Best Paneer in Bangkok

Paneer is the backbone of the vegetarian menu at BHARAT Flavours Of India in Huai Khwang: eleven paneer curries on the main course (veg) menu, seven paneer starters (most of them off the charcoal tandoor), plus paneer breads, a paneer fried rice and two Indo-Chinese paneer dishes. We cook with fresh paneer — cubed and cooked to order rather than sitting in a warm gravy all evening, which is what turns paneer chewy. The kitchen is halal-friendly and pork-free, and we currently hold 4.8 on Google across 164 reviews. If you are eating vegetarian more broadly, start with Indian vegetarian food in Bangkok.

How we cook paneer

Two things decide whether paneer is worth ordering: how long it has been sitting, and how hard it has been cooked. Paneer that is boiled in gravy for a service tightens and squeaks. So the gravies are built first — onion and tomato masala, cashew paste, cream or spinach purée as the dish requires — and the paneer goes in at the end, just long enough to heat through and take on the masala. For the tikkas the cubes are marinated in yogurt and spice and go straight into the charcoal tandoor at around 480 °C, where four or five minutes is enough to char the edges and leave the middle soft. The same oven does our breads and tandoori dishes — there is more about it on the best tandoori in Bangkok page.

The paneer curries

All of these are on the veg main course, roughly ฿200–240 a plate, and every one of them is cooked to order:

• Paneer Butter Masala — mild, creamy, lightly sweet tomato gravy. The one to order first, and the vegetarian counterpart to our butter chicken.
• Shahi Paneer — richer and Mughlai in style, cashew and cream forward rather than tomato forward.
• Kadai Paneer — the spicy one: bell pepper, onion and coarsely pounded kadai masala, finished in a hot pan.
• Palak Paneer — paneer in a smooth spinach gravy, the lightest of the group.
• Paneer Lababdar and Paneer Do Pyaza — the two most-overlooked dishes on the page: one silky and tomato-butter based, one built on browned onion.
• Malai Kofta — paneer-and-potato dumplings in a cashew gravy, for anyone who wants the flavour without the cubes.

Matar Paneer, Paneer Bhurji, Paneer Masala, Paneer Makhni Wala and Paneer Tikka Masala round out the section; the full menu lists prices for all of them. This is standard North Indian home cooking rather than restaurant invention — the background is on our North Indian food in Bangkok page.

Paneer from the tandoor

The veg starters menu is where the tandoor does the work; the paneer ones run ฿220–260 a plate: Paneer Tikka (the classic yogurt-and-spice marinade), Paneer Malai Tikka (mild, cream and cardamom, the one children finish), Pudina Paneer Tikka (mint and coriander), Achari Paneer Tikka (pickling spices, sharp and tangy), Paneer Pahadi Tikka, Paneer Multani Tikka and Paneer 65, which is fried rather than grilled and the spiciest of the set.

What to order

For two people: one Paneer Tikka to start, one Paneer Butter Masala or Kadai Paneer, a dal, and two breads. If the table is split between mild and spicy, order Paneer Butter Masala and Kadai Paneer together — same cheese, opposite ends of the heat range. Paneer also takes well to bread rather than rice: Paneer Paratha and Paneer Kulcha are stuffed and cooked in the same tandoor.

Away from the North Indian half of the menu the wok station adds three more, ฿200–230 a plate: Paneer Fried Rice, and from the Indo-Chinese section Paneer Chilli and Paneer Black Pepper — cubes fried crisp and tossed to order on a high-flame wok, soy and green chilli for the first, coarse black pepper for the second.

Paneer is a dairy cheese, so none of these dishes are vegan — but much of the rest of the menu is, and the kitchen can rebuild most curries without onion and garlic for Jain diners. Tell your server when you order. Our sourcing and halal policy is set out on the halal page: halal-friendly with halal-marked meat and a pork-free kitchen, though we are not CICOT-certified.

Find us & order

We are at 2055 New Phetchaburi Road in Huai Khwang, two minutes' walk from Grand Mercure, open 9 AM to 11:30 PM, every day. Book a table on the reservations page or call +66 97 923 7281. For delivery, GrabFood and LINE MAN cover the neighbourhood, and direct WhatsApp or app orders over ฿1,000 get free delivery anywhere in Bangkok — paneer gravies survive the trip better than almost anything else we cook.

Frequently asked

What kind of paneer do you cook with?

Fresh paneer, cut and cooked to order for each dish rather than held in a gravy all day. That is why it stays soft and takes on the masala instead of turning rubbery.

Which paneer dish is the most popular?

Paneer Butter Masala by a distance: mild, creamy and crowd-pleasing. For something richer try Shahi Paneer, and for more spice try Kadai Paneer.

Do you have vegan options if I do not eat dairy?

Paneer is a dairy cheese, so it is not vegan, but a large part of our menu is, including many dals and vegetable curries. Tell us and we will point you to the vegan dishes.

Does paneer travel well for delivery?

Very well. Paneer gravies like butter masala and kadai hold their heat and texture in transit, so they are excellent for delivery on GrabFood or LINE MAN.