Calories in Paneer Butter Masala

Most people expect a bigger number, and the recipe explains why this one is moderate. It uses 100 g of paneer, 100 g of tomato, 50 g of onion, 20 g of ginger, 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 teaspoons of cream and 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, and divides the result into 2 bowls. Each bowl therefore holds 50 g of paneer in a fairly small amount of gravy, with 1 1/2 teaspoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of cream. A katori at home may hold less; a restaurant paneer butter masala is made with far more butter and cream and served in a larger bowl, so 228 kcal does not describe it.

Fat supplies 54% of the energy, carbohydrate 27% and protein 19%. What is different from the other paneer dishes is the kind of fat: with paneer, butter and cream and no oil at all, nearly all of the 13.8 g of fat is dairy fat, which is largely saturated. The 11 g of protein comes from the paneer. The carbohydrate includes the tomato and onion and the 3/4 teaspoon of sugar that each bowl gets. At 228 kcal this recipe is the lightest of the five paneer dishes compared, just under palak paneer at 230 kcal and far below kadai paneer at 344 kcal.

One bowl is about 11% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 14% of a woman's, and two bowls are 456 kcal with 22 g of protein. The dish is low in fibre, 2.3 g a bowl, because there is little vegetable in it beyond the tomato and onion base. A salad, a green sabzi or a dal fills that gap better than more gravy. What usually makes the meal heavy is the butter naan or jeera rice ordered with it.

What matters here is the kind of fat: this modest bowl has 13.8 g of fat, nearly all of it dairy, from paneer, butter and cream, and dairy fat is largely saturated. A restaurant portion, with its extra butter and cream, will carry a good deal more. People who have been told to limit saturated fat, or who are being treated for raised cholesterol or a heart condition, should ask their doctor or dietitian how often a dish like this fits their plan.