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malai paneer recipe, easy & quick malai paneer recipe in 20 minutes

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malai paneer recipe
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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 malai paneer recipe is made in a pan and in flat 20 minutes, 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. few other quick paneer recipes on the blog are:

  1. paneer bhurji
  2. tawa paneer masala
  3. kadai paneer
  4. paneer do pyaza
  5. paneer butter masala
  6. paneer tikka recipe

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.

malai paneer recipe

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 malai paneer recipe, kasuri methi is not added. i added these dried fenugreek leaves to give the dish a nice aroma and flavor.

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 matar paneer, paneer butter masala, palak paneer, achari paneer tikka, methi paneer and dry chilli paneer recipe.

malai paneer recipe below:

4.54 from 13 votes
malai paneer recipe
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malai paneer recipe
prep time
5 mins
cook time
20 mins
total time
25 mins
 

malai paneer recipe - semi dry dish of creamy and lightly spiced cottage cheese cubes. a restaurant style recipe.

course: side dish
cuisine: north indian
servings: 2 to 3
calories: 544 kcal
author: dassana
ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)
  • 200 to 250 grams paneer (cottage cheese)
  • ½ cup cream - 25% to 30% low fat cream
  • ¾ or 1 teaspoon coriander powder (dhania powder)
  • ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder Or deggi mirch Or 1/3 teaspoon of any red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • ¾ cup finely chopped onion - about 1 medium to large onion
  • 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste (adrak lahsun ka paste) Or ½ inch ginger + 2 to 3 small to medium garlic cloves crushed to a fine paste in a mortar-pestle
  • ⅛ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • ⅛ or ¼ teaspoon crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) - if the kasuri methi leaves are too bitter, then just add a pinch, (optional)
  • salt as required
how to make recipe
preparation for malai paneer recipe:
  1. first chop the paneer into cubes and keep aside.

  2. finely chop the onion. 

  3. peel and crush the ginger-garlic to a fine paste in a mortar-pestle.

making malai paneer recipe:
  1. heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. add the onions.
  2. keep on stirring whilst the onions are sauteing, so that there is uniform browning.
  3. saute till the onions start turning golden.
  4. then add the ginger-garlic paste. saute till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away. about 20 to 30 seconds.
  5. on a low flame add the coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder.

  6. stir and saute the spice powders for a couple of seconds. make sure you don't burn them. 

  7. then add the paneer cubes. on a low flame gently saute and stir the paneer cubes till they are coated with the masala.

  8. add cream and and continue to gently stir till the cream coats the paneer cubes well. 

  9. cook for about 2 to 3 minutes after adding the cream. season with salt and stir.

  10. lastly sprinkle crushed kasuri methi & garam masala. stir gently.
  11. garnish with a few coriander leaves and serve malai paneer hot as a starter snack or with naan, rotis, chapatis or bread.
recipe notes
  • the malai paneer recipe can be doubled.

rough nutrition info per serving:

Nutrition Facts
malai paneer recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 544 Calories from Fat 450
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 50g 77%
Saturated Fat 23g 115%
Cholesterol 106mg 35%
Sodium 1210mg 50%
Potassium 109mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 2g
Protein 15g 30%
Vitamin A 11.7%
Vitamin C 5.4%
Calcium 51.3%
Iron 1.3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.


lets start step by step malai paneer recipe:

1. heat oil in a pan or a small kadai/wok and add the onions.

saute onions - malai paneer recipe

2. saute the onions on a low or medium flame, till they start to turn golden.

sauting onions for making malai paneer recipe

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.

preparing malai paneer masala

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.

spice powders for malai paneer recipe

5. stir well and then add the paneer cubes. stir and saute till the masala coats the paneer well.

add paneer to make malai paneer recipe

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.

malai paneer masala

7. switch off the stove top and sprinkle crushed kasuri methi & garam masala. stir very well.

preparing malai paneer recipe

8. serve malai paneer hot garnished with some chopped coriander leaves, as a starter or with phulkas, chapatis or naan.

malai paneer recipe




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Reader Interactions

{ 56 Responses }

  1. Preeti says

    This one was a super duper hit…it tasted awesome, the cream gave it such a royal and silky texture.
    And it took only 20mins to make.

    Thank you.

  2. Toral says

    Hi Dassana,

    I am ur big fan!!!
    Thank you so much for sharing so many wonderful veg delcacies’
    i just love this recipe as well, i live in USA and i am not sure what will be the best substitute of malai most the recipes having malai as an ingredient.

    • says

      toral, in USA one gets various types of cream like light cream, whipping cream, heavy cream. you can use light cream, whipping cream or heavy cream in the recipes.

  3. Udit says

    I want to ask that instead of cream which you used, can I use maionese cream to make the dish. Thank you for the recipe.

  5. Megha says

    Thank you Dassana. You really make cooking fun,full of love and flavourful.
    Thank you for blessing us with love of cooking.
    God bless you…

  6. Aey jea says

    Hiiii ma’am
    I have tried almost every recipe of yours and they have came out really well.? Being a girl I have to learn about cooking?, and this site and ur simple way of explanation for every single recipe makes it more easier for me.?…thank u for that…lots of love….?
    Actually i tried a dish today in a restaurant named Veg. Nilgiri Korma…I even searched the recipe but nothing helped me….can u pls add it? Please☺️
    And yes…this malai paneer was finger licking good?….keep up the good work…and ya thanks from mom…again?

    Aey

  8. Prerna says

    Awesome…I was looking for some paneer recipe without tomatoes & I found this one…I am sure it would taste good…Thanks

  9. 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

  10. 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:)

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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…

  15. 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 🙂

    • 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.

  17. Shubha says

    Tried this yesterday, and it came out delicious.

    I think you have missed mentioning garam masala at Step4.

    thanks for the recipe.

  18. 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.

    • 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.

  19. 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

  20. 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?

  21. 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

  22. 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.

  24. 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!!

    • 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

      • 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.