Restaurant Style Matar Paneer

Matar paneer is one of those curries that appears on every Indian household menu. Chunks of paneer, green peas in an onion tomato gravy is a simple curry and can be made in a number of ways. I am going to share my version which is really simple and homestyle but packed with flavor. Unlike other matar paneer recipes you find on the internet, this version doesn’t have any cream or cashew in it. Well, my point is every curry doesn’t need to have cream in it. Let’s save the cream for other recipes. But if you really like it creamy, I will give a few options for that as well.
The gravy is spicy and tangy, something you can make regularly at home without worrying about extra calories of cream or any nuts.

Ingredients

The list of ingredients might seem overwhelming especially if you are not Indian but most of the spices are commonly used Indian spices and you can use them in other Indian recipes. Paneer – Soft fresh milk cheese primarily used in India. It resembles somewhat halloumi but is a bit firm in texture. While homemade is best you can use any brand of Paneer from the store. Green Peas – Fresh seasonal green peas are the best. That’s why I end up making Matar paneer quite a lot during winter because of the availability of fresh pea. But Frozen peas work equally well and it is handier. Onion, ginger garlic paste – finely chopped onion. Ginger garlic paste is either homemade or store brought. Tomatoes– Fresh Tomato pureed and also tomato paste for an intense tomato flavor. Spices– The list is long here but again very commonly used spices. Turmeric powder, Chilli powder, garam masala powder, Kasuri methi(dried fenugreek leaves). Besan/ gram flour – It acts as a thickening agent. You can barely taste it in the gravy but it binds together the gravy and make it thick without any cream or nuts.

Tips for the perfect Gravy

For most of the Indian curries especially which have onion tomato gravy all you need is a bit of patience. Cook the onion and tomato mixture slow and caramelize it.

Frying paneer is optional. Don’t deep fry it. Just a little caramelization on the surface is enough. Paneer after frying smells amazing. To make it extra soft, after frying put paneer in slightly salted warm water. Another advantage of frying paneer is it doesn’t break easily and holds its shape well. Chop onions fine. The best hack is to use a food processor to save time and effort. Use freshly ground spices for the best result. Different garam masala has different intensities. I make garam masala at home and it is quite intense. So I use only 1/2 teaspoon. You can increase as per your taste. I used homemade tomato puree from fresh tomatoes. The packaged puree is quite intense, so you can use 1/2 cup instead of 1 cup. Tomato paste is optional and you can skip it. It is important to cook the onion and tomato gravy on low heat so that the raw smell is gone and the mixture is aromatic. If you want the peas to be nice and plumpy don’t cook them for too long. If using fresh seasonal peas, blanch them. Boil water, add peeled fresh peas, let it come to a boil. You would see the peas starting to float. Remove and put them in an ice bath. If using frozen peas, then the above step is already done before freezing. Add peas towards the end for it to retain shape and color.

Love Creamy Matar Paneer?

Well, if you love matar paneer to be creamy and rich, then you can either add pureed cashew or cream. In that case, skip Besan/gram flour. Soak 8-10 cashews in warm water for about 20 minutes. Puree it. After adding tomato puree, when it’s half cooked and the mixture is about to come together, add cashew puree. Cook everything until you see oil leaving on the edges. You can also add cream. If adding cream, again skip adding gram flour. Reduce the amount of water to 1 cup. Stir in cream 5 minutes before switching off the stove. Mix well.

Serve with

This curry can be had with roti (Indian flatbread), plain white or brown rice, Jeera rice, Vegetable pulao, or Paneer pulao.

Store

You can store matar paneer in an air-tight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Heat it in a microwave-safe container for up to a minute and then serve it.