malai paneer recipe with step by step photos – soft, melt in the mouth creamy paneer recipe made easy and quick and also restaurant style.
the paneer cubes have a similar taste like that of malai paneer tikka. however, the whole recipe is made in a pan and in flat 20 mins, if you have the paneer ready. just add a couple of minutes to chop the onions and crush the ginger-garlic. so you have a entire dish ready in 25 mins. one of the best and quickest paneer recipes.
i make paneer at home the night before, whenever i make any paneer dish. i avoid buying paneer from outside. this dish would go very well as a starter or a mocktail/cocktail snack. since we are chapati and rice people at home, i served this malai paneer with chapatis and a side onion-lemon salad and cucumber-carrot salad.
this malai paneer dish is semi dry and has a nice moistness due to the cream. i have used amul cream here. if you live outside india, you can use any good quality 25% to 30% low fat cream. the ingredients are easy to get, except for kasuri methi. just skip kasuri methi if you don’t have it or substitute with a pinch of fenugreek seeds powder.
the malai paneer recipe has been adapted and modified from the cook book 1000 great indian recipes (India | US). when i read the recipe, it immediately clicked to me that this is such a quick & easy paneer recipe and that too from the restaurant chefs. the quickness and ease of this recipe made me try it without a second thought….. and its good i made this recipe. this is a recipe for keeps. one more recipe in my basket, which i can make when we have unexpected guests or relatives.
i halved the recipe and reduced the ridiculous proportions of oil in the recipe and increased the proportion of cream. added the amount of spices which suit us and did not make it spicy or hot. in the original recipe, kasuri methi is not added. i added these dried fenugreek leaves to give the dish a nice aroma and flavor.
few other quick paneer recipes on the blog are paneer bhurji, tawa paneer masala, kadai paneer, paneer pakora and quick paneer tikka.
lets start step by step malai paneer recipe:
1. heat oil in a pan or a small kadai/wok and add the onions.
2. saute the onions on a low or medium flame, till they start to turn golden.
3. then add the ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away. by this time all the onions would also have browned. make sure you don’t burn the onions as this will give a bitter taste in the dish.
4. lower the flame and then add the spice powders – coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder. stir and saute the masala for a couple of seconds without burning them.
5. stir well and then add the paneer cubes. stir and saute till the masala coats the paneer well.
6. add the cream and saute as well as stir till you see fat leaving the sides or the cream has coated the paneer cubes. just cook for about 2 to 3 minutes after you add the cream. also add salt after you add the cream.
7. switch off the stove top and sprinkle crushed kasuri methi & garam masala. stir very well.
8. serve malai paneer hot garnished with some chopped coriander leaves, as a starter or with phulkas, chapatis or naan.
if you are looking for more paneer recipes then do check paneer butter masala, palak paneer, mutter paneer, paneer jalfrezi, paneer makhanwala, paneer barfi, paneer khurchan and tawa paneer masala.
malai paneer recipe below:
- 200 to 250 gms paneer/cottage cheese
- ½ cup cream 25% to 30% low fat
- ¾ tsp or 1 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
- ½ tsp kashmiri red chili powder or deggi mirch (lal mirch powder) or ⅓ tsp of any red chili powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
- 2 tbsp oil
- ¾ cup finely chopped onion - about 1 medium to large onion
- 1 tsp ginger -garlic paste, ½ inch ginger + 2 to 3 small to medium garlic cloves crushed to a fine paste in a mortar-pestle
- ⅛ tsp garam masala powder
- ⅛ or ¼ tsp crushed kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves (optional) - if the kasuri methi leaves are too bitter, then just add a pinch.
- salt as required
- first chop the paneer into cubes and keep aside.
- finely chop the onion. peel and crush the ginger-garlic to a fine paste in a mortar-pestle.
- heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. add the onions.
- keep on stirring whilst the onions are sauteing, so that there is uniform browning.
- saute till the onions start turning golden.
- then add the ginger-garlic paste. saute till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away. about 20 to 30 seconds.
- on a low flame add the coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder.
- stir and saute the spice powders for a couple of seconds. make sure you don't burn them. then add the paneer cubes. on a low flame gently saute and stir the paneer cubes till they are coated with the masala.
- add cream and and continue to gently stir till the cream coats the paneer cubes well. cook for about 2 to 3 minutes after adding the cream. season with salt and stir.
- lastly sprinkle crushed kasuri methi & garam masala. stir gently.
- garnish with a few coriander leaves and serve malai paneer hot as a starter snack or with naan, rotis, chapatis or bread.
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Prerna says
Awesome…I was looking for some paneer recipe without tomatoes & I found this one…I am sure it would taste good…Thanks
dassana amit says
welcome prerna. glad to know that you liked the recipe.
