methi malai paneer recipe with step by step photos – sharing one more restaurant style delicious recipe of methi malai paneer.
methi or fresh fenugreek leaves is often cooked at home. usually i end up making the very simple and homely aloo methi recipe. rich dishes with methi like methi matar malai recipe or methi paneer or methi malai paneer, i only cook on some weekends or when we want to have some good restaurant style food at home.
i usually avoid ordering food from restaurants or takeaways and try to cook restaurant-style recipes at home. since by now i have got enough experience in cooking, i do prepare a neat restaurant style food at home.
the recipe of this methi malai paneer is roughly adapted from the methi matar malai recipe i make. the recipe uses fresh fenugreek leaves and i do suggest to add them. but if you are not able to get them, then substitute with dry fenugreek leaves or kasuri methi (proportions mentioned in the recipe box below).
methi malai paneer literally translates to fenugreek cream cottage cheese/paneer. though, the english translation is too plain and does not do justice to the actual dish.
however, the hindi words methi malai paneer are apt for this dish. say methi and any indian will know what it tastes like. so is the case with malai and paneer. finally what one expects of this dish is what one gets. the gravy or curry is creamy, mild and lightly sweet. there is a hint of bitterness coming from the fenugreek leaves without getting overpowering. the soft paneer cubes bring a lot of texture to the otherwise smooth gravy.
the methi leaves that we get here, is not very bitter. so i just add them directly to the dish. but if you get very bitter methi leaves, then follow the tip mentioned below.
tip to reduce bitterness in fenugreek leaves:
chop the methi 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.
before you proceed with the recipe, pluck methi leaves. rinse them well in water and then finely chop them. usually i get one or two bunches from the market. pluck the leaves and keep them in an airtight box in the fridge. the leaves stay good for about 10 days. then i just rinse them, chop them and add to the dish. its more easy this way and takes less time to make any dish with methi.
methi malai paneer is good for kids who refuse to eat greens like methi. best served with flat breads like naan, paratha or rotis. also goes very well with flavored rice like jeera rice, veg pulao or kashmiri rice.
few more curry recipes for you!
methi malai paneer
INGREDIENTS FOR methi malai paneer
for masala paste
- 2 medium onions Or 175 grams onions Or 1.5 cups chopped onions
- 1 small tomato Or 50 grams tomatoes Or ¼ cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 inch ginger, chopped or 2 teaspoon chopped ginger (adrak)
- 5 to 6 small garlic cloves, chopped or 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (lahsun)
- 1 or 2 chopped green chilies Or 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies (hari mirch)
- 10 to 12 cashews (kaju) Or 2 tablespoon cashews - chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 tablespoon oil
other ingredients for methi malai paneer
- 200 to 250 grams paneer (cottage cheese) - cut in cubes or squares
- 1 cup tightly packed fresh methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) - about 40 grams methi leaves Or 2 tablespoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder (dhania powder)
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ¾ to 1 cup water - i added 1 cup water
- ¼ cup fresh cream
- 2 tablespoon oil
- salt as required
HOW TO MAKE methi malai paneer
- first pluck the methi leaves. then rinse them very well in water. chop them finely and keep aside.
making masala paste for methi malai paneer
- in a pan or kadai heat 1 tbsp oil. add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds.
- stir and saute till the cumin seeds change color and splutter.
- now add 1.5 cups chopped onions.
- stir very well and saute them on a low to medium flame till they become light brown.
- then add 2 tsp chopped ginger, 1 tsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp chopped green chilies and 10 to 12 cashews (chopped). stir till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away.
- add 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes. stir well and saute the tomatoes till they soften.
- when this onion-tomato mixture cools down, add it in a grinder jar. add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water and grind to a smooth paste. keep aside.
making methi malai paneer
- in the same pan, now add 2 tbsp oil.
- add 1 cup tightly packed finely chopped methi leaves. stir and saute the methi leaves till they wilt.
- next add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder and 1/2 tsp coriander powder.
