Matar paneer is an authentic North Indian dish which is prepared in an onion and tomatoes puree with Indian spices and fresh peas and cottage cheese. Everyone has their unique style of making Matar paneer, though it is suggested to use puree for the gravy. I love matar paneer; it is easy to cook, do not take much time and requires fewer ingredients. It is also nutritious if you dig a little deeper, though its known for its delicious Dhaba style taste.
Matar paneer Recipe: How to make Matar paneer
Prep time
Cook time
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Matar Paneer is a dish prepared with blended onions and tomatoes puree and cooked into a gravy with raw peas and diced paneer cubes.
Author: Anusha Tawakley
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: North Indian
Ingredients
- 6-7 tbsp edible Oil
- 1 cup Fresh Peas
- 250 gms Fresh Paneer
- 1 large tbsp yogurt
- 2 Onion
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
- Whole spices: 1 bay leaf, 2-3 cardamom pods, 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- Powder spices: Salt as per taste
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp Degi Mirch powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Garam masala powder
- Freshly chopped Coriander leaves
- Pinch of Kasuri methi
- Optional: 4-5 Cashew nuts, Fresh cream
Instructions
- First of all, we need to blend a smooth paste of onion and tomatoes, but before that, they had to be cooked for a couple of minutes. So chop big chunks of onions and tomatoes.
- Take a large pan or a kadhai, turn on the heat to high flame. Once the utensil is hot, add some oil into it and let it get warm.
- Once it is nice and warm, add chopped veggies and give it a gentle mix for about 5- 10 minutes. Remember, we do not need to brown the onions, just enough to till they get smushy and translucent.
- Turn off the flame and put it out, allow it to rest for a while before blending. Then, transfer it to a blender and mix it into a smooth paste.
- Retake the same utensil, turn on the heat and some oil again. You can take butter as well if you want, it always enriches the gravy.
- Add cumin seeds, cardamom pods, bay leaf. After 1 minute, add the onion-tomato puree and stir constantly. You do not need to add water right now, at least for about first 10 minutes.
- Now, add all the powdered masalas (salt, red chili, turmeric, degi mirch, coriander and garam masala powder) and mix well. Now you might need to add some water, be careful, the gravy should not burn.
- Once, the oil starts coming to the surface, throw in one cup of fresh raw peas. Peas need time to cook; you can add little more water and cover the lid to let them get soft.
- Here, add yogurt and mix well. You can also use the fresh cream as a substitute or addition; it is up to you, both are an excellent choice to make the gravy thicker and creamier.
- After 5 minutes, add cottage cheese (Paneer) into the pan and mix it thoroughly. Do not hesitate to add palm crushed Kasuri methi now; its flavor is pure bliss in matar paneer.
- Paneer will not take much time to cook, do not add more water, just enough to let paneer cook for five more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add some freshly chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with fulkas, Roti, paratha.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 2 Calories: 200