Mattar paneer (เคฎเคเคฐ เคชเคจเฅเคฐ) also known as matar paneer/mutter paneer is a popular North Indian restaurant-style vegetarian dish consisting of green peas and paneer in a tomato onion cashew based gravy.
Do Check out my other paneer recipes Shahi Paneer and Paneer Tikka
Matar Paneer
Ingredients
SPICE MIX
- 1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/2 Tsp Cumin Powderย
- 1 Tsp Coriander powder
- 2 Tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
TO FRY
- 200gm Paneer | Cottage Cheese cubesย
- 1/4 Tsp Turmeric
- 1/4 Tsp Kashmiri Chili powder
- Salt to taste
- 3-4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil to fry paneerย
FOR GRAVY
- 2 Tsp Ghee
- 1 Bay leaf, 1 cinnamon stick, 2-3 cloves and green cardamom
- 2 medium Onions roughly chopped
- 1 Green chili chopped
- 1 Tbsp Ginger garlic paste or 12 small Garlic pods,1 inch Ginger
- 1 Green chili choppedย
- 2 Medium red Tomatoes
- Salt to taste
- 1 Tsp Sugar
- 10 Cashews, soak in hot water for 15 mins
- 1 cup or 150gms Green Peas
- Fried Paneer cubes
- Coriander leaves chopped
- Kasuri Methi
- 2-3 Tbsp Fresh Cream
Instructions
- Mix the turmeric, Cumin, Coriander and Kashmiri Chili powder with a little bit of water. Whisk well and set aside.
- Marinate Paneer cubes with turmeric, salt and Kashmiri Chili powder. Fry them in a pan till golden brown on both sides. Keep flame on Low else the paneer will get burnt very quickly. I used Vegetable oil.
- Use same oil and saute whole spices. Then fry the onions till slight golden. Add Ginger Garlic and Green chilli chopped.
- Add Tomatoes, salt and sugar. Add the soaked cashews. Cover cook on Low heat for 10-15 Mins till tomatoes soften. Once cooked, i took out the tomato skins using a Tong. Let it cool down and blend into fine puree. You can add water if required.
- In the same pan, add Ghee and turmeric, kashmiri chili powder. Add the puree, the spice mix and water. Cover cook on Low flame for 10-15 Mins.
- Add Green peas and the Fried Paneer Cubes, Kasuri Methis leaves crushed. Cover cook again for 5-10 Mins or till the green peas get cooked.
- Add fresh cream and chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with Roti/Steamed Rice.
Video
Notes
To keep the paneer soft once taken out from the fridge, keep it immersed in room temperature water for sometime. After that, drain the water out completely gently.
If using fresh green peas, it might take more time to cook so add them to the Ghee before mixing the puree. I used Frozen cooked peas so i added it later.