Matar Paneer Recipe : Delicious Paneer with Peas!

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It is the popular sabzi of the North Indian menu and is made frequently at home by people. It is so much liked and appreciated that it holds the top position in the menu of restaurants and hotels. This Punjabi gravy dish is also known “Paneer Matar Masala” and also “Matar Paneer Masala”. This healthy, tasty, and yummy curry is light on health when compared to other Punjabi Gravy Dishes.

There is a nice blend of green Matar (peas) and soft paneer in this colourful, tasty and creamy mixture of tomato gravy. The Matar Paneer Recipe is the simple yet the delightful treat for the taste buds which can be cooked in minutes at home. The dish is mildly spicy and has a bit of tanginess with minor sweetness.

You can use paneer in any dish with any ingredient and it will mould accordingly. The same goes with green coloured peas, who retains only their green original color and not the taste when mixed with other veggies. The addition of various spices adds heat, warmth and flavor to this paneer dish. You make this vegetable paneer curry spicy or less spicy as per taste preferable to your taste palates.

Remarks

• It takes 25 minutes to prepare the restaurant style paneer Matar masala at home.
• The measured of the proportion of ingredients serves 4 people. You can always change the proportion based on the number of serving.
• You can also be flexible with using more paneer and fewer peas or using more peas and less paneer.
• If the tomatoes are sour, then add the sugar to balance the tanginess.
• If you want, you can substitute magaz with cashew but it will change the taste of the dish.
• You can use fresh parsley leaves or chopped cilantro leaves as well.
• If you are calorie conscious, then do not fry the paneer.
• You can increase the proportion of water if you want thin and liquid curry.
• If you are a vegan, you can use Tofu in place of paneer.
• If you don’t have cream you can use milk ½ cup. But remember to stir continuously to avoid curdling.

Garnishing

The strong aroma of the Matar Paneer is itself very tempting. But you can make your Matar paneer look more appealing to eyes with proper plating. Mentioned below are the few ideas:

• Ladle the Matar Paneer in a nice and fancy serving bowl.
• Serve the Matar Paneer in the brass serving bowl.
• You can also transfer Matar paneer in the fancy oval plate.

You can also garnish Matar Paneer with:

• Coriander leaves
• Grated Paneer
• White Cream
• Onion Rings
• Grated Beetroot

Serving Suggestion:

There are many possible combinations of eating Matar paneer. Check below for the few serving ideas:

• Generally, the Matar paneer is eaten with paratha or roti. (Any kind of paratha will go with it)
• If you are heavy on the stomach, then you may eat the sabzi by mixing it with paneer pulao.
• The side complement to your dish would be any one of the chilled Raita.
• This north Indian dish can only be complete if you serve it with the glass Lassi.
• It can be eaten with any type of rice, biryani or pulao of your choice.
• To make a complete meal, you can pair it some sweet dish.
• You can also roast or fry the Papad.
• Even you can place a plate of salad for the crunch
• If you are making it for the party, then Roasted Tomato Soup would be great appetizer or starter option for this dish

All the different subzi made with paneer as core ingredient can be eaten with any kind of Paratha and chutney or pickle as a side accompaniment.

Quick Tip:

• Shallow frying the paneer will improve the taste and texture of the paneer cubes.
• If you deep fry them in hot oil, then it would improve their flavour and fragrance.
• The addition of cream infuses the creaminess in the texture and makes the gravy smooth.
• If you don’t have cream, then add a dash of milk.
• You can prepare the gravy of Matar paneer a day in advance.
• You may also leave the soaked cashews overnight in the fridge.
• If you do not want to buy the store bought Garam masala then make it at home. (Check here to make Garam masala powder at home.)

Time	Serving	Calories
35 minutes	5 to 6 people	600 calories

This paneer sabzi has the marvelous combination of mild flavoured paneer and peas. Both of them are tasty, healthy and can blend easily with each other. The taste of both paneer and peas is neutral and take flavours of the spices and condiments they are amalgamated with. Paneer becomes the favourite ingredient to cook due to its soft and moist texture. Whereas it is preferable to use peas because they are handy to use and health quotient. There are many ways to prepare Matar paneer at home, you can cook it pan, pressure cooker or even the microwave.

