Are you looking to add some festive flair to your dinner table this festive season? Consider trying out our creamy, rich, and delicious Veg Makhanwala recipe. This dish is a burst of flavors and filled with various vegetables, all cooked in a delectable creamy tomato and onion-based gravy. It’s a dish that’s sure to make any occasion feel special. It is best enjoyed hot with tandoori rotis, naan, parathas, chapatis, steamed rice, saffron rice, or jeera rice.
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As the festive season approaches, I look forward to the joy of reuniting with loved ones and savoring delectable dishes. This time of year gives the perfect opportunity to craft a lavish feast brimming with various appetizers, entrees, and desserts to delight everyone’s palate.
When planning the menu, I find that selecting the main course is a delightful challenge. While we have our trusted array of vegetable dishes for everyday meals, I always prefer to make restaurant-style sabji recipes to add flavor and creativity to our gatherings.
I prefer to make rich meals when special occasions and gatherings arise. One dish that perfectly captures this spirit of indulgence is Veg Makhanwala.
Today, I am thrilled to share a stunning and aromatic North Indian Gravy Recipe that will infuse a festive spirit into your meal. I am extremely excited to share a restaurant-style Veg Makhanwala recipe on the blog, which holds a special place in my heart.
While in India, dining out with my parents always involved ordering a vegetable dish and a paneer dish, as my mother doesn’t consume paneer. Without fail, she would opt for veg makhanwala, and preparing this dish at home never fails to evoke memories of her.
About Veg Makhanwala Recipe
Veg Makhanwala, or Veg Makhani, is a famous North-Indian curry often found on Indian restaurant menus. The dish features a rich, tangy, mildly sweet Makhani gravy made with butter, tomatoes, aromatics, basic Indian spices, cashews, and cream. This flavorful curry is best enjoyed hot and perfectly accompanies Naan, tandoori roti, or rice.
To prepare this unique dish, you’ll need more butter, cream, and oil than usual, making it perfect for special occasions, parties and celebrations.
When cooking this dish, it’s essential to sauté the vegetables in steps to ensure they are evenly cooked. While the cooking process may take a bit longer, the recipe itself is surprisingly simple, and the end result is delicious. All you need are fresh, high-quality vegetables, a few essential spices, and a bit of patience to create this delightful dish.
Ingredients
- Spices – Kashmiri dried chilli and chili powder give it a beautiful deep red color, and the rest of the spice powders, like turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and garam masala, lend a delicious fragrance!
- Whole spices – Cardamom, cinnamon, cumin seeds and bay leaf.
- Cashew and cream – give a creamy texture from to the gravy.
- Mixed Vegetables – This recipe uses many vegetables, such as cauliflower, green beans, carrots, bell peppers, and green peas. You can also use potatoes and mushrooms. Adding different vegetables ensures you get more nutrition and fiber in your diet. Fresh and frozen veggies both work for this recipe.
- Onion and Tomato – This recipe’s gravy base is made with finely chopped tomatoes and onions.
- Ginger, Garlic, and green chili – Using freshly chopped ginger, Garlic, and green chilies is crucial in this recipe.
- Butter – The creamy, rich gravy uses a generous amount of butter. It adds great flavor and a lovely mouthfeel to the dish. Salted and Unsalted butter both work fine.
- Oil – Any cooking oil works fine.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
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- Step 1: Heat oil and butter in a heavy-bottom pan. Once hot, add all the spices (cardamom, bay leaf, red-dried chilies, cardamom, cinnamon, and cumin seeds). Let it cook for 10 seconds. Now add ginger, garlic, green chilies, and onions. Stir and cook for a minute over high flame,
- Step 2: Then add tomatoes and cashews. Stir well and cook over high flame for a minute or two. Add water, and let everything come to a boil. Then cover and cook over low to medium flame for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now check the makhani gravy, the tomatoes should become mushy and cooked all through. Switch off the flame and cool down the mixture completely. Transfer the gravy mixture to a mixer-grinder jar, add some water, and grind it into a fine paste.
- Step 3: While cooking the makhani gravy, set a pan over high heat on the side to toss the veggies. Once the pan gets hot, add butter. Further add cauliflower, carrot, and French beans. Stir well. Now add ½ cups of hot water, then cover and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium flame.
- Step 4: Once the veggies are cooked, add the green peas and capsicum. Cook all the veggies over high flame for a minute or two. Switch off the flame and set them aside.
- Step 5: Set a kadhai/pan over high flame then add oil. Once the oil gets hot add grated garlic, stir, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Step 6: Lower the flame and strain the makhani paste into the kadhai/pan using a sieve, make sure you add some water into the jar and transfer all the remaining gravy. Stir well.
Step 7: Now add all the spices, chili powder, salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder. Mix well and cook the makhani gravy for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.
Step 8: Now add garam masala, sugar and kasuri methi. Mix and cook for a minute.
Step 9: Add the cooked veggies, stir well, and cook the veggies in the gravy for 4 to 5 minutes.
Step 10: Add fresh cream and mix well.