Kaya Chatterjee says
Hello!!!!!dassana can u use milk instead of cream because it is very difficult to get hold of cream in my area
dassana amit says
you can use malai. just collect malai and keep covered in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. then with a hand held blender just blend the malai and you will get smooth cream. adding milk will give a different consistency. so i won’t suggest adding milk.
Aparn says
Tried this recipe out and it turned out delicious! Truly has a restaurant touch with the rich creaminess and melt in your mouth bites of paneer were appreciated by everyone in my family.
Great work on the blog Dassana, keep it up:)
dassana amit says
thanks aparna for this positive feedback.
verma says
Have tried loads of ur recipes with success. yours is my go to blog when it comes to cooking Indian food. kudos to u for putting in so much work into ur recipes.
dassana amit says
thanks verma for this positive feedback and kind words.
swati says
Tried out this recipe today. Everyone loved it. Thanks for posting everything in such a simplified manner. I love your site, it basically taught me cooking.
dassana amit says
welcome swati. glad to know that the blog is helping you in cooking.
arpita says
dis recipe is simply awesum. i am a new kitchn entrant and ur blog is a perfect guide. most recipes have turned out 2 b superhit.
dassana amit says
thanks arpita for your feedback.
Girish says
Thank you soo much…
I was soo happy to see the expression on my daughter and wife’s face when they tasted this. It was soo good that I told my daughter that I brought it from hotel.
It was soo easy, soo simple and soo tasty…
Thanks a lot for such a wonderful recipe…
dassana amit says
welcome girish. glad to know that you all liked the recipe.
Anusha says
I tried this recipe yesterday, it turned out so delicious that there was nothing left for me to eat
And for someone who cooks, what could be a better compliment than that!
Thank you so much Dassana for the recipe. To add to it, whatever I have tried from your blog has always turned out right
dassana amit says
welcome anusha. glad to get this comment from someone who knows cooking. thanks for sharing positive feedback on recipes. it helps and make a difference to us as well as to other readers.
Dhanalakshmi says
Tried out this recipe with tofu and it came out excellent!!!
Thanks Dassana!
dassana amit says
welcome dhanalakshmi
Shubha says
Tried this yesterday, and it came out delicious.
I think you have missed mentioning garam masala at Step4.
thanks for the recipe.
dassana amit says
thanks for the feedback. will add the missing bit.
V says
Tried this recipe, came out tasty.. thanks for the recipe.
It will be great if you can make a recipe index.. its difficult to scroll and navigate when we want to see the list of recipes.
dassana amit says
thanks V. we are working on the recipe index. it was there before. now we want to make it better so working on it. thats why its not visible.
Meera says
what kind of malai do I use ? I live abroad and not sure what to use as malai…..milk over here don’t give us malai or cream at all…..please suggest! Many Thanks
dassana amit says
meera, please use readymade low fat cream.
Megha says
Wonderful! Quick, simple and tasty! What else can I ask for. My family loved it.
As a regular visitor of this blog a kind request- can you please post some more baking recipes eggless ones?
dassana amit says
thanks megha. yes, i will do.
parvathy t says
Superb Blog..I am new in the cooking nd loves paneer,so thought of starting with paneer recipies..this blog is better than any others..explaind well,and pictures are too good…
Thanks to You Dassana Amit
dassana amit says
welcome parvathy and thanks for this positive feedback. i am touched and humbled.
Hitul says
This has always been my all time favourite, the step by step method with images is the best guide. I realised my previous mistakes from your given illustration and will certainly follow the illustration and trust that the dish turns out splendidly enticing. Thanks a million Dassana.
dassana amit says
what mistake you made
welcome hitul.
Preetha says
Wow.. paneer looks so succulent.. lip smacking..
monika says
Dassana..you are a star!! You explain a recipe in such a way that the most difficult one seems so easy… this paneer recipe and all other paneer recipes are just fantastic… you have made everyone a chef… hats off to your cooking skills… i am a big fan of your blog… keep it up!!
dassana amit says
welcome monika and big thanks for your positive feedback.i feel you are over rating me but i am happy to read it.
veenashankar says
so tasty malai paneer. sure treat for the paneer lovers
Maria says
Love malai paneer, also a quick and delicious recipe. Surely would try it.
Swati Singhh says
Malai paneer recipe looks yummy and is a change from usual matar paneer which is common in indian household
Swati
aparnarajeshkumar says
oh very easy one , any thing for paneer. I loved the cream and paneer combo
traditionallymodernfood says
Yummy malai paneer:)
Sukhmeet says
I’m just 14 & I just love cooking ……I tried this recipe it was so tastyyyy & mango & cheese cake was also so tasty …………I just wanna thank u for these dishes which we feel were so difficult when we use to eat it in hotels I just wanna ask a question that can we use home made cream also
dassana amit says
sukhmeet, at this age your are doing wonders. way to go. all the best for your future. yes you can use homemade cream too. in fact i am surprised how you know that cream can be made at home too. thanks for the feedback on the recipes.