- mix and stir the spice powders with the sauteed methi leaves.
- now add the ground paste. stir very well.
- on a low flame saute the entire mixture for 7 to 8 minutes. keep on stirring so that the masala does not stick to the pan.
- when you see some oil releasing from the sides, then add 3/4 to 1 cup water.
- stir again very well. now add salt as per taste.
- on a low to medium flame simmer the methi masala for 3 to 4 minutes.
- now add 1/4 cup cream. you can add low fat cream or whipping cream.
- stir the cream very well with the rest of the methi masala gravy.
- add paneer cubes and 1/2 tsp garam masala powder.
- now add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar. add sugar as required.
- simmer on a low flame for 1 to 2 minutes till the paneer cubes are cooked.
- serve methi malai paneer garnished with some grated paneer with tandoori rotis, naan or chapatis. this creamy gravy also goes well with jeera rice, saffron rice or kashmiri rice.
how to make methi malai paneer recipe
making masala paste
1. in a pan or kadai heat 1 tbsp oil.
2. add ½ tsp cumin seeds.
3. stir and saute till the cumin seeds change color and splutter.
4. now add 1.5 cups chopped onions.
5. stir very well and saute them on a low to medium flame.
6. saute till they become light brown.
7. then add 2 tsp chopped ginger, 1 tsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp chopped green chilies and 10 to 12 cashews (chopped). stir till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away.
8. now add ¼ cup chopped tomatoes.
9. stir well.
10. saute the tomatoes till they soften.
11. when this onion-tomato mixture cools down, add it in a grinder jar.
12. add about ¼ to ⅓ cup water and grind to a smooth paste. keep aside.
making methi malai paneer
13. in the same pan, now add 2 tbsp oil. add 1 cup tightly packed finely chopped methi leaves. substitute 2 tbsp dry methi leaves or kasoori methi for fresh ones. if using kasuri methi, then just saute them for a few seconds in the oil and proceed to step 15.
14. stir and saute the methi leaves till they wilt on a low to medium flame.
15. lower the flame and then add ¼ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp kashmiri red chili powder and ½ tsp coriander powder.
16. mix and stir the spice powders with the sauteed methi leaves.
17. now add the ground paste.
18. stir very well.
19. on a low flame saute the entire mixture for 7 to 8 minutes. keep on stirring so that the masala does not stick to the pan.
20. when you see some oil releasing from the sides, then add ¾ to 1 cup water.
21. stir again very well.
22. now add salt as per taste.
23. on a low to medium flame simmer the methi masala for 3 to 4 minutes.
24. now add ¼ cup cream. you can add low fat cream or whipping cream. stir the cream very well with the rest of the methi masala gravy.
25. add paneer cubes and ½ tsp garam masala powder.
26. now add ¼ to ½ tsp sugar. add sugar as per taste.
27. simmer on a low flame for 1 to 2 minutes till the paneer cubes are cooked.
28. serve methi malai paneer garnished with some grated paneer accompanied with tandoori rotis or naan or chapatis. this creamy gravy also goes well with jeera rice, saffron rice or kashmiri pulao.
This is honestly one of the the tastiest recipes I have made! It was a bit more time consuming than I expected, but since my husband (who’s not a big paneer fan) and my extremely picky teenage son took third helpings, I am going to be saving this as a special occasion recipe! This is the first time I have made anything from your blog, will bookmark for more tryouts. Thank you.
thank you juhi, for sharing such a lovely review. i am sure you will like the other recipes too. thanks for the rating too. welcome and happy cooking.
Hello,
I always am on a lookout for new reciepes. I loved this recipe n am surely going to try it today. I have read many other reciepes of yours n they are impressive too. Thank you for sharing.
Hi..always go through ur receipes..they all always turn to be fantastic..its a life saviour for me infact..superb receipes..great taste..
thanks a lot rajani. happy cooking.
Fab recipe. Felt like restaurant. Got lots of compliments.
thanks mamta for sharing the positive feedback as well as the rating. happy cooking.
