Makhani, with its deeply colored and flavorful gravy, is perhaps one of the most fabled and beloved Indian curries. You can serve this vegan Tofu Makhani with vegan naan or basmati rice for a delicious, healthy meal.
If you love delicately spiced but hearty Indian curries like tofu curry and vegan butter chicken, this tofu makhani recipe is for you!
Here's a master recipe for a gravy you can use to make any kind of "makhani" dish.
If you've eaten at an Indian restaurant, you've likely come across Chicken Makhani, or Butter Chicken. The reason for Butter Chicken's immense popularity is its smooth, signature-orange gravy that wraps itself silkily around your tastebuds, and the fabulously buttery flavor that rounds off sparkling notes of spicy, sour, salty, bitter and sweet.
But Butter Chicken is also not, as the name suggests, a healthy dish. It usually includes cream, butter, and -- of course, chicken, with all of the accompanying fat and cholesterol. All of which makes it a no-no in my kitchen where the only creatures who wander in are there to eat, not be eaten.
A reader recently asked me for a vegan version of Butter Chicken, which spurred me to cook this delicious dish once more and share it with all of you.
This gravy is exactly similar to the one typically used for Butter Chicken, with the exception, of course, that there is no butter or cream here. At least not real butter, but we do need a tablespoon of a good quality vegan "butter". It's really not much since this recipe would easily serve four people, so don't try to skimp on it because you won't end up with the desired smooth, rich result.
You can use this gravy with tofu, as I did, or even with meat substitutes and vegetables like mushrooms or eggplant. It is fabulous every which way. Adding tofu to this dish brings it closer to another popular Makhani dish, Paneer Makhani, where paneer, an Indian cheese, is added to the gravy. But tofu has healthy fats, unlike paneer, and it is bursting with good protein.
Dal Makhani is a slightly different dish and you can find my vegan Dal Makhani recipe here. You could also easily adapt this tofu makhani recipe to make a dal makhani by simply adding boiled and tender lentils at the stage where the tofu gets added to the dish.
I marinate the tofu for extra flavor, and it really helps, so take the time to do it. If you are using veggies or meat substitutes, you can use the same marinade ingredients and brown the veggies or meat substitutes before adding them to the makhani gravy. Add the veggies or meat substitute at the same stage where you'd add the tofu. (Try air fryer tofu in this curry for a chewy, delicious texture),
Here's the recipe, then, for an incredibly super and versatile Tofu Makhani. Enjoy, all!
Related recipes:
Tofu Makhani
Ingredients
For the Marinated Tofu:
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil (any other vegetable oil will work too)
- 14 ounces extra-firm tofu (Swaddle the block of tofu in a paper napkin or cheesecloth, place it in a sieve, and place a heavy weight, like a pan, on top. Let the tofu stand for an hour at least so most of the water has drained out of it. Then cut it in half down the middle, and halve again crosswise so you have four slices.)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne (or paprika for less heat, or another red chilli powder)
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt to taste
For the Makhani Curry:
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil (any other vegetable oil would work too)
- 3 pods green cardamom
- 3 cloves
- 10 peppercorns
- 1-inch piece cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- ½ tablespoon grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 large tomato, finely chopped
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne (can sub with paprika for more color and less heat, or any red chili powder)
- 2 heaping tbsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves), optional
- 2 teaspoon sugar (grated jaggery or maple syrup will do)
- 2 cups or more vegetable stock (Can sub water but stock will add even more flavor)
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the tofu:
- Mix all the ingredients except the tofu. Now slather the marinade on the slices of tofu you've prepared and set aside for about half an hour.
- Smear the oil evenly in a nonstick or cast-iron griddle. When it's hot, place the slices of tofu in the pan without crowding them. Cook until golden-brown on each side, about four minutes per side. Remove to a plate and, when cool, cut into ¾-inch cubes. Set aside.
- Make the Makhani curry:
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the cumin seeds, and when they sputter add cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon. Saute for a minute over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and a little salt and saute until the onions start to brown, about five minutes. Add ginger and garlic pastes, kasoori methi, and cashew nuts and saute for another minute.
- Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, powdered coriander, turmeric, and chilli powder.
- Saute the mixture until the tomatoes turn really soft and melt into the saucepan. If the mixture starts to get too dry before the tomatoes are done, add some water or vegetable stock and continue cooking.
- Once the tomatoes are really soft, turn off the heat and let the mixture cool. Pour into a blender and add a cup of vegetable stock. Blend to a smooth paste. (Don't blend the mixture while it's still hot because it can be dangerous. If you have a hand blender, this is the time to use it.)
- Pour the blended paste back into the saucepan, turn on the heat, add the remaining vegetable stock if the mixture is thick, and bring to a simmer. Now add the tofu cubes and stir them in. Add salt to taste. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the vegan butter and turn off the heat. Stir to melt the butter into the sauce.
- Add the lemon juice and maple syrup, mix well, garnish with coriander leaves, and serve hot with some boiled rice or naan.
Chessie
There aren't enough thumbs in the house to give this recipe the "thumbs up" it deserves, unless I used my big toes. What a wonderful gravy with all those spices--heaven!
This would probably work just as well with lentils or even kidney beans in place of the tofu, wouldn't it? I'm definitely going to make this again, and I may try that variation the next time.
