If you think, vegan curries cannot taste like restaurant curries, you are wrong! This Tofu makhani gravy is as good as any curry you get in dabhas and restaurants. It is luscious, creamy, aromatic and my go to choice, when I feel indulgent!
Makhani (meaning butter) makes everything taste better. There’s no doubt about it. And Makhani gravies are one of the most popular curries you can find in Indian restaurants. They are heavy on cream, butter and tatse heavenly. I used to crave for dairy when I cook vegan curries, because I missed the richness that dairy had to offer. But that was until I came up with this Indian butter tofu – Tofu makhani recipe.
This is by no means a quick weekday dinner style curry. It is pretty simple, but a little time consuming when compared to my other recipes. When I say restuarant style I mean it! The extra effort will surely be reflected in the taste of this curry. And vegan or not, you will love this. You can still make it during the weekdays, just get the other dishes like rotis/ rice going while the onions are caramalising , tomatoes are reducing, so you don’t feel like you have been cooking forever.
Don’t like the taste of tofu in Indian curries?
To be honest, I don’t too. tofu is a very bad substitite for paneer taste wise. I prefer adding roasted veggies when I am making Indian gravies. If you want to substituite the tofu with veggies, just roast some veggies like cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, bell peppers in the oven or an iron skillet and add it to the gravy instead of the tofu. If you aren’t vegan, just add them paneeer. But tofu soak up the flavors of the gravy quite well and taste great in the recipe.
What kind of tofu do I use in this Tofu Makhani recipe?
I prefer using the firm kind which doesn not break apart in the gravy. You could fry / bake the tofu until crisp and golden for some texture.
I am missing one or two ingredients in the recipe. Can I still do it?
Of course! But I strongly suggest following the recipe to the T to get the restuarant style taste. I have used minimal and easily available ingredients except for kitchen king masala. It is my most favorite spice mix in Indian cooking. Sometimes, I prefer this to garam masala. It gives me the restaurant taste almost everytime and they are easily available in any Indian store/ amazon. But if you don’t want to buy one, you can omit it 🙂
Can I make the gravy in advance and freeze it?
YES! I would ideally do this in the weekend when I have some extra time and freeze it for use during the weekdays. Just add the tofu or roast the veggies before serving to the gravy.
Do you have an Instant pot version of the recipe?
Unfortunately I don’t have one for now. The steps like sauteeing until the oil releases, browning the onions etc are very important to get the restaurant taste and I need to figure out how to do that in the instant pot.
Let’s see how to do this yummy Tofu makhani recipe.
Restaurant style vegan makhani curry with tofu
- 2 medium sized onions thinly sliced
- 3 big tomatoes
-
1
tbsp
Tomato Paste 
- 20 cubes extra firm tofu / substitute with paneer if not vegan
- 11/2 tsp kashmiri chilly powder (substitute with 1/2 tsp normal chilly powder)
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
-
11/2
tsp
Kitchen King Masala - 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
-
1/4
tsp
Garam Masala - 1 inch ginger cut into thin strips
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 1/4 cup cashew powder / ground cashew
- 1/4 cup coconut powder (can substitute it with coconut cream)
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or any neutral tasting oil of choice
- 1 tsp honey / maple syrup / agave
- salt to taste
- 1 Green chilly slit (optional)/ substitute with serrano or jalepeno
-
Add 1 tbsp oil in a pan and when it becomes hot, saute the sliced onions until they turn golden brown. When done, set it aside to cool and grind it to a paste, along with couple of tbsp water.
-
In the same pan, add the remaining oil, add the thinly sliced ginger and fry them until golden.
-
Now add the chilly powder, turmeric powder and saute for 30 seconds.
-
Puree the 3 tomatoes and add it to the ginger and chilly mixture. Add the tomato paste, ginger-garlic paste to it too. Cook them in medium flame until you see oil releasing from the sides.
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Now add the crushed kasuri methi, chopped coriander leaves and mix.
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Add the ground onion paste, coriander powder, kitchen king masala, garam masala, slit green chilly and saute for a minute or so.
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Now add 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups water and let it boil for 3 to 4 minutes in low medium heat until the oil starts floating.
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Add the cashew powder, coconut powder and more water as needed to dilute the gravy and let it boil further for 6 to 7 minutes.
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Add honey and salt as per taste.
(Optional step – You can blend everything using a hand blender to get a creamy silky consistency in the gravy)
-
Finally add the Tofu cubes (You can fry the tofu before adding or use it as such) and give everything a mix.
-
Serve hot.
- Kitchen king masala is very important to get the restaurant taste. But if you cannot find it, you can omit it and increase the coriander and garam masala powder by 1/4 tsp each
- Substitite the tofu with roast veggies/ paneer or soy curls
- Can use coconut cream instead of coconut powder. I prefer adding the powder
- To make cashew powder, simply grind the cashews to a somewhat smooth powder
- Sauteeing the onions until golden brown and sauteeing the tomatoes until they become thick and start oozing oil from the sides is important to get the restaurant taste
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Finally, a true restaurant-style vegan Indian dish. I’ve tried dozens of recipes over the years, and this one is head and shoulders above the rest with its authentic restaurant quality flavour.
Thanks a lot for the feedback Nick. I’m so happy you enjoyed it as its a favorte recipe of mine.
Sounds absolutely delish ! Can’t wait to try !
Tofu in Indian gravy sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Thank you so much Abi 🙂