Matar Paneer Recipe: (How to Make Mutter Paneer)

Matar paneer recipe. A culinary delight that brings together the vibrant flavours of tender green peas and creamy paneer in a rich and aromatic tomato-based gravy. This beloved Indian dish has won the hearts of food enthusiasts worldwide with its enticing blend of textures and spices.

Whether you’re an avid fan of Indian cuisine or a curious culinary explorer looking to expand your recipe repertoire, mastering the art of preparing matar paneer will undoubtedly elevate your cooking skills and satisfy your taste buds. 

In this article, we’ll take you through a step-by-step guide on how to create this delectable dish, sharing tips and insights along the way to help you achieve an authentic and mouthwatering matar paneer experience. Get ready to embark on a flavorful journey that will tantalize your senses and leave you craving for more.

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How to make Matar Paneer Recipe: Punjabi  Style

Making Masala Paste

1. First, you will take all of the masala paste ingredients and add them to a grinder or a blender. Make sure you include:

• ½ cup chopped onions
• ¾ to 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger {sub with ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger (dry ginger powder)}
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 
• 10 to 12 cashews
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro)
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies or serrano peppers
• 4 to 5 black peppercorns
• 1-inch cinnamon (Use true cinnamon. For cassia cinnamon, use ½ inch of it)
• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds {sub with 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (coriander powder)
• 1 green cardamom – optional
• 2 cloves

2. After that, you will grind the ingredients into a smooth paste. If needed add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water while grinding the masala paste. When the paste is creamy and blended to a fine consistency, set aside until later.

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Making Matar Paneer Recipe

3. Next add 3 tablespoons oil in a 2-litre pressure cooker or a pot. Let the oil become hot. Reduce heat to a medium-low heat. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and fry until they splutter.

4. Add your ground masala paste, and mix well.

Tip: It is important to be careful while sautéing because the masala paste splatters when added to the pressure cooker. If there is too much spluttering, cover the cooker partly with a lid until the spluttering stops.

5. Now you will sauté the paste mixture for about 10 to 12 minutes on medium-low heat.

You want to be sure to sauté long enough for the oil to separate from the paste. The masala paste will also thicken and look glossy.

6. After sautéing the masala paste, add in all of the dry spice powders, stir to combine well, and sauté for a minute. Be sure to include:

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder or sweet paprika (sub with ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cayenne or red chilli powder)
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder (replace with ¼ teaspoon of curry powder)

Note: If adding heavy or light cream or clotted cream (malai), you can add it now. Add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or malai (the cream that floats on top of heated and cooled milk) or 2 tablespoons of light cream. In place of cream, substitute with ¼ cup whole milk.

7. Add in 1 cup of rinsed green peas or matar. You can choose to add either frozen or fresh green peas.

8. Mix again well.

9. Then, add 1 to 1.25 cups water, salt and mix thoroughly.

If you have used a pot or pan for sautéing the masala, add about 1.5 to 2 cups water or as needed. Cover the pan with its lid. Simmer on medium-low to medium heat until the peas have softened.

10. It’s now time to pressure cook the green peas until they are fully cooked. Be sure to cover the cooker tightly, then cook for about 9 to 10 minutes or 2 to 3 whistles on medium to medium-high heat.

Note: When the pressure drops on its own, open the lid of the pressure cooker. If the gravy appears thin, simmer until it reaches the desired consistency.

The consistency should be medium and neither thick nor thin. If the gravy appears thick, add some water and simmer.

For a slightly sweet taste, you can also add up to ½ teaspoon of sugar at this point.

11. Finally, add the paneer cubes and mix well or simmer on low heat for a few seconds or until the paneer cubes are fully cooked. Don’t overcook as the paneer will become dense and hard. You can add more flavors, by including ½ teaspoon of crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) at this step.

Note: You want to avoid overcooking, otherwise the paneer will become dense and rubbery. You can even shallow or pan-fry the paneer pieces separately and then add these to the curry.

12. Now that your matar paneer is ready to eat, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot or warm.

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Instant Pot Matar Paneer Recipe

Instructions for Instant Pot Matar Paneer Recipe

Make the masala paste with tomatoes, spices, herbs, and cashews as listed in the above step-by-step guide. Set aside.

1. Sautéing

Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot and let the display show “hot”. Add oil to the inner steel pot. Crackle the cumin seeds first. Add the ground masala paste and sauté stirring often until it thickens and looks glossy. You can press the sauté button twice to bring the setting to less if the pot becomes too hot.

2. Add ground spices

Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and garam masala powder. Mix and sauté for a minute.

3. Including green peas

Add the green peas, 1 cup of water, and salt, and combine thoroughly, deglazing the inner pot. Press the cancel button.

4. Pressure cooking

Seal the lid and position the valve to sealing. Press the pressure cook/manual button and set the time to 3 minutes. Pressure cook on high pressure. After you hear the beep sound when the cooking is complete, wait for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release. 

5. Final touches

Press the cancel button. Add paneer cubes and mix well. Finally, add some coriander leaves and mix again.