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Catherine, so thrilled you liked the Tofu Makhani-- definitely one of my favorite recipes to cook and eat. Thanks for letting me know!
Yes, it would definitely work with lentils or beans or both. There is a version of this called Dal Makhani which is very similar, and that's made with beans and lentils.
Chessie
I made this yesterday for a couple of friends, using lentils this time, and it was delicious. We all feasted on it. The flavorful gravy is so, so good. I have a feeling that I will return to this recipe many more times.
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Catherine, so glad you tried it with the lentils. I love Dal Makhani too, one of my all-time favorites. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Martha Palomino
Holy Cow is right! this dish was amazing! I have been cooking Indian food for the last two months and this has been the best recipe. Thank you!
Vaishali
Martha, so glad you liked it!
Rachana
Hi Vaishali,
How are you? Thanks for giving such wonderful recepies,I made tofu Makhani came out really nice. Tofu is good sub for Paneer.
Thanks once again.
Vaishali
Hi Rachana, lovely to hear that-- so glad you tried the makhani! Tofu definitely makes a good Paneer substitute. Have a great weekend! 🙂
Laina
Okay, thanks so much. Do you know of an online source?
Vaishali
Amazon should have it. Search for green cardamom. Good luck!
lainaeLaina
Thanks, I found some local. What about the fenugreek, can I use seeds and how much? Also, can I use powdered cinnamon?
Vaishali
Seeds have a very different flavor from the leaves-- they are much more bitter, so don't use them. Just leave it out. And if you're using powdered cinnamon, use no more than 1/2 a teaspoon and don't roast it-- just add it to the other spices before blending. Cheers.
Laina
I will look, but will it change the flavor a lot if I can't find green cardamom pods?
Vaishali
Laina, cardamom adds a great, distinct flavor. You can leave it out and it would be delicious still, although if you can find it I'd definitely recommend adding it.
harjeet
it was awsome
Selah N O
This looks/sounds amazing! Have you ever used eggplant instead of the tofu?
Vaishali Honawar
I haven't. But I love eggplant enough to say that even if it is not delicate enough to be a natural makhani ingredient, it would still taste awesome with all of these spices. Mushroom would perhaps work even better.
Veganopoulous
Hi Vaishali, I made this dish and it's great 🙂 Blogged about it with the addition of potato and beans. I found it tasted better the next day. Thank you!
Anonymous
I liked d pic so much that i brought tofu for the 1st time & tried this recipe. I skipped some things n simply stir fried d tofu instead of marinating.I had less time n not all ingridients. But it turned out to b good. Thank you so much
Raj
This tasted really good except I blended the cinnamon sticks as well. Was I supposed to take them out? The recipe didn't say to. Now my quadruple batch has the texture of wood 🙁
Other than that, it tastes great!
Vaishali Honawar
Raj, How much cinnamon did you use? You just need a 1-inch piece which, even if you blend it (it needs to be added whole in the recipe) should not create the "texture of wood" in the recipe.
Raj
Vaishali, thanks for replying!
Sorry, I've never used cinnamon stick before - didn't really know what I was doing.
I quadrupled (x4) the batch, so I used 2 cinnamon sticks. Each stick was about 2 inches in length.
I blended for about 10 minutes with a high speed immersion blender, but I can still feel the tiny woody bits between my teeth.
I still loved the recipe, but next time I will either fry the cinnamon for longer to make it more brittle, or instead just remove it before blending.
Vaishali Honawar
Raj, 2 cinnamon sticks is fine, but as you guessed the immersion blender did not puree them well enough. Also don't use the big, thick cinnamon sticks you get here in the US, but preferably the thinner bark you find at Indian stores which is softer. If you use the big round ones, add only half as much.
Alison
I just tried this recipe tonight. It was delicious! I have a question though - probably a stupid question, but I am relatively new to cooking curries. Do you grind your spices (i.e. the cardamom and cinnamon) or just put them in as is? And if so, is there any point in the cooking process when you remove them, or do you just blend them in when you blend the onions, etc.?
Thanks so much for your blog!
Vaishali Honawar
Alison, it's not a stupid question-- you add the spices whole but you blend them up with the onions. Hope that helps. 🙂
tess
I just made this (minus the tomato paste, so mine wasn't as red) and it was SO good! Thank you for the recipe - I will definitely use it again! 🙂
Deepa
I'm making this for dinner tonight! It looks amazing so far!!
michael
I made this last night with some store bought marinated tofu and it was absolutely delicious! I didn't have any fenugreek leaves so I just used a good pinch of fenugreek seeds in with the jeera. Look forward to cooking more from your blog, might try the Patia tonight :)Thanks for the delicious recipes!
Vaishali
Michael, thanks for the feedback-- glad you liked the makhani.
gastro-doc
Hi Vaishali! I found your website & it looks great! I made the tofu makhani this weekend and I REALLY love it (I left out the sweet element). I followed your directions but mine doesn't look as vibrant as yours :o(
Will definitely make this again -- tofu is good for you & so is your site!
All the best 😀
Vaishali
Anneka, glad you like it, and thanks for letting me know. I'm also glad you reminded me to post the recipe. 🙂