Matar Paneer

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 Matar Paneer is yet another popular paneer recipe that goes well with roti and rice too. Vaandu loves to have this matar paneer with rice. Matar is peas in hindi and as the name says it is the peas and paneer in a rich tomato based gravy. The secret ingredient in this recipe is the  1/4 tsp of Shahi Paneer Masala. This masala makes this dish delectable and rich. 

The Jan month Blogging Marathon is over but here I am after a day’s break. :-) Last two weeks I was playing a lot with my camera and was trying out some new recipes too. I don’t want to keep them in draft for too long. So here I am posting the paneer recipe. For this matar paneer, didn’t use any cream in this. But went with cashews. You can substitute this with daliya or ignore both and use milk. There are lot of variations in this recipe and here is mine. Please see the notes section for the reason behind each and every ingredients and its alternative. 

Shah Jeera:

Shah Jeera is comparatively smaller, darker and sweeter than the regular cumin/jeera seeds. These are also called royal cumin seeds. In Tamil it is called Karunjeerakam (கருஞ்சீரகம்)

Ingredients:

• Paneer – 10 oz (1 packet)
• Peas (I used frozen peas) – 1 cup
• Shahi Jeera / Regular Jeera – 2 tsps
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Cashews – 10
• Onion – 1
• Tomato – 3
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
• Green chillies – 2
• Elaichi – 2
• Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
• Garam Masala – 1/4 tsp
• Red chilly powder – 1/4 tsp
• Coriander Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Shahi Paneer Masala – 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Food color (optional) – 1/4 tsp
• Cilantro – a handful

Steps:

• Soak the cashews in water for at least 30 minutes. I soaked it for an hour.
• Chop the tomatoes into two haves and microwave them for 2 to 3 minutes and peel the skin.
  • Alternative: Boil water and add whole tomatoes and let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes till the skin cracks. Drain the water and peel the skin off. 
• Chop the onions roughly and slit the green chillies.
• Now grind the onion, cooked tomatoes, green chillies, elaichi, cinnamon and cashews into smooth paste.

• Heat the kadai and add oil. Once the oil is hot add the shahi jeera and let it crackle.
  • Alternative: You can also use cumin seeds.
• Now add the ginger garlic paste and the grind paste.
• Let it cook it till the raw smell goes away.
• Now add all the dry masalas – coriander powder, food color, red chilly powder and salt and mix well.
  • You can use kashmiri red chilly powder for color. I didn’t had kashmiri red chilly powder and the tomatoes I used didn’t give enough color. Food color is completely optional. Vaandu loves the orangish gravy, hence the food color.

• Add 1 cup of water and add the peas.

• Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Now add the paneer and cilantro.
  • Notes: You can shallow fry the paneer or microwave the panner for more softer texture. Also you can add the paneer cubes in boiling water for couple of minutes and drain them. I usually plan and make sure the paneer is at room temperature. So used directly.

• Let it simmer for couple of minutes and turn off the heat. 

That’s it. Yummy panner is ready.

Matar Paneer

Peas and paneer in a rich tomato based gravy.Matar Paneer is yet another popular paneer recipe that goes well with roti and rice too.

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Prep Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Author: Srividhya G

Ingredients

• Paneer - 10 oz 1 packet
• Peas I used frozen peas - 1 cup
• Shahi Jeera / Regular Jeera - 2 tsps
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Cashews - 10
• Onion - 1
• Tomato - 3
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
• Green chillies - 2
• Elaichi - 2
• Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
• Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Shahi Paneer Masala - 1/4 tsp optional
• Food color optional - 1/4 tsp
• Cilantro - a handful

Instructions

Steps

• Soak the cashews in water for at least 30 minutes. I soaked it for an hour.
• Chop the tomatoes into two haves and microwave them for 2 to 3 minutes and peel the skin.
• Chop the onions roughly and slit the green chillies.
• Now grind the onion, cooked tomatoes, green chillies, elaichi, cinnamon and cashews into smooth paste.
• Heat the kadai and add oil. Once the oil is hot add the shahi jeera and let it crackle.
• Now add the ginger garlic paste and the grind paste.
• Let it cook it till the raw smell goes away.
• Now add all the dry masalas - coriander powder, food color, red chilly powder and salt and mix well.
• Add 1 cup of water and add the peas.
• Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Now add the paneer and cilantro.
• Let it simmer for couple of minutes and turn off the heat.

Notes

You can shallow fry the paneer or microwave the panner for more softer texture. Also you can add the paneer cubes in boiling water for couple of minutes and drain them. I usually plan and make sure the paneer is at room temperature. So used directly.
You can use kashmiri red chilly powder for color. I didn’t had kashmiri red chilly powder and the tomatoes I used didn’t give enough color. Food color is completely optional. Vaandu loves the orangish gravy, hence the food color.
You can also use cumin seeds instead shahi jeera.
Instead of microwaving, you can boil water and add whole tomatoes and let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes till the skin cracks. Drain the water and peel the skin off.

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