you havent already. In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients under baked tofu, to make a marinade. Add tofu and toss well. Let it sit for 15 min (optional). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F / 200ºc. Place the tofu cubes on parchment lined sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Make the Butter Sauce:
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until golden. You can also add in 1 bay leaf and 1 cinnamon stick with the garlic for additional flavor. Remove these before serving.
- Puree the tomato with the chopped ginger and half the green chile. Add to the skillet and cook until the puree starts to thicken and does not taste raw tomatoey. Dont wash the blender.
- In the same blender, blend the cashews and water until smooth. Blend the cashews for a minute, let it rest for a minute and then blend again for about a minute for a creamy result. Works with unsoaked cashews. Or use premade thin cashew cream (about 1/2 cup).
- Reserve 1 tbsp of the cream for garnish. Add the rest of the cashew cream to the skillet. Add spices, fenugreek leaves, salt and sugar and mix well. Use 1/2 cup water to rinse out your blender and add to the skillet. Mix and Bring to a boil. Taste and adjust salt, heat (add cayenne) and sweet. Add more water if needed for preferred consistency. Add more cashew cream for creamier.
- Fold in the baked tofu. Simmer for a minute. Mix in the julienned ginger and green chile. Alternatively, mix half of the ginger and chile and use half as garnish. Add a drizzle of the cashew cream and other garnishes as pepper flakes, chopped cilantro. Serve over Easy Garlic Naan, rice or roti.
Video
Notes
With soy curls: Add 1 cup soy curls directly to the skillet at step 4 with cashew cream and 1 cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Nutritional values based on one serving Nut-free: Use coconut cream (thick white part from a can of full fat coconut milk) To sub fenugreek leaves: Use 1/4 - 1/3 tsp powdered fenugreek (fenugreek seed powder), or 1/4 tsp ground mustard. No onion garlic; this recipe is already onion free. Use zucchini to sub garlic in the sauce. Add 1/2 tsp more fenugreek leaves to balance the flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved this! It’s a family favorite of ours. Thank you sooo much for this recipe!
Now I’m wondering, can I fry the tofu (instead of baking it) with the marinade on it? I like the texture of fried tofu much better than baked, and it takes less time. Normally I put 2 Tbsp of olive oil in with cubed tofu, covered, for 8 minutes or so (stirring every 2-3 minutes). Would it burn?
You can pan fry pressed cubed tofu and when almost done, add the spices and lemon and mix in to coat and dry slightly and then use with the sauce. If you add them before then they might burn before the tofu is done.
Perfect! Thank you Richa 🙂
Thanks for sharing such a great information here.
thanks for popping by
That was amazing! Made this for dinner tonight. Spicy, rich, and so deliscious! We will be making it again. Thanks!
Awesome!
This looks really good! Hoping to make this soon. Can you clarify what a “green chile” means? Jalapeno sized, or something larger like Annaheim? Would a jalapeno be considered hot or mild? What kind do you like to use? Thanks!
I usually use Serrano or similar size hot green chile (2 to 3 inches and skinny). Choose one depending on your heat preference. Jalapeno is usually double the size of serrano, so use half a jalapeno when 1 chile is listed.
Just made this and it turned out amazing, I am going to a friends sanctuary for a work party next month and this will be a great dish to double up on the recipe and feed everyone when we get in from the cold. Thank you!
I followed recipe mostly- added more cashew cream and more of all the spices. At first I could definitely taste that raw romato flavour and didn’t love how it was tasting, but I found the trick to be simmering and reducing it until the flavours really came together. I would say I simmered it for about 45 minutes and it was lovely!
At step 2 is when you want to cook the tomato enough so it doesnt taste raw. Depending on your tomatoes, stove, pan etc, it can take anywhere from 4 to 10 mins. More sauce would definitely need more spices, so adjust that to preference. The age of the spices also matters, use more if old spices.
This recipe is simply AMAZING! I’ve made it countless times and plan on making again and again for my family. Such an easy, scrumptious dish. Thank you Richa, sending you love from Canada x
Awesome!
hi richa, when i look at the recipe it seems to be quite similar to shahi paneer. what’s the difference? or is it just another name for the same dish?
anyway, it sounds delicious!
Shahi paneer is sweeter and uses more cream or cashews and it may or may not include tomato depending on the interpretation of the chef. Many of these dishes have originated in restaurants in India or outside like UK, because the richer North Indian sauces were more popular. Depending on the restaurant and the location (usually outside india), many dishes get named interchangeably. This is probably also because for the restaurant business they make 1 or 2 base sauces that they reuse with variation for a few dishes. If you see my first books, the makhani sauce (butter sauce) is slightly different from this version as that version is the one that used generally with meat while this is used generally with paneer cheese. I base these recipes on flavors and texture i remember from the restaurants in India and recipes from Indian chefs and i try to keep them as close to traditional as possible. Try the Royal Tofu (shahi tofu) from my first book to see the traditional shahi sauce which is white yellow (yellow from saffron).
This was totally amazing! I added the bay leaf and cinnamon stick as suggested, and the mixture of spices was divine. Definitely a repeat in my kitchen. I’ll include it as the creamy dish in my indian themed meals. Thank you thank you thank you!
Amazing! Just finished eating this. Used coconut cream and doubled all the spices. Thanks so much. Excited to explore the rest of your site
Awesome! yes adjust the spices to preference. the flavor depends on the cream used, age of the spices and your preference 🙂