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Matar Paneer Recipe (Dhaba Style)

 Ingredients For onion tomato gravy base:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 onion (sliced)
• 4 clove garlic (crushed)
• 2-inch ginger
• 4 tomatoes (sliced)
• 2 tbsp cashew

For Curry:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ inch cinnamon
• 3 pods cardamom
• 2 chili (sliced)
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 3 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1½ cup peas
• 200 grams paneer (cubed)
• 2 tbsp cream
• 1 tsp kasuri methi (crushed)
• 2 tbsp coriander (chopped)

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Instruction for making Matar Paneer Recipe Dhaba Style

• firstly, in a pan heat 2 tbsp oil. add 2 onions, 4 cloves garlic, and 2-inch ginger. Saute until the onions turn golden brown.
• Add 4 tomatoes, and 2 tbsp cashew, and saute until the tomato turn soft and mushy. Cool completely, and transfer to a mixer jar.
• Grind to smooth paste without adding water.

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Preparing Curry

• Heat 2 tbsp oil. add 1 tsp ghee, 1 tsp cumin, ½ inch cinnamon, 3 pods cardamom, and 2 chillies. saute until the spices turn aromatic.

• Put the heat on low, add ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, and ½ tsp garam masala.
• saute until the spices turn aromatic. Then add prepared gravy and cook well.
• Cook until the oil separates from the gravy base.
• Add 3 cup water and 1 tsp salt. Mix well adjusting the consistency of gravy.
• further, add 1½ cups of peas and 200 grams of paneer. mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the peas are cooked well.
• Add 2 tbsp cream, 1 tsp kasuri methi, and 2 tbsp coriander.
• Finally, enjoy matar paneer with roti or rice.

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Matar Paneer Recipe Without Onion and Garlic

Ingredients for Matar Paneer Recipe (No Onion No Garlic)

• 1 cup paneer
• ½ cup frozen green peas
• 3 tomatoes
• 8 cashew nuts
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp kasoori methi
• ½ tsp dhania powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• Salt as needed
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp oil

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Instructions for No Garlic Onion Matar Paneer Recipe

• Boil the tomatoes and cashew nuts for 10 minutes. Once it is cool, drain the water and grind this into a smooth paste.
• Filter this and keep it aside.
• Add the red chilli, coriander, cumin, and salt in a bowl. Add little water and mix it well.
• Add oil and add this mixture to a pan. Cook for a minute and add the tomato cashew puree. Let this cook for another 5 minutes.
• Now add ½ cup water and add the paneer cubes and peas. Cook for 10 minutes.
• Add the kasoori methi at this stage and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add a few chopped coriander leaves.
• Turn off the gas. No onion no garlic mutter paneer is ready.
• You can serve this with roti, naan, or jeera rice too.

Tips for Best Matar Paneer Recipe

1. Tomatoes

Include tomatoes that are ripe and sweet. If the tomatoes are sour, the curry will have a sour taste. To balance the sourness add some sugar or a bit of light cream.

2. Creamier Version

For a slightly creamier version, add cashews, but these can be skipped. To give some citrus notes to the curry. Also, add coriander leaves (cilantro). If you are not a fan of cilantro, omit them.

3. No onion no garlic version

You can skip both garlic and onions. To mimic their flavours, include a generous pinch of asafoetida (hing) after adding cumin seeds and before adding the masala paste. Mix it well and then add the ground masala paste. Make sure not to burn the asafoetida while frying it in oil.

4. Scaling

You can make a small batch or a large batch by easily scaling the recipe.

5. Make-ahead

If you are pressed for time, grind/blend the masala paste and freeze it for a couple of days or refrigerate overnight, so that you can easily cook the matar paneer gravy the next day.

6. Fats

I always make mutter paneer in oil. For a richer version, you can make it in ghee (clarified butter).

Matar Paneer Recipe Serving Suggestions

Matar paneer goes well with Indian flatbreads like Roti, Paratha, and Naan. It also pairs well with Jeera Rice and steamed Basmati Rice. You can also enjoy mopping the curry with Poori (Indian fried bread) and even your regular everyday Bread or some dinner rolls.

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Matar Paneer Recipe Storage and Leftovers

If you do have any mutter paneer leftovers, refrigerate them in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days. The curry will thicken after cooling and so while reheating, add a bit of water to loosen the consistency.

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FAQs on Matar Paneer Recipe

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Conclusion

In conclusion, matar paneer is a delightful and flavorful dish that has become a favourite in Indian cuisine. Its combination of tender green peas and creamy paneer, cooked in a rich tomato and onion-based gravy, offers a perfect balance of textures and tastes.

By following the steps outlined in this recipe, you can create a delicious matar paneer dish in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Whether you choose to make your own paneer or use store-bought, the process of preparing matar paneer is relatively straightforward. From sautéing the onions and tomatoes to adding the peas and paneer, each step builds layers of flavour that come together to create a mouthwatering dish.

Adding aromatic spices, such as garam masala, turmeric, and coriander, elevates the taste profile and gives the dish its distinctive Indian flair.

Remember, practice makes perfect, and with time, you’ll become more adept at creating the perfect matar paneer dish. So gather your ingredients, put on your apron, and embark on a culinary adventure to savour the flavours of this beloved Indian classic. Enjoy the process and relish the delicious rewards of your efforts. Happy cooking!