Matar Paneer - Cottage cheese with green peas Indian curry

There are several popular Indian preparations for Paneer or cottage cheese like paneer butter masala or shahi paneer or kadai paneer or matar paneer. They all look almost same, but they differ in taste and the spices. This one is medium spicy one and is very common household preparation in North India. It is a semi dry dish but you can increase the amount of gravy by adding water and the spices in proportion.

Preparation Time: - 10 min

Cooking Time: - 30~35 min

Servings: - 3~4 persons

Ingredients:

1. 250 gm Paneer or cottage cheese.
2. 1 big Onion chopped
3. 1-inch Ginger chopped
4. 4 cloves of garlic crushed (You can use 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste instead of chopped ginger and crushed garlic)
5. 2 medium Tomato finely chopped
6. ½ cup Green Peas
7. 1 Green Chili deseeded (you can have more according to your taste)
8. 10 Cashew Nuts
9. 1 tsp Coriander Powder
10. 1 tsp Cumin seeds
11. 1-inch Cinnamon
12. 2 Cloves
13. 1 Bay leaf
14. 2 nos. Red Chilli or 1 ½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder (again you can increase this as per your taste)
15. 1 tsp crushed and dried Fenugreek leaves (Kasuri Methi)
16. ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
17. 3~4 tbsp Fresh Cream or Malai
18. 2 tsp Garam Masala powder
19. ¼ cup water
20. 2 tbsp Butter / 2 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter)
21. 3~4 tbsp Vegetable Oil ( I used Sunflower oil but you can use Canola or any vegetable oil )
22. Salt to taste
23. 2 tbsp Coriander leaves finely chopped

Preparation: -

1. Cut the Paneer into medium cubes. The preferred size is 4 cm. x 4 cm. x 1 cm.
2. Chop onion and tomato. Keep aside.
3. You need to chop and crush garlic & ginger if you do not use ginger garlic paste like me.
   
4. Boil the Cashew nuts in little water and blend it to have smooth paste. Keep aside.
5. If you use fresh peas, then make sure to boil for 5~7 minutes in water to make it soft. Keep aside. This step is not required if frozen peas are used as that one is already soft.
6. In a Kadai or deep bottomed frying pan, heat 4 tbsp oil in high heat and turn the burner to medium.
7. Add Bayleaf, cinnamon, cloves and cumin seeds in it and let the spices crackle.
8. Add finely chopped onion and sauté till they turn translucent.
9. Then add crushed ginger garlic and keep stirring till the aroma of garlic goes away.
10. Add a deseeded green chili and finely chopped tomatoes, stir and cook for 3~4 minutes till the juice of the tomato evaporates and start to leave oil.
11. Now add turmeric powder, Kashmiri Chilli powder and coriander powder in the mixture and stir for 1~2 min.
12. Use a grinder to make a smooth paste of the above mixture.
    
13. Use the same frying pan and pour the Ghee or butter. Pour the above paste in it and fry for 2 minutes.
14. Add green peas and paneer cubes – stir continuously so that the spice paste is coated on every paneer cubes and peas.
    
15. Pour ¼ cup water and cook for about 3 minutes.
16. Add Fresh cream and cashew nut paste and stir to mix properly.
17. Now sprinkle dried fenugreek leaves (Kasoori Methi) by crushing in hand.
18. Sprinkle garam masala.
19. Mix everything well and continue cooking till the gravy becomes according to your liking.
    
20. Turn off the burner – garnish with chopped coriander leaves and a green chili.
    

Serve hot as Side dish to Roti, Paratha or flavored/jeera rice. In fact I can eat it with plain steamed rice as well.

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