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.
yormaw
Thanks. I substituted the cashew nuts for almonds and the lemon for tamarind 🙂 Pretty good, though I think I'll go a bit easier on the spices and add fresh chilli next time.. oh and have some lemons and cashew nuts in the house 🙂
Dana B
WOWZA. I was craving Butter Chicken and this really nipped it in the bud spot on. I live in Dubai, which means given the massive Indian population, finding the ingredients in my local, regular super market is a breeze (it's an Indian-owned company). The only item I couldn't find were the dried fenugreek leaves and I didn't have the patience to go to another store (it was 130f when I went shopping!). But, I do have a stash of maple syrup that did the job nicely. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Next time, I'll triple the sauce.
Vaishali
So happy to hear!
Nora
Made it last night, very very yummm! Do you have any positive experience with putting the Makhani curry in the freezer?
Vaishali
Freezing would affect the texture of the tofu, but the curry itself should be fine to freeze.
Nora
Thanks! It's just the curry I would like to freeze. Next time I'll triple it and give it a try ?
Steven
made this tonight, was amazing!
Chital Mehta Jey
I made this..came out great. Thanks for sharing
Barbara
This was easy and tastes great! Thank you for the recipe, it will be added to my very favorites
shivali
Hey Vaishali,
As a 20 something vegetarian new to cooking your website has been a blessing. I tried the tofu makhani tonight, it was scrumptious and my parents loved the dish. They couldnt even tell the difference between paneer and tofu, a healthy hit for my family. Thank you!
Jennie
This is amazing! Thank you so much for a fabulous recipe.
Julia Croft
It was absolutely gorgeous,a great recipe, thank you. I didn't have any vegan butter so added coconut yoghurt (alpro) for a bit more richness, and no extra sweetness needed.
Vaishali Honawar
Julia, so glad you tried it. Thanks for letting me know.
Jenny Forrest
Yummy! I added pulped tamarind and some creamed coconut to it as well. Cashews partly substituted by ground almonds- worked well.
venkat
Loved the recipe,impressed my wife as well 🙂 Tried it and it came out wonderfully well!!!.Adding maple syrup definitely gave that special taste.Thanks for posting a wonderful recipe..
Tomaitoe
This is such a fabulous recipe. I have made it several times now, for both vegans and meat eaters alike. Everyone loves it and asks for the link to the recipe. I now make a double recipe of the sauce and freeze half of it. That way, I only need to fry up the tofu for a weeknight dinner. Thanks so much for sharing it!!
Larissa
Absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it and I will be making it again soon. I pulled the cloves and cinnamon before blending and the texture was smooth as silk even without adding the "butter" at the end. Thanks for a great recipe.
Lynnsey
I did not have a few of the ingredients, but it worked out. This was really delicious. I was glad to try a more complex Indian recipe. Stepped up my Indian curry game here. Thanks!
Bay teuil pandan
Thank you so much Vaishali for sharing this recipe! It's such a refined dish that I consider it as a special treat for grand occasions. Then, I plan to cook it for Xmas. Ok, I admit I'm also keen to educate my French-conservative-meat eaters in-laws with delicious vegan, Indian cuisine :-p
My mom didnt know about methi and she fell in love with it 🙂 I cant believe I taught her something when it comes to food!
My very slight tweaks to your recipe:
1. I'd par-boil the tomatoes -note the plural because the prep being quite involving, I'd always double the amount of ingredients- and then, remove the skin. I always take this step, whenever I'm cooking your tomato curry (my hubby's all time fav!) or an Italian pasta sauce. Thats because tomato skin tends to lend an exaggerated sourish flavour to slow cooking dishes. Btw, I learnt that trick from you hehehe
2. Jaggery being hard to find in my area, I sub with Thai palm sugar (nam tan kathi) to taste
3. I feel more comfortable with using whole spices only and prep them apart: ie., dry roasting them and pounding them in granit mortar beforehand
4. Tofu would be rubbed and marinated overnight before being oven-baked, instead of sautéed.
Thanks again for educating us with your blog Vaishali!
Hugs massive xxx