Matar Paneer or Paneer peas curry is a vegetarian dish made with cottage cheese and green peas simmered in onion tomato gravy. This dish goes well with parathas, rotis or rice. This recipe uses plain paneer to reduce the calories of the dish. If you are not calorie conscious you can shallow fry the paneer cubes to enhance the taste. To make a thick and creamy gravy, you can add cashew nut paste or even cream. There are many variations to this recipe….here I am sharing a simple and delicious one.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Green peas, fresh or frozen
- A packet of Cottage cheese /Paneer, cubed
- 1 medium Onion, chopped
- One Green chilli, chopped
- 2-3 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 1 inch Ginger, chopped
- 2 Tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 tsp. Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp. Chilli powder
- 1 tsp. Coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp. Garam masala powder
- 5-6 Cashew nuts, soaked in hot water for grinding
- 2 tsps. Coriander leaves, chopped
- Oil
- Salt to taste
Method
- Grind onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli to form a smooth paste and keep aside.
- Grind tomatoes and keep aside. Next grind cashew nuts also with 2 tablespoons of water and set it aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan/ kadai. Add the onion-chilli paste to it.
- Saute it till the oil separates and the onions become translucent.
- Again, add the tomato paste and saute for 5-6 minutes on medium flame.
- To the sauteed mix, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Saute the masalas till the raw smell disappears (say about a minute).
- Add the cashew nut paste to it and saute it again.
- Pour some water to the cooked paste and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Add cooked peas and paneer cubes and boil it for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off flame and transfer to a serving bowl.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