The use of fragrant agent coriander leaves spreads the strong aroma when they are sprinkled. The cashews along with the fresh cream give the smooth, creamy and thick texture to the gravy. If you like thin consistency then you can skip their addition. The soft and subtle paneer becomes crispy and crunchy with a golden texture when you shallow fry. There is an alluring fragrance from the dish of the flavorful spices and condiments. You can squeeze in little lime juice for the citrus zest. You can season the sabzi with the chopped nuts to give it the slight bit of crunch.

It can be prepared at home with ease if you have paneer and peas in your pantry. Both these core ingredients are such that they can be stored and frozen, yet they would not be spoiled. So you can use the frozen paneer as well frozen peas for making Matar paneer. The feasibility of preparation and availability of ingredients makes its cooking often. It is quick and fusses free recipe if you are looking to make gravy of paneer. It can be made without any hustle and does not require much of advance preparation. You can try this simple recipe even when you are on the level one of cooking. Follow the steps and make with ease.

As we know that Matar Paneer is one of the most liked and prepared dishes of north India, so it is also the match made in heaven for the North Indian Paratha. This paneer gravy dish is so versatile that it can be combined with fulka roti, tandoori roti, Nan, Poori and also rice. So get ready to eat this delicious restaurant recipe, comfortably at home with the combo of your choice. Make this yummy Punjabi recipe of paneer and peas for your lunch or dinner and enjoy its deliciousness.

Health Benefits of Peas:

Peas are good for health, body, and bones. They aid in weight management, prevents aging and wrinkles regulate blood and reduce bad cholesterol. The recipes by which you can include peas in your diet are Aloo Matar Gajar or the healthy pea’s paratha.

Baked Matar Paneer:

There is another version of this recipe known as Baked Paneer Matar. It is for the lovers of cheese and paneer, where you can grate the cheese and keep the dish for baking. The recipe is almost similar to normal Mater Paneer but there is an extra step of seasoning it with shredded cheese and then keeping the subzi in the microwave for baking. The paneer Matar masala would be covered underneath the layer of baked cheese. So try it to today and get your fingers licking over this delicious cheesy Matar paneer.

Jain Paneer Matar Masala:

For all the Jain folks, here is the Jain Paneer Matar Masala Recipe. Its preparation is similar to the normal paneer Matar masala. The only difference is that we have not used onions and the ginger-garlic paste. All the other ingredients remain same. Make the super delicious Jain Paneer Matar Masala.

You must try out this another version of Matar Paneer. It is extremely easy and simple to prepare with same taste. This mater paneer is called as Jain Version because it is prepared without onion, ginger or garlic in it. Some people think it is impossible to make Matar paneer without onion and garlic. But it is not true, you can prepare onion and garlic free paneer Matar masala and still it would taste equally yummy.

For the no onion-no garlic recipe of Matar Paneer, you would need ingredients like:

• Cashew Nuts – 2 tsp.
• Sesame Seeds – 1 ½ tsp.
• Tomato Puree – 1 ½ cup
• Cubes of Homemade Paneer – 1 cup
• Oil/Butter – 1 ½ tsp.
• Boiled Green Peas – ½ cup
• Whole Garam Masala – ½ tsp.
• Coriander Powder – ½ tsp.
• Cumin Powder – ½ tsp.
• Red Chilli Powder – ½ tsp.
• Kasuri Methi – ½ tsp.
• Sugar – as per taste
• Salt – as per taste
• Whipping Cream – ½ cup

Note: It is always preferable to use the fresh and hygienic homemade spice powders. (Check here for the recipe of homemade coriander powder.

Follow the below-mentioned steps to make the Jain Version of Matar Paneer Recipe:

• Clean and Chop the veggies.
• Boil the fresh peas.
• Thaw the frozen peas.
• Prepare the cashew paste.
• Prepare the tomato puree.
• Shallow fry the paneer cubes.
• Make the Sesame seed paste.
• Heat oil in a pan, Make the tempering.
• Add the tomato puree and cook.
• Add whole Garam masala and stir.
• Mix other spice powders and cook.
• Add cashew and sesame seeds paste
• Add water, mix and cook.
• Add paneer and green peas.
• Add salt and Kasuri Methi.
• Mix and cook the mixture.
• Then, add some cream.

Note: You can add beaten fresh and homemade Curd instead of cream.
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Image Credit : KabitasKitchen

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