Matar Paneer

If you love cheese and curries then this dish is for you! Matar Paneer is an Indian curry dish made with paneer and green peas cooked in a spicy onion tomato masala gravy. Best served with rice, naan or paratha.

By default, Filipinos Indian curries is not a first choice when it comes to cuisines, it’s not becuase how it tasted but it is becuase of the fact that Indian cuisine is not popular back home, hence our palates are not used to the strong spices involved in making Indian dishes. Filipino dishes are simple the most common spice we use are white pepper, black pepper and salt where this is combined with aromatics such as garlic, ginger, bay leavs, pandan, chillies and lemongrass, that’s mainly it, if you’re lucky then paprika and safflower is involved, so for a Filipino eating Indian curry for the first time, it will be a shock to their system, imagine all those turmeric, garam masala, coriander, chilli powder, cinnamon , cloves and fenugreek flowing through their bloodstream for the first time, it can be a challenge. That was before, I am not sure now, but from the looks of it there are many Indian restaurants now in Philippines that start to thrive, so they are learning it bit by bit.

My first shock was in Malaysia but after a the first few tries, I got the hang of it, in fact it is one of my favourites now. We so loved it, my 40th birthday celebration many years ago was Indian themed and all of the dishes were made by proper Indian Chefs. Some of my favourites are off course Butter Chicken, Lamb Rogan Josh, Beef Korma, Tandoori Chicken, Biryani and anything that is Paneer. Yes Paneer! If I will be vegetarian, this will be my main protein source, this soft, fluffy cheese that is mild and milky goes really well in curries, especially the spicy ones as it complements with its subtle creamy taste. Today we are making a curry made out if it where it is cooked in a spicy onion tomato masala gravy together with green peas, certainly this is one of the best paneers dishes out there.

Matar Paneer

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• Author: Raymund
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Yield: 5 1x
• Category: Main Course
• Cuisine: Indian

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Description

Matar Paneer is an Indian curry dish made with paneer and green peas cooked in a spicy onion tomato masala gravy. Best served with rice, naan or paratha.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Curry

• 500 grams paneer, cubed
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 pcs cinnamon bark
• 2 pcs bay leaf
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3 tsp red chili powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 3 tsp sugar
• 2 cup green peas
• 3 cups water
• 2 tsp kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
• salt
• 3 tbsp coriander leaves
• ghee

Spice Gravy

• 2 dozen cashews, soaked in water for an hour
• 4 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup tbsp yogurt
• 4 pcs green cardamom
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb sized ginger, julienned
• 2 large white onions, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• oil

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Instructions

1. Prepare spice gravy, in a sauce pan heat oil then sauté green cardamoms, ginger & garlic.
2. Add onions then continue to sauté until it starts to caramelise.
3. Add tomatoes, cashew and salt then continue to cook for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Turn heat off then let it cool down.
4. Pour yogurt into the sauce pan then using a hand blender, blend the tomatoes and yoghurt to make a smooth paste. Set this aside.
5. In a wide pan, heat ghee. Add bay leaf and cinnamon then sauté for a minute.
6. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder and sugar, stir and mix well. Cook for a minute in low heat.
7. Pour the tomato yoghurt paste then continue to cook while continuously stirring until thickened.
8. Pour the water, bring heat to medium and let it boil. Mixture will thicken, add more water to adjust to your desired consistency.
9. Add the paneer and green peas, crush the dried fenugreek leaves using your fingers and add it to the pan. Continue to cook for 10 minutes in low heat or until traces of oil appear over the gravy.
10. Sprinkle coriander leaves, pour cream and continue to cook for 2 more minutes.
11. Season with salt then turn heat off. Serve.

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