Methi malai paneer or Methi paneer is a rich and creamy milk-based gravy made with paneer(cottage cheese), fresh methi leaves and milk or cream. This rich gravy is the best pair for naan, roti and parathas.
The name literally means ‘fenugreek leaves creamy paneer gravy. The mild bitterness of the fresh methi leaves is perfectly balanced with the succulent, smooth richness of the malai. Malai means the milk fat collected by reducing whole milk for a long time. This malai is practically replaced with fresh milk cream in gravies.
Moreover like any other NorthIndian or Punjabi base gravy, we use the paste of onion, tomato and cashews to give extra richness. Cook this with paneer, methi leaves along with milk or cream and add in your favorite level of spice powders, your restaurant style Methi malai paneer is ready in your kitchen.
Ingredients & notes:
Methi leaves – Use freshly picked methi(fenugreek) leaves without the fine branches. If you are not having fresh leaves still want this Methi paneer gravy badly, simply use dried fenugreek (Kasuri methi) leaves.
Paneer – Store-bought or homemade anything is fine. Homemade paneer may not make a nice appearance but definitely the winner in texture and softness. If you use a store-bought paneer, immerse the cubes in warm water for 15 minutes before using.
Malai – Fresh milk cream is used for creaminess. If you don’t have or don’t prefer heavy malai, use whole full-fat milk instead. I find no difference in the taste and suits our taste perfectly.
Spices – Green cardamom, cinnamon bark and bay leaf are the whole spices here. Powder spices are Kashmiri chili powder(for the bright color) and coriander powder and cumin powder. Here you can use slit green chillies and skip red chilli powder for a whitish malai gravy. Kashmiri chilli powder gives a bright orange hue to the methi paneer gravy.
For the exact measurement of ingredients please check out the recipe card section. Also, a video is uploaded in the recipe card for beginners and the stepwise picture explanations are given below. If you like my video making, please subscribe to my Youtube channel 🙂
Serving suggestions:
Give a bowl of this yum Methi malai paneer gravy, I can gobble it up as it is!…yes it’s true I love the perfect combination of everything and it is tasty why not?
Enjoy this with your favorite pulav ( simple veg pulao or Ghee rice or Jeera pulav) or plain wheat roti or naan or Paratha. I usually pair it with butter naan or Laccha paratta, the heavenly combos.
I like to include methi leaves because of the exotic aroma these fresh or dried leaves can literally infuse in any dish you make. Fenugreek leaves contain lots of iron content which is common knowledge and can prevent Anaemia, hair loss and many more. Popular methi(Vendhaya keerai in Tamil, Menthi in Telugu) recipes from my blog,
Preparation:
- Chop 1/2 onion and one tomato roughly.
- If not using ginger garlic paste, peel 6 garlic cloves and an inch of ginger and keep ready. Use these whole ginger and garlic while making the gravy base paste.
- If using store-bought paneer, cut into cubes and put in warm water.
- Pick fresh methi leaves without branches and rinse well. For 250g paneer, roughly 2 cups of methi leaves will be perfect.
Recipe:
Butter saute paneer and Methi leaves:
- Heat a tbsp of butter in a large, shallow fry pan(preferably non-stick) and add the paneer cubes. Quickly and gently toss them in butter. Basically, we are not cooking the paneer but just quick sautéing for 30 seconds. This step makes the soft paneer a little firm and if you like soft paneer in your malai gravy, you can skip frying paneer in butter. Just move on to the next step.
- Add the fresh methi leaves and saute them with paneer for 2 to 3mins until the leaves become soft and cooked. Transfer paneer and methi to another plate.
How to make Methi paneer gravy:
- Add one tsp of butter to the same pan and 2tsp gg paste(6 garlic and a piece of ginger), 1/2 roughly chopped onions, 1 tomato and 5 whole cashews. Mix with butter, keep the heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for 5 to 8mins.
- In the hot butter steam, the onions will brown and the tomato will be soft. Switch off and let the contents cool down. Grind into a smooth paste without using water and keep ready.
