Matar paneer
A delicious paneer and peas curry that pairs perfectly with Indian breads and even pulaos and Indian fried rice preparations
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
Ingredients
- 300 g paneer Indian cottage cheese cut in 1 inch cubes
- 200 g frozen peas or fresh seasonal peas
- 200 g chopped tomatoes canned*
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 dried red chilis
- 2 tbsp cream
- 2-3 fresh green chilis chopped
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
- 4-5 tbsp mustard oil or ghee or any regular cooking oil
- salt to tate
Instructions
- Shallow fry the paneer pieces in 2 tablespoons of oil and keep them aside**
- Heat the remaining oil, until it smokes, then lower the heat and add the bay leaves and chilis. When fragrant, add the chopped onions and chilis and fry until the onions soften
- Next add the ginger and garlic pastes and fry them off until their raw smell goes away. Once done add the tomatoes, mix well and cook until they soften
- Now add the spice powders, salt and ½ a cup of water and let bubble for 3-4 minutes. Next add the peas, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes
- Once the oil separates from the curry, add the cream, paneer cubes and kasuri methi. Mix well but gently, cover and cook for another 5 minutes on a medium low heat. When done, remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves
- Serve the matar paneer along with rice or any Indian bread of your choice. Enjoy!
Notes
- *If using fresh tomatoes, make a puree´ out of them and then use it for the recipe
- **This step is optional. You can add the paneer cubes even without frying, to the curry
- If you do not want to add the cream, you can replace it with the same quantity of whisked, lump free yoghurt
- g - grams
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon