Matar Paneer (मटर पनीर), a refreshing combination of soft paneer (cottage cheese) and green peas in a spicy tomato based gravy, is a fine culinary treat from North India. This simple recipe is an authentic Indian recipe which is easy to make. Although there are various variation of this recipe, I will show you the most popular one.

Let me show you how to make this delicious dish at home.

Matar Paneer

Recipe Servings : 3-4
Recipe Cook Time : 26-30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh or frozen Green Peas (मटर- Matar)
3/4 cup (1/2-inch cubed) Paneer (पनीर – Cottage cheese)
1 medium Onion (प्याज – Pyaaz), finely chopped
1 Green Chilli (हरी मिर्च – Hari Mirch), chopped
2-3 cloves of Garlic (लहसुन – Lehsun)
1/2 inch piece of Ginger (अदरक – Adarak), chopped
2 medium Tomatoes (टमाटर – Tamatar), roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli (लाल मिर्च – Laal Mirch) Powder
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric (हल्दी – Haldi) Powder
1 teaspoon Coriander (धनिया – Dhaniya) Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala (गरम मसाला) Powder
For shallow frying + 2 tablespoons Oil or Ghee (घी – Clarified butter)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Water (पानी – Paani)
Salt (नमक – Namak) to taste
Optional fresh Cilantro or Coriander (धनिया – Dhaniya)

Method:

1. Grind onion, green chilli, ginger and garlic together in the small chutney jar of a grinder to make medium (मध्यम – Madhyam) coarse paste. Grind the tomatoes to make tomato puree.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the same pan over medium flame (आंच – Aanch). Add crushed onion paste and salt. Stir it until oil starts to separate or it turns translucent (पारदर्शी –  Paardarshi). It will take around 8-10 minutes.

3. Add tomato puree and cook on medium flame until oil starts to separate, for approx. 5-6 minutes. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt to the pan. Stir and cook for a minute.

4. Add boiled peas and 1/2 cup water; mix properly and cook for 2-3 minutes. Now add paneer cubes and cook for 2-3 minutes. We have added plain paneer cubes but you can add shallow fried paneer to enhance the flavor (स्वाद – Svad).

5. Turn off flame and transfer prepared curry to a serving bowl. Matar paneer is ready (तैयार – Aayaar). Optionally, you can garnish the dish with fresh Clintro or Corinder leaves. Serve it hot with fresh Indian bread like Roti (रोटी) or Naan (नान – Naan) or boiled rice (चावल – Chawal).