Hi Dasanna,
Is it possible to substitute cashew with something else as some people have nuts allergy.
mamta, if possible then you use a mix of poppy seeds and melon seeds or just melon seeds. some desiccated coconut can also be added it no one has allergy to it. so use the following combinations
1) 1 tablespoon melon seeds + 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (soak both in warm to hot water for 30 minutes before grinding)
2) 1/2 tablespoon melon seeds + 1 to 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut (soak only melon seeds and poppy seeds)
3) 1/2 tablespoon melon seeds + 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut + 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (soak only melon seeds and poppy seeds)
if people have an allergy to all three, then just skip cashews.
Thanks alot. Very helpful. Yeah ur recipes are amazing. I have made many of them. Especially living outside India… u r a tastebud saver🤗
Hi Dassana! so happy to see this section back 😃🙏
thanks meevera. its been a long time. had a lot of technical issues with the comment section and have resolved them for once and for all. took a long time.
Amazing recipe and you’ve penned it down so beautifully..so Easy to follow.. have made it several times. It comes so tasty even without the garam masala at the end. Thanks so much
Welcome Divya. Glad to know that you liked methi malai paneer recipe.
I tried this as is and then substituted with spinach… both ways it was great!!
Thanks Sayanti for sharing this variation.
Delicious food recipes…..I am learning almost all my cooking from this site..
Thanks Dr.Juhi Loya for your positive feedback.
suuper thanks soo much i followed ur recipe it came so tasty
welcome santoshi
Hi Dassana
Your recipes are so so good and easy to follow. Your website is now my first point of reference for Indian vegetarian food. And I have started to cook such a variety.
Thanks Bharti for this positive feedback. Glad to know this.
Super delicious, as all your recipes are! Added sliced mushrooms to use them up, and just sautéed a bit before adding methi leaves. Was so good, reminded us of a similar sabzi we had at a nice restaurant here in Delhi. Thanks for sharing all your hard work!
thats nice to know acachia. mushrooms can be easily added. most welcome and happy cooking.
I just made this recipe following your instructions and it came out delicious!! Thank you for sharing. The step by step photos and instructions really helps.
pleased to know this seuli thanks for positive feedback 🙂
Just wanted to know, how much time does it take for the paneer to cook.
manasi, only 1 to 2 minutes.
Hello ma’am! Can we double this recipe? If not, then what changes have to be made? Also how will the cooking time change? Will it also get doubled?
pragya, gravy recipes are difficult to double up. you will have to use the method of approximation or ‘andaaz’ while adding the ingredients. the cooking time will increase if you double the recipe. in this recipe you can keep double the quantity of onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cashews, cumin seeds for the masala paste. but i would suggest to use 1.5 cups of fresh methi leaves. but spice powders & water add by using the method of approximation. cream and oil you can double.
Hello Dassana JI.
Can we double the recipe?If not,then what changes have to be made?
pragya, doubling can be tricky since methi is used. when doubling gravy recipes, you have to use method of andaaz or approximation. e.g. add the ingredients as needed.
I just tried it, it’s finger licking good. Awesome recipe Dassana.
thank you sowmya for your positive views 🙂
Hi Dassana
Yesterday I tried ur this recipe n it turned out very well…my hubby enjoyed it a lot..thanks a ton for sharing such recipe. Ur recipes are very easy to understand and make n I m big fan of ur recipes.
Thanks again n keep posting ur recipes.
thank you pratibha for your positive views and kind words 🙂 you are welcome always and will keep posting recipes.
I tried it yesterday with 2 tbsp kasturi methi and it turned out to be the super delicious and I couldn’t stop eating it!
Thanks a ton! Steps are so clear and easy to follow..
glad to know this thankyou so much ambika 🙂
Just relished this lip smacking delicacy with chapattis….. believe me had two more chapattis……..awesome recipe…….
thanks preethi for this lovely feedback. even we have extra chapatis when the gravy turns out very well 🙂