Indian cuisine is famous for it’s delicious curries with exotic spices. Specially, Paneer entrées are the very popular among most people. There are so many different varieties of paneer dishes and each one has its own unique taste. Though Paneer is supposedly a north-Indian speciality however its fan base is almost global. I have posted couple of paneer recipes in past like Ghee Roast Tangy Paneer and Lehsuni Palak-Paneer and received great feedback. Today’s recipe “Matar Paneer” is another fantastic option for paneer lovers. The special gravy of this recipe will give this dish look and taste exactly like restaurants while still retaining goodness and purity of homemade food. So go ahead and try your hands on this paneer-rich recipe. As always, let me know your feedback in the comments.

Ingredients:

• 250 gm- Diced cottage cheese (chote kate huye paneer)
• 1 cup- Green peas (Matar)
• 2 to 3- Green chilis split in two halves (Hari mirchi beech se do hisse mai kati huyi)
• 6 to 8- Finely chopped garlic cloves (barik kati hui Lehsun)
• 1 inch- Finely chopped ginger (barik kati hui Adrak)
• 1 cup- Finely chopped onion (Barik Kati hui Pyaz)
• ⅔ cup- Tomato purée (Tamatar ka paste)
• 1 to 2 – Dry red chilli whole (Sukhi Lal Mirch Khadi)
• 1 – Bay leaf (Tez patta)
• 2 tea spoons- Kashmiri red chilli powder (Kashmir laal mirch powder)
• 2 to 3 tea spoons- Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
• 3 to 4 tea spoons- Kitchen king masala
• 1 tea spoon- Garam masala
• 1 tea spoon- Turmeric powder (Haldi Powder)
• 2 tea spoons- Kasoori Methi
• 1½  table spoons- Cashew nuts (Kaju)
•  ¼ cup- Milk
• 1 table spoon- Heavy Cream (Malai)
• 4-5 table spoons- Mustard Oil (Sarson ka tel) or any oil of your choice
• Salt as per taste
• Finely chopped coriander for garnishing

Method:

• • Let’s start with our especial paste which will make this curry exactly like restaurant. Put cashews, 3 to 4 pieces of paneer, milk and 2 table spoons water in a grinder and make a fine paste. Keep this paste for later use.
  • Heat a pan and add oil till it’s hot enough for sauté. Add bay leaves, red whole chili and splutter cumin seeds, now add turmeric powder, green chilies, chopped garlic and chopped ginger. Sauté for a while.
  • Add chopped onion and cook till it’s golden brown. Now add coriander powder, kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala, kitchen king masala, salt and mix together. Cook these spices with onion for few minutes till oil separates.
  • Add tomato paste, mix well and again cook for few minutes again till oil releases and its rawness gone, (at this stage you can add 1 or 2 tea spoon of sugar if you like little little sweetness in the curry). Now add our special paste and ¼ cup water and stir. Cover the pan and cook covered for 10-15 mins on low flame till oil separates or comes on the top of the gravy. Stir in between to avoid sticking on bottom.

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  • Now add green peas, mix and cook covered for another 3-4 minutes (Note- I have used  frozen green peas if you are using the fresh peas than boil for few minutes and strain water and rinse with fresh water before use). Add kasoori methi (crush with the help of palms before adding). Now add cottage cheese cubes and mix. Cook for a minute.

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  • Take out in a serving bowl, garnish with heavy cream and coriander. Serve hot with Poori, Naan, Paratha (any bread) or rice.

“Paneer dishes are probably the most common choices in the vegetarian menu while ordering food or cooking something special at home. There are many Paneer options to choose from like Paneer Butter Masala, Paneer Tikka Masala, Kadai Paneer etc. Although all these dishes are great in taste yet it gets repetitive and boring once you have tried all of them with their traditional style. Therefore, I keep exploring new dishes to avoid monotonous cooking process and enjoy new flavors. I posted one such non-typical Paneer recipe, Lehsuni Palak-Paneer sometime ago (I hope you liked it). With the same idea, today I am presenting this very unique recipe which gives you a refreshing tangy-cum-spicy taste with a pinch of sweet (Jaggery). Try this distinguished method for a change and I am sure you will make it more often.”

Ingredients:

• 400 gms- Diced Cottage cheese (chokor kate huye Paneer ke tukde)
• 1 cup- Yogurt/Curd (Dahi)
• 6 to 8- Garlic cloves (Lehsun)
• 1 inch- Ginger (Adrak)
• 1 cup- Finely chopped Onion (Barik Kati hui Pyaaz)
• 1 tablespoon- Cumin seeds (Jeera)
• 1 tablespoon- Coriander seeds (Khada dhaniya)
• 1 tablespoon- Fenugreek seeds (Methi Dana)
• ½ tablespoon- Black pepper whole (Khadi kaali mirch)
• 8 to 10- Dry red chilli whole (Sukhi Lal Mirch khadi)
• 1 teaspoon- Red chilli powder (Lal Mirch powder)
• 1 teaspoon- Turmeric powder (Haldi)
• 3-4 tablespoons- Tamarind paste (Imli ka paste)
• 1 tablespoon- Powdered jaggery (Gud powder)
• 4 tablespoons- Clarified butter (Ghee)
• Finely chopped coriander for garnishing (Bareek kata hara Dhaniya)
• Salt as per taste

Method:

• Take yogurt/curd in a big bowl; add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix well to form a paste.
• Marinate diced cottage cheese (Paneer) with the paste (as shown in the Picture-1) made in the previous step.
• Keep the bowl in the fridge to rest for 25- 30 minutes.
• Take cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, black pepper whole, dry red chillies (whole) in a pan and dry-roast these whole spices on low- medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until they splutter (as shown in the Picture-2).
• Now transfer these whole spices in a grinding jar. Add garlic cloves, ginger and tamarind paste. Grind these spices into a fine paste.
• Heat ghee in a pan, add chopped onion and sauté till they turn golden brown (as shown in Picture-3). Now add spice paste which was prepared in previous step, mix and cook for 3-4 minutes on low-medium heat.
• Add marinated cottage cheese (Paneer) along with all the marinating paste left, mix gently with spices and cook covered for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 table spoon jaggery powder and salt as required, give it a gentle mix.
• Cover the pan again and let it cook for another 2 minutes on low heat.
• Transfer in a serving bowl and garnish it with chopped fresh coriander.
• Serve hot with Naan/Chapati/Phulka/ Rice.