INGREDIENTS

  • Paneer or cottage cheese- 250 to 300 grams
  • Matar or peas (fresh or frozen)- 1 cup
  • Water- 1 to 1.25 cups
  • Jeera or cumin seeds- ½ tsp
  • Haldi or turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
  • powder of lal mirch or powder of red chili – ¼ to ½ tsp
  • powder of garam masala – ¼ to ½ tsp
  • Malai or cream- 1 tbsp (Optional)
  • Sugar if required
  • Oil or ghee- 2 to 2.5 tbsp
  • Ripe red tomatoes (medium size)- 3 (roughly chopped)
  • Onion (large size)-1 (roughly chopped)
  • Hari mirch or green chilies- 1 to 2
  • Adrak or ginger- ½ inch
  • Lahsun or garlic- 2 to 3 (chopped)
  • Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp (chopped)
  •  Kaju or cashes- 10 to 12 (chopped)
  • Sabut kali mirch or peppercorn- 4 to 5
  • Lavang or cloves- 2 to 3
  • Dalchini or cinnamon- ½ inch
  • Sabut dhaniya or coriander seeds- 1 tsp
  • Salt to taste

This is one of the simplest and the easiest recipe of matar paneer which will give you a taste just like you would get in an expensive restaurant. It is the perfect dish to serve your guests and leave them licking their fingers.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Take a blender or a grinder. Add ingredients 11-21 as listed above and grind all of them together. Grind it, till it becomes a smooth paste. There is no need for adding water. Keep this paste aside.
  2. In a pressure cooker, add oil or ghee and heat it. Once the fresh oil or pure ghee is hot, add the seeds of cumin and saute them till they begin spluttering.
  3. Add the paste of ground and stir it well. Saute for 10 to 11 minutes till the oil is completely separated from the ground paste.

  1. Add all of the spices (dry). Add matar, some water, and salt. Cover it and lid it properly and thereafter pressure cook the dish for some 3-4 whistles. Open the lid and allow the gravy to simmer till it reaches to the perfect consistency.
  2. Add the paneer cubes. Let it simmer for 1 to 2 minutes till it gets cooked. Garnish with leaves of fresh coriander and serve with roti or naan. 

TIPS

  • To get a slightly creamier version, add more cashews. 
  • To give it a citrus note, add curry leaves.
  • Add some sugar to balance the taste of the curry in case the tomatoes are sour.
  • Don’t overcook the paneer.

WARNING

  • Ensure that while grinding the paste, no small bits and pieces of cashews are left in the paste.
  • Be careful after you add the ground paste to the pressure cooker because it splutters.