Paneer Reshmi Chicken Handi

5 from 18 votes

An Italian cuisine inspired Pakistani Curry recipe. It's rich creamy and tastes great with hot garlic naan.

Course Dinner Recipes

Cuisine Pakistani

Keyword paneer reshmi handi recipe

Prep Time 7

Cook Time 25

Total Time 32

Servings

Calories 615kcal

In a pot, heat oil then add chopped onion, chilli, garlic and ginger paste. Mix well and cover the pot. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until onions are soft.
Switch off heat then add yogurt. Transfer gravy to a food processor and blend for 2-3 minutes until you have a very smooth this gravy. Set aside.
Remove veggies to a plate and set aside.

In a bowl, mix chicken, salt and flour.
Again in same pot, heat butter on low flame. Add the chicken and cumin powder. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes until color changes.
Add sliced onion and capsicum, saute for 2 minutes until soft.
Now add yogurt gravy, cover the pot and cook for 2 minutes.
Now add cream and cheese to the chicken pot. Mix well and simmer for 2-3 minutes. (Add 2 tablespoons of water to thin out gravy if needed.) Protip: Do not cook on high heat after adding cream.
Add butter and chilies on the sides of the pot and simmer for 1 more minute until oil separates. Served with crispy garlic naan.

Chicken: I used chicken breast pieces, as we will use velveting technique here so the breast pieces will stay juicy.
Ginger, garlic, green chili: I'm using a paste of these spices, you can use roughly chopped or minced as well. Because we will eventually blend it.
Veggies: I'm using capsicum and onion slices which are authentically used in malai handi, you can add less or more of these or skip it too. Other veggie options are corn and green onions.
Onion: Do be confused to see onion twice in the ingredients list. We need two cuts of onions, one for gravy and another sliced cut for veggies in the gravy.
Cheese: I've tried using cheddar, cream cheese, and mozzarella in this recipe. Cheddar has a more sharp taste that I like. Mozzarella cheese would give those cheesy strands in the handi that many won't like and some would die for. The cream cheese gives that super creamy taste. So it's a personal choice. I'd suggest a mix of cheddar and mozzarella. I used bare minimum cheese, the restaurants would add extra in this handi.
Yogurt: Full fat or skim yogurt both works for this handi. If using greek yogurt, just use less of it as it is very rich and thick compared to regular yogurt.
Cream: Use unsweetened full-fat cream, you can also use malai instead.