- Switch off the flame. Your delicious restaurant stlye Veg Makhanwala is ready. Serve it hot with Tandoori roti and Sirkewale Pyaaz. Enjoy!
Storage
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. Reheat in a pan or microwave before serving. If the gravy has become thick, add a few water splashes and mix well while reheating.
Top tip
- Remember to prepare the vegetables by cutting them into uniform sizes to ensure even cooking and prevent them from becoming mushy.
- You can use almonds as a substitute for cashews, or even a combination of both.
- Adding sugar can help balance the flavors and bring a subtle sweetness to the dish.
- For a restaurant-style taste, be a little generous with the amount of butter, ghee and cream used.
- You can add more vegetables like corn, baby corn, broccoli, and mushrooms.
- To make this gravy richer, you can also add paneer.
- Ripe tomatoes are essential for the gravy base.
- If the gravy tastes sour, adjust by adding more sugar to balance the flavors.
- You can reduce the spiciness by using less chili powder.
- I’ve used Kashmiri red dried chilies and Kashmiri red chili powder for a deep color and mild heat.
- Freshly chopped ginger, garlic, and green chilies are crucial for enhancing the flavors of this curry, so avoid substituting them with store-bought paste.
- You can either sauté the vegetables before adding them to the curry or steam them as an alternative method.
- It’s important to ensure that the vegetables are cooked through but still retain their texture without becoming mushy.
FAQ
I recommend freezing the gravy before adding the veggies. Then, whenever you want to serve it, add the veggies, simmer it, and rest of the process as directed in the recipe. The gravy stays suitable for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Yes! Just skip the butter and dairy cream and use oil and coconut cream. The rest of the recipe remains the same.
Yes, you can make this recipe two days ahead of time. Just keep the gravy and sautéed veggies separate. Before serving, mix gravy, veggies, and follow rest of the recipe as directed.
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Pairing
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Veg Makhanwala
Ingredients
For Vegetables
- 2 cups Cauliflower florets
- ½ cup green peas
- 1 cup bell pepper diced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup green beans diced into ½ inch
- 1 cup carrots diced into ½ inch
- 2 tablespoon butter
For Gravy
- 3 ¼ cup roughly chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup roughly chopped onion
- 2 tablespoon garlic roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger roughly chopped
- 1 green chili
- ¼ cup cashew nuts
- 1 ½ tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
whole spices
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 to 5 red dried kashmiri chilies
- 3 cardamom pods
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Other Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
Saute veggies
- While the makhani gravy is cooking, set a pan on the side over high heat to toss the veggies.
- Once the pan gets hot, add butter.
- Further, add cauliflower, carrot, and French beans. Stir well. Now add ½ cup of hot water, then cover & cook for 2-3 minutes over medium flame.
- Once the veggies are cooked, add green peas and capsicum, and cook all the veggies over high flame for a minute or two. Please switch off the flame and keep them aside.
- Now check the makhani gravy; the tomatoes should become mushy and be cooked through. Switch off the flame and cool down the mixture thoroughly.
- Transfer the gravy mixture into a mixer grinder jar, add around ¾ to 1 cup of water, and grind it into a fine paste.
Final cooking
- Set a kadhai/pan over a high flame, then add oil.
- Add grated garlic once the oil gets hot, stir, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Lower the flame and strain the makhani paste into the kadhai/pan using a sieve. Make sure you add some water to the jar and transfer all the remaining gravy. Stir well.
- Now add all the spices, chili powder, salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder. Mix well and cook the makhani gravy on a medium flame for 4-5 minutes.
- Now add garam masala, sugar and kasuri methi. Mix and cook for a minute.
- Add the cooked veggies, stir well, and cook the veggies in the gravy for 4 to 5 minutes. Add fresh cream and mix well.
- Switch off the flame. Your delicious restaurant stlye Veg Makhanwala is ready. Serve it hot with Tandoori roti and Sirkewale Pyaaz. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Remember to prepare the vegetables by cutting them into uniform sizes to ensure even cooking and prevent them from becoming mushy.
- You can use almonds as a substitute for cashews, or even a combination of both.
- Adding sugar can help balance the flavors and bring a subtle sweetness to the dish.
- For a restaurant-style taste, be a little generous with the amount of butter, ghee and cream used.
- You can add more vegetables like corn, baby corn, broccoli, and mushrooms.
- To make this gravy richer, you can also add paneer.
- Ripe tomatoes are essential for the gravy base.
- If the gravy tastes sour, adjust by adding more sugar to balance the flavors.
- You can reduce the spiciness by using less chili powder.
- I’ve used Kashmiri red dried chilies and Kashmiri red chili powder for a deep color and mild heat.
- Freshly chopped ginger, garlic, and green chilies are crucial for enhancing the flavors of this curry, so avoid substituting them with store-bought paste.
- You can either sauté the vegetables before adding them to the curry or steam them as an alternative method.
- It’s important to ensure that the vegetables are cooked through but still retain their texture without becoming mushy.
Nutrition
Warm Regards,
Dhwani.
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