Methi Paneer

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Methi paneer is a flavorful, robust curry made with fresh fenugreek leaves, soft paneer cubes in a spiced and tangy onion, tomatoes and curd (yogurt) based gravy. The curry has bitter hints of fresh fenugreek leaves that harmoniously balance with the lightly sour and savory flavors of the other ingredients. Enjoy a satisfying lunch or dinner by pairing this restaurant style methi paneer with roti, paratha or naan.

methi paneer garnished with coriander leaves and served in a white bowl.

What is Methi Paneer

Methi Paneer translates to a dish made with fenugreek leaves and paneer. Methi is the Hindi word for fenugreek leaves and Paneer is the Indian cottage cheese, that is firm, fresh and does not melt.

Methi paneer can be simply sautéed fenugreek leaves with aromatics and paneer like a dry or semi-dry version or a rich curry or gravy version. The recipe I share is a restaurant style curry variant. I have also posted the richer Methi Malai Paneer which is a completely different and unique recipe than this one.

Many years back I started making this curry recipe. Decades ago, I had made Methi Mushroom, after adapting it from Jigg Kalra’s book, Prashad – Cooking with Indian Masters.

Then later using the same recipe with a few adaptations, I started making this methi paneer recipe.

Since this methi paneer is a tomato-based gravy, please use tomatoes which are ripe, red and not sour. If sour tomatoes are used, then the gravy will also become sour and won’t taste good.

Apart from tomatoes even onions, curd and cream are added in the gravy. So the final taste is like a restaurant style gravy.

There are hints of bitterness coming in the gravy from fresh methi leaves. Since we do not get very bitter fenugreek leaves here, I add them directly. But for very bitter fenugreek leaves, you can use the following tip.

How to reduce bitterness in fenugreek leaves

First pluck the fenugreek leaves from the stems. Rinse the leaves very well in water 3 to 4 times or more as needed. Drain all the water.

Chop the leaves. Sprinkle some salt on them. Mix well and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Then squeeze the methi leaves with your hands and then add in the recipe. This way much bitterness can be removed from methi leaves.

Remember that before you proceed with the recipe, pluck the methi leaves from the their stems. Rinse them well in water and then finely chop them.

Usually I get one or two bunches of methi leaves from the market. I pluck the leaves and keep them in an airtight box in the fridge. The leaves stay good for about 10 days.

Then I simply rinse them, chop them and add to the dish. It is more easy this way and takes less time to make any recipe with fenugreek leaves.

Serve methi paneer with roti, naan or paratha. It also goes well with steamed rice, jeera rice or saffron rice.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to make Methi Paneer

Preparation

1. Firstly rinse and chop 2 large tomatoes (240 grams). No need to blanch tomatoes.

tomatoes in blender

2. Without adding any water grind or blend to get a smooth tomato puree. If using ready tomato puree, then set aside 1 cup tomato puree.

tomatoes puree in the blender

3. In a separate small bowl, whisk ¼ cup fresh curd till smooth. Keep aside. Do not use sour curd.

whisked curd in a bowl

Sautéing Aromatics

4. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a pan. Add 2 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom, 1 inch cinnamon and 1 small to medium tej patta (Indian bay leaf). Fry for some seconds till the spices splutter and become fragrant.

spices and herbs in oil in a pan

5. Now add ⅓ cup tightly packed chopped onions.

chopped onions added to pan

6. Begin to stir and saute the onions on a low to medium heat.

sauteing onions

7. Sauté stirring often till the onions start turning golden or getting caramelized.

sauteed golden onions in the pan

8. Now add ½ tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste.

ginger garlic paste added to onions

9. Mix and saute ginger-garlic paste for some seconds or till the raw aroma of both ginger and garlic goes away.

saute the ginger garlic paste

10. Then add 1 or 2 green chilies, slit or chopped.

slit green chili added

Sautéing Tomatoes

11. Add the tomato puree.

tomato puree added

12. Stir and mix well.

mixing tomato puree with the mixture

13. Then add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon red chili powder and 1 teaspoon coriander powder. Stir and mix the spice powders very well with the onion-tomato masala.

ground spices added

14. Saute the masala, till you see some oil releasing from the sides. The masala mixture will also thicken.

mixing the spices with the masala mixture

Sautéing Fenugreek Leaves

15. Then add chopped fenugreek leaves.

methi leaves added

16. Mix well.

mixing methi leaves with the mixture

17. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes.

sauté the methi leaves and the masala mixture

Cooking Methi Gravy

18. Now switch off the heat and keep the pan on the kitchen countertop. Add the whisked curd.

curd added to the mixture

19. As soon as you add curd, begin to stir quickly and very well. Make sure that the entire curd is mixed with the onion-tomato-spices masala.

mix the curd with the mixture

20. Then add ½ cup water and mix again. You can add water as required depending on the consistency you want in the gravy.

water added as required

21. Keep the pan on stovetop and keep the heat to a low. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the gravy/curry for 8 to 10 minutes on a low heat. Do keep a check.

simmering the curry for some minutes

22. After 8 to 10 minutes the curry will thicken and you will also see oil specks on top.

the curry has thickened after some minutes

Making Methi Paneer

23. Once the curry is ready, then add paneer cubes and salt as per taste. Stir and mix gently.

Switch off the heat. After you add the paneer cubes then don’t cook them for more than a minute. Otherwise the paneer becomes chewy and dense.

