Creamy Methi Malai Paneer is a wonderful paneer curry with fresh fenugreek leaves. Great with any Indian bread!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

For onion-cashew paste

  • 2 medium red onions (roughly chopped)
  • 10 cashew nuts (roasted)
  • 1 inch ginger (chopped)
  • 3-4 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
  • 1 green chili (sliced)
  • 3 green cardamom pods
  • 1 cup water

For curry

  • 2 tablespoons ghee (also known as clarified butter)
  • 1-2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
  • 1 cup firmly packed methi/fenugreek leaves (chopped fine)
  • 225 grams paneer (cubed)
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder + more to sprinkle on top
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
  • salt (to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (crushed)

Method

Make the onion-cashew paste

  1. To a pan on medium heat, add 1 cup water, roughly chopped onion, ginger, garlic, cardamom pods (I crush them before adding), sliced green chili and cashews.
  2. Simmer for 15-20 minutes on medium heat. Onions will be really soft by then and almost all water would have evaporated.
  3. Remove pan from heat and let the mixture cool down a bit.
  4. Grind to a smooth paste using your blender or food processor. You don't need to add any water here since the mixture already has little water it in and will grind quite easily. Set aside.

Make the curry

  1. Add 2 tablespoons ghee in pan on medium heat.
  2. Once the ghee is hot, add cinnamon stick and bay leaf to it. Saute for 30 seconds or till you get a nice aroma.
  3. Now add the ground onion-cashew paste. Cook this for 3-4 minutes.
  4. After the paste has cooked for 3-4 minutes, add all dry spices - coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder.
  5. Also add the chopped methi. Cook the spices with the methi for 2 minutes.
  6. Then water, salt and let the curry simmer for 3-4 minutes. This will also cook the methi leaves.
  7. Add heavy cream and mix.
  8. Add paneer cubes and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
  9. And finally add crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and sprinkle little garam masala on top.
  10. Remove pan from heat. Serve methi malai paneer hot with roti/paratha.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.