Bored of usual paneer recipes? Here is something different, something tasty, and still made from paneer. This is Methi Paneer aka Fenugreek paneer. The taste of this paneer curry will leave you asking for more. The smooth gravy and paneer pieces dipped in this thick sauce (gravy) has one of the amazing taste.
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There are millions of paneer recipes suiting tastebuds of everyone, and considering the love for paneer by Indians (and across the globe now), you come up with a paneer recipe, you will find someone or other will love that paneer. There are recipes which are more traditional and some which are pretty modern and then some which are twist or fusion to traditional.
At my home, none of us are super huge fan of paneer, sounds unreal…isn’t? But that’s reality, I love my veggies. Finding fresh vegetables during covid-19 had been a challenge.
However, I have ample supply of fresh milk. This meant I can make paneer from fresh milk.
As we as family do not have paneer as no.1 dish for us, I wanted to make something different and checked my kitchen cupboard and found some dry fenugreek leaves. That’s it! I decided I am making “Methi Paneer”.
More about Methi paneer
Methi = Fenugreek and Paneer = Indian cottage cheese, the combination of these two yields such amazing flavours that my hubby who prefers paneer less, was drooling over it.
What is Methi / Fenugreek
Methi itself has got good health benefits (and hence try to keep it in my kitchen). Some of the benefits of methi are that it helps in better digestion, used in kidney ailments. Breast feeding mothers use fenugreek for better milk flow, some men use it for hernia
Methi is less popular in UK however in India its pretty common, especially in winters and the fragrance of methi is mouthwatering. As I scribble this recipe, I am salivating thinking of Methi Parathas and Methi Thepla
Fenugreek or methi is so versatile that I will normally add a teaspoon of it in many of my dishes. The added methi simply enhances the taste multifolds.
This methi paneer curry is fairly easy to make and does not require expertise in cooking. In other words you do not need to be master chef participant to make this methi paneer.
The recipe takes about 30 mins and assumption is that you have paneer to hand. If you are one like me who makes her own paneer, then you do need to plan ahead.
Gravy / sauce for methi paneer
The gravy of this paneer is thick and rich. Some people will prefer to add cashew paste to make it thick, however I have not used cashews in this curry. My reason to not use cashew is that it would make curry even more heavier and add to more calories too.
Gravy here is made from onion and tomato puree, have used set yogurt too, which gives great texture, enhances taste as well as if methi is bitter, yogurt milds away the bitter taste.
If you are going to be using readymade paneer (which you may have kept in refrigerator), I will recommend that you keep that paneer in warm water for 15-20 mins so that the paneer is softened and with soft paneer pieces this methi paneer will taste manyfold better. This methi paneer is very much gluten free as well and suitable for gluten intolerants.
Method
- First of all grind the tomatoes and onions separately and beat the yogurt to make it smooth and keep them aside.
- In a pan heat oil over medium heat. Add butter and once it’s melted, add cumin seeds, bay leaves and cinnamon stick and sauté for a minute.
- Subsequently, add ground onion paste to it and sauté till it turns pink.
- Add ginger garlic paste and sauté again till the raw smell fades away. Now, add all the spices (Garam Masala, Kashmiri Red Chilli, Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder) except salt now and sauté again for a minute.
- Add puréed tomatoes and sauté till all the moisture is evaporated.
- Now add yogurt and 1/3 cup of water and continuously stir it till it starts boiling.
- Add 2 tablespoon of Kasuri methi and salt now and mix. Cover the pan with lid and let it cook for 7-8 minutes.
- Open the lid and sauté again for 2-3 minutes till you start seeing oil on the edges. Now add paneer cubes and rest 1 tablespoon of kasuri methi to it and mix well. Sauté for 2-3 minutes and switch off the heat.
- Transfer it to a serving bowl and that’s it.
Pro Tips
- You can add/reduce the amount of Kasuri methi in this recipe, I used 3 tablespoon as that was the right quantity for my family’s taste. Remember too much of fenugreek would taste bitter.
- Roast the mixture properly before adding paneer as roasting gives perfect taste as well the colour of gravy also looks lush.
- At the point of adding yogurt, remember to constantly stir, else yogurt will curdle, and can spoil whole dish.
- If its store bought paneer, keep the paneer in warm water for about 20 mins, so that paneer can soften.
- You can add more yogurt if your methi is bitter.
Serving suggestion
Enjoy this paneer with paratha, naan or bread of your choice.
Below is step by step, detailed recipe of methi paneer.
Recipe Card
Methi Paneer
Ingredients
- 250 Grams Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese
- 2 Onions Medium size
- 3 Tomatoes Medium size
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1/2 Cup Yogurt
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 Teaspoon Salt As per taste
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 Bayleaves
- 1 Inch Cinnamon stick
- 3 Tablespoon Fenugreek Leaves / Kasuri Methi
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
Instructions
- First of all grind the tomatoes and onions separately and beat the yogurt to make it smooth and keep them aside.
- In a pan heat oil over medium heat. Add butter and once it’s melted, add cumin seeds, bay leaves and cinnamon stick and sauté for a minute.
- Add ground onion paste to it and sauté till it turns pink.
- Add ginger garlic paste and sauté again till the raw smell fades away. Add all the spices (Garam Masala, Kashmiri Red Chilli, Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder) except salt now and sauté again for a minute.
- Add puréed tomatoes and sauté till all the moisture is evaporated.
- Now add yogurt and 1/3 cup of water and continuously stir it till it starts boiling.
- Add 2 tablespoon of Kasuri methi and salt now and mix. Cover the pan with lid and let it cook for 7-8 minutes.
- Open the lid and sauté again for 2-3 minutes till you start seeing oil on the edges. Now add paneer cubes and rest 1 tablespoon of Kasuri methi to it and mix well. Sauté for 2-3 minutes and switch off the heat.
- Transfer it to a serving bowl and enjoy it with parantha, naan or bread of your choice.
Video
Notes
- You can add/reduce the amount of Kasuri methi in this recipe, I used 3 tablespoon as that was the right quantity for my family’s taste. Remember too much of fenugreek would taste bitter.
- Roast the mixture properly before adding paneer as roasting gives perfect taste as well the colour of gravy also looks lush.
- At the point of adding yogurt, remember to constantly stir, else yogurt will curdle, and can spoil whole dish.
- If its store bought paneer, keep the paneer in warm water for about 20 mins, so that paneer can soften.
- You can add more yogurt if your methi is bitter.
[…] Moreover the best part about kasuri methi is even a pinch of it adds tons of flavours. For example, for this particular recipe, when using fresh leaves you would need about two cups of it. However, when using the dried herb, just about three tablespoons will do the magic. Additionally, since kasuri methi is a pantry ingredient, it is always available at hand and stays good for long. My recipe here is inspired by my Instagram friend Meenu. You could check her version of the methi paneer here. […]