paneer cubes added to curry

24. Add a pinch or two of garam masala powder or Punjabi garam masala powder.

garam masala powder added

25. Mix again.

mixing garam masala powder with the curry

26. Lastly add 2 to 3 tablespoons light cream or cooking cream or low-fat cream. Instead of light cream you can also add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or whipping cream.

cream added to methi paneer curry

27. Mix the cream with the rest of the gravy. Cream is optional and you can skip it if you want.

mixing the cream with the methi paneer curry

28. Serve methi paneer with roti, phulka, paratha, poori or naan or jeera rice or steamed basmati rice.

methi paneer served in a white bowl


More Paneer Recipes

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methi paneer recipe, paneer methi masala recipe

Methi Paneer

Methi paneer is an easy cottage cheese curry with bitter hints of fresh fenugreek leaves in a tangy tomato based gravy and tender, soft paneer cubes. Best served with roti, naan or paratha.
4.84 from 6 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Cuisine North Indian, Punjabi
Course Main Course
Diet Vegetarian
Difficulty Level Moderate
Servings 3
Units

Ingredients

For tomato puree

  • 240 grams tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes or can use 1 cup ready tomato puree

Other ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons oil – any neutral oil
  • cup chopped onions (tightly packed) – 60 grams or 1 medium sized
  • ½ tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
  • 1 or 2 green chilies – slit or sliced
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
  • 1 cup chopped fenugreek leaves (tightly packed) – 40 grams
  • ¼ cup Curd (yogurt) – 70 grams
  • ½ cup water or add as required
  • 200 to 250 grams Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) – sliced in cubes, squares or rectangles
  • 1 to 2 pinches Garam Masala
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons light cream or cooking cream or low-fat cream, optional
  • salt as required
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

Whole spices

  • 2 cloves
  • 2 green cardamoms
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf), small to medium-sized

Instructions
 

Preparation

  • Firstly rinse and chop tomatoes. No need to blanch them. Don't use sour tomatoes.
  • Without adding any water grind or blend to get a smooth tomato puree. If using ready tomato puree, then add 1 cup tomato puree.
  • In a separate small bowl, whisk fresh curd till smooth. Keep aside.

Making methi paneer

  • Heat oil in a pan. Add all the whole spices, listed under the list title "whole spices"
  • Saute the spices for some seconds till the spices splutter and become fragrant.
  • Then add the chopped onions.
  • Begin to stir and saute the onions on a low to medium heat.
  • Saute till the onions start turning golden or getting caramelized.
  • Now add ginger-garlic paste.
  • Mix and saute for some seconds or till the raw aroma of both ginger and garlic goes away.
  • Then add the green chilies, slit or chopped and tomato puree. Mix well.
  • Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Mix the spice powders very well with the onion-tomato masala.
  • Saute the masala, till you see some oil releasing from the sides. The masala mixture will also thicken.
  • Then add chopped fenugreek leaves. Mix well and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Now switch off the heat and keep the pan on the kitchen counter top.
  • Add the whisked curd.
  • As soon as you add curd, begin to stir quickly and very well. Make sure that the entire curd is mixed with the onion-tomato-spices masala.
  • Then add water and mix again. You can add water as required depending on the consistency you want in the gravy.
  • Keep the pan on stove top and keep the heat to a low.
  • Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the gravy/curry 8 to 10 minutes on a low heat. The curry will thicken and you will also see oil specks on top.
  • Add paneer cubes and salt as per taste. Mix well and switch off the heat.
  • Next add the garam masala powder. Mix again.
  • Lastly add the light cream or cooking cream or low fat cream.
  • Mix the cream with the rest of the gravy. The cream is optional and you can skip it if you want. The addition of cream gives a richer taste and makes the gravy creamier.
  • Serve methi paneer with Indian flatbreads like phulka, naan, rumali roti, tandoori roti or paratha. You can also serve it hot with steamed basmati rice or cumin rice or saffron rice or biryani rice or ghee rice.

Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)

Nutrition Facts
Methi Paneer
Amount Per Serving
Calories 397 Calories from Fat 306
% Daily Value*
Fat 34g52%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Cholesterol 55mg18%
Sodium 869mg38%
Potassium 269mg8%
Carbohydrates 11g4%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 900IU18%
Vitamin C 14.5mg18%
Calcium 429mg43%
Iron 0.9mg5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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This Methi Paneer Post from the blog archives first published in September 2016 has been republished and updated on 22 July 2021.

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Meet Dassana

Welcome to Dassana's Veg Recipes. I share vegetarian recipes from India & around the World. Having been cooking for decades and with a professional background in cooking & baking, I help you to make your cooking journey easier with my tried and tested recipes showcased with step by step photos & plenty of tips & suggestions.

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32 Comments

  1. Tried this recipe for lunch.
    It tasted fantastic. Easy to follow the recipe and tastes like restaurant style????
    Thank you5 stars

    1. glad to know. thanks for sharing the review and for the rating. welcome.

  2. Hi,
    I m first time visiter of your page.really appriciate the way its been mentioned. Especially the photos help a lot to understand recepie well.
    One request can you post some No onion no garlic Indian and continental recepie without compromise on taste.
    I also read your introduction and got to know you are very well in baking… Pls post some easy bread/loaf recepie without eggs, onion or garlic.

    Thanks you in advance and stay blessed

    1. Thanks Foram. I have already shared world & continental recipes, no onion no garlic and a lot of baking recipes without eggs. Kindly search them in the blog.

  3. Loved it! This was the first time i tried the Paneer + Methi combination and my family too thought this was yum!

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