Matar Paneer

 

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

• 250 to 300 grams paneer (cottage cheese)
• 1 cup peas or matar - fresh or frozen
• 1 to 1.25 cup water or 250 to 315 ml water or add as required
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder or punjabi garam masala powder
• 1 tablespoon malai or cream (optional)
• ½ teaspoon sugar or add as required - optional *check note
• 2 to 2.5 tablespoon oil or ghee
• a few coriander leaves (dhania patta) for garnishing
• salt as required

Ingredients For Masala Paste

• 3 medium sized ripe red tomatoes - roughly chopped or ¾ cup roughly chopped tomatoes
• 1 medium to large onion - roughly chopped or ½ cup roughly chopped onions
• 1 to 2 green chilies - chopped
• ½ inch ginger - chopped
• 2 to 3 garlic - chopped
• 2 tablespoon roughly chopped coriander leaves - chopped
• 10 to 12 whole cashews - chopped
• 4 to 5 whole black peppercorns
• 2 to 3 cloves
• ½ inch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

How to make Matar Paneer

1. Take ingredients for making the masala paste in a wet grinder – ½ cup chopped onions, ¾ cup chopped tomatoes, ½ inch ginger, 2 to 3 small to medium garlic cloves, 1 to 2 green chilies, 10 to 12 cashews (chopped), 2 tbsp coriander leaves, 4 to 5 whole black pepper, ½ inch cinnamon, 1 tsp coriander seeds & 2 to 3 cloves. 

2. Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste. No need to add water while grinding. There should be no small bits and pieces of cashews in the paste. Keep the ground paste aside.

3. heat 2 to 2.5 tbsp oil or ghee. Add ½ tsp cumin seeds.

4. Add the ground masala paste. Stir. Take care while sautéing as the paste splutters. If there is too much spluttering, then cover partly with a lid till the spluttering stops.

5. Sauté for 10 to 12 minutes on a low to medium flame till the oil separates from the paste.

6. Add all the dry spice powders – ¼ tsp turmeric powder, ¼ to ½ tsp red chili powder and ¼ to ½ tsp garam masala powder. Stir very well. If adding cream or malai, you can add now. Stir and sauté for a minute.

7. Add 1 cup rinsed peas or matar.

8. Stir well.

9. Then add 1 cup to 1.25 cups water and salt. Stir again.

10. Pressure cook till the peas are cooked. Cook for about 2 to 3 whistles or 9 to 10 minutes. Check notes in recipe card below, on how to cook in a pan.

11. When the pressure drops on its own, open the lid of the pressure cooker. If the gravy appears thin, then simmer till it reaches the desired consistency. The consistency is medium and neither thick nor thin. If the gravy appears thick, then add some water and simmer. For a slight sweet taste, you can also add up to ½ tsp of sugar.

Add the paneer cubes (250 to 300 grams). Simmer on a low flame for 1 minute or till the paneer cubes are cooked. Avoid overcooking as then the paneer would become dense and rubbery. You can even shallow or pan fry the paneer pieces separately and then add these to the curry.

12. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.  Serve matar paneer with parathas or naan or tandoori roti. You can also serve it with khasta roti or with steamed rice or jeera rice or saffron rice.