- Next, heat a tsp of butter(you can use ghee) again, fry 1 bay leaf, 2 cardamoms and cinnamon bark.
- Add the tomato cashew onion paste to the pan with a tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder and 3/4 tsp of coriander powder.
- Mix well and cook the gravy for a minute. When the butter comes to the top, add a cup of water and cook again for 5mins. Also add a tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of cumin powder and 1/2 tsp of garam masala. 1/2 tsp of sugar for mild sweetish malai gravy. I didn’t add it as we like the gravy a little bit spicy.
- When the gravy is bubbly add the sautéed paneer and methi leaves. Mix well, add a cup of whole milk(1/4 cup fresh cream) and cook for a minute.
- Switch off and serve Methi malai paneer with naan, roti, or parathas. You can garnish with a dash of cream before serving.
Tips:
1) For me whole full-fat milk works fine and you can replace it with half and a half or little fresh cream.
2) Skip tossing paneer in butter if you like soft paneer cubes. Also, please keep store-bought paneer in warm water for 10mins before using.
3) If you don’t get fresh methi leaves in your place, replace them with dried fenugreek leaves( Kasuri methi 1/2 dried in place of 2 cups fresh). And for dried leaves skip frying in butter and add directly to the gravy.
Methi malai paneer | Methi paneer gravy
Equipment
- Cooking pan
- Non-stick pan
- Blender
Ingredients
To toss & add:
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 250 g Paneer
- 2 cups Methi leaves
To sauté & grind:
- 1 tsp butter
- 2 tsp gg paste
- ½ Onion roughly chopped
- 1 Tomato
- 5 whole Cashews
To the gravy:
- 2 tsp Butter
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 Cinnamon barks
- 2 Cardamom
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- ¾ tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Sugar optional
- 1 tsp Cumin powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- 1 cup Full-fat milk or ¼ cup Fresh milk cream
Instructions
Recipe:
Butter saute paneer and Methi leaves:
- Heat a tbsp of butter in a large, shallow fry pan(preferably non-stick) and add the paneer cubes. Quickly and gently toss them in butter. Basically, we are not cooking the paneer but just quick sautéing for 30 seconds. This step makes the soft paneer a little firm and if you like soft paneer in your malai gravy, you can skip frying paneer in butter. Just move on to the next step.
- Add the fresh methi leaves and saute them with paneer for 2 to 3mins until the leaves become soft and cooked. Transfer paneer and methi to another plate.
How to make methi paneer gravy:
- Add one tsp of butter to the same pan and add 2tsp gg paste(6 garlic and a piece of ginger), 1/2 roughly chopped onions, 1 tomato and 5 whole cashews. Mix with butter, keep the heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for 5mins.
- In the hot butter steam, the onions will brown and the tomato will be soft. Switch off and let the contents cool down. Grind into a smooth paste without using water and keep ready.
- Next, heat a tsp of butter(you can use ghee) again, fry 1 bay leaf, 2 cardamoms and cinnamon bark. Add the tomato cashew onion paste to the pan with a tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder and 3/4 tsp of coriander powder.
- Mix well and cook the gravy for a minute. When the butter comes to the top, add a cup of water and cook again for 5mins. Also add a tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of cumin powder and 1/2 tsp of garam masala. 1/2 tsp of sugar for mild sweetish malai gravy. I didn't add as we like the gravy a little bit spicy.
- When the gravy is bubbly add the sautéed paneer and methi leaves. Mix well, add a cup of whole milk(1/4 cup fresh cream) and cook for a minute.
- Switch off and serve with naan, roti, or parathas. You can garnish with a dash of cream before serving.
Video
Notes
1) For me whole full-fat milk works fine and you can replace it with half and a half or little fresh cream.
2) Skip tossing paneer in butter if you like soft paneer cubes. Also, please keep store-bought paneer in warm water for 10mins before using.
3) If you don't get fresh methi leaves in your place, replace it with dried fenugreek leaves( Kasuri methi 1/2 dried in place of 2 cups fresh). And for dried leaves skip frying in butter and add directly to the gravy.
