Matar Paneer

Matar Paneer is a North-Indian style curry made using fresh green peas and soft Indian Cottage cheese (Paneer). This dish is quite popular in restaurants and all the more preferred in Dhabas, which are food joints along the highways.

Unlike the other paneer dishes, which are mostly rich and creamy, this dish is slightly spicy and fierce and not loaded with cream or cashewnuts. However, as they say, there is no hard and fast rule in cooking, the recipes could be adjusted to one’s liking and this dish would also taste equally good if it is made with certain variations.

Fresh green peas is available in abundance during the winters in India and I enjoy making this dish around this time, as it not only tastes better with the fresh produce but it is also quite comforting with some hot parathas on chilly days. Frozen green peas also works fine for this, just make sure to soak the frozen peas in water for 10-15 mins before cooking, as they plump up well.

Similarly, fresh home made paneer always tastes best, but store bought paneer too works well for this dish. Just make sure to soak the store bought paneer in hot water for at least 15-20 mins to get soft and spongy paneer! Some like to shallow fry the paneer in oil, and if you do so, soak the fried paneer in water for some time so that they are not hard and chewy.

For Matar paneer, I like to keep the ratio of onions higher than the tomatoes and like to cook them till they are golden brown as they bring a natural sweetness to the dish which balances the spice levels of the masala. Also, I try to keep the amount of oil or butter slightly higher than the other dishes as it enhances the taste and flavour.

Serving Suggestions

Matar Paneer tastes best when served with Parathas, Lachcha parathas, Naan or Ghee Phulkas. It also pairs well as an accompaniment with plain rice or jeera rice.

Matar Paneer

Kannan

Matar Paneer is a north-Indian style curry made with fresh green peas and Indian cottage cheese, cooked in a onion and tomato based gravy

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, North-Indian, Punjabi

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 200 gms Paneer
• 1 cup Green Peas Fresh or Frozen
• 2 large Onions
• 2 small Tomatoes
• 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 2 Bay leaves
• 2 inch Cinnamon
• 2 Green Cardamom
• 1 Black Cardamom
• 2 Cloves
• 1 tsp Jeera or Cumin
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• 2 tsp Dhaniya or Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp Jeera or Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp Kitchen King Masala
• ½ tsp Garam Masala
• 1/4 cup Full Cream Milk
• 2 tsp Kasuri Methi
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 2 tbsp Oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions

 

• Rinse the paneer in water (if store bought) and soak in hot water for 15-20 mins
  
• Wash the green peas and soak in water for 10 minutes. Later boil them with some salt for 7 to 8 minutes or till they are done. Do not cover while cooking as the green colour will be lost. Drain the water and reserve the stock in which it was cooked. Transfer the cooked peas in some cold water to retain its green colour.
  
• In a kadai or pan, add 1 tablespoon oil and add roughly chopped onions and sauté on medium flame till it is golden brown in colour. Cool the onions and blend with some water to a fine paste.
  
• Blanch the tomatoes in water for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the peel, cool and blend in mixer to a fine tomato puree.
  
• In a kadai, heat 1 tablespoon oil and then add 2 tablespoons butter. On a low flame, add all the whole spices – Bay leaves, green and black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and cumin seeds. Then add 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste and the ground onion paste.
  
• Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes till it changes colour.
  
• Now add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, jeera powder, kitchen king masala and salt and mix well.
  
• Add some stock which was used to cook the peas. Cook till the oil separates.
  
• Now add the cooked peas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes
  
• Dry roast kasuri methi and crush and add to the gravy. Add milk and mix well. Now add the paneer cubes and cook for 2 more minutes. Finally finish it with garam masala.
  

Notes

• Soak paneer in hot water for the best results. Even if you shallow fry the paneer, soak them in water for sometime after frying. This makes the paneer soft and spongy.
• Do not cover and cook the green peas, as the peas would be discoloured. Also transfer the peas to cold water to retain the green colour.
• Dry roasting the kasuri methi enhances it’s smell and flavour.
• Adding milk makes the gravy rich and smooth and balances the spice level as well.
• Do not cook paneer and peas for long after adding them to the gravy. If paneer is cooked for long in the gravy, then it could become chewy.
• Fresh coriander leaves could also be added to the gravy at the end, however I prefer this gravy without the coriander leaves as kasuri methi adds enough flavour already.
• Add garam masala right at the end to retain its flavour.

Keyword Curry, Gravy, Green peas, Matar, Paneer