Restaurant Style Matar Paneer | Indian Cottage Cheese & Peas Curry

Restaurant Style Matar Paneer | Indian Cottage Cheese & Peas Curry

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: North Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4 Persons

Restaurant Style Matar Paneer is one of the most desired vegetarian dishes in North India. It is hugely popular for its rich flavour, creamy texture and its irresistible taste. In this dish, Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) is cooked with Matar (Peas) in spicy Onion-Tomato gravy. The unique speciality of the dish is that it can superbly pair up with any Indian bread or Rice dishes.

Matar Paneer is a very quick and easy recipe which requires very common ingredients to be prepared. I have learnt to prepare Matar Paneer from my Mom when I was working in Bengaluru and was staying in a PG. I heard the recipe from my Mom over the phone. But this recipe is little bit different from the recipe that I learnt from my Mom.

In this preparation, I have used Cumin powder, Coriander powder and Garam Masala powder for flavouring. I have not used any herb in the dish. To make the gravy creamier and richer, I have added whipped Yogurt. You can prefer to use cream for the same purpose. But to make the dish healthier, I have used whipped Yogurt as a substitute of cream.

The Golden Twist to get the taste of Restaurant Style Matar Paneer

Normally, Matar Paneer gets prepared very quickly. Usually, people grind raw Onion, Ginger, Garlic and Tomato for the preparation of Matar paneer gravy.

But the Restaurant Style Matar Paneer recipe takes a little longer to get cook. I have fried the Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Tomatoes for some time before grinding them. This will give much better flavour, taste and texture to the dish.

But in this step, you should not get confused with Shahi Paneer. Only Onion, Tomato, Ginger and Garlic are fried for the gravy before grinding. Unlike Shahi Paneer, no whole spices and dry fruits are added with the above ingredients for frying and making paste.

Restaurant Style Matar Paneer is a mixture of multiple tastes. This sweetness comes for the addition of sugar. I have added sugar into the gravy and it makes a perfect balance with the tanginess of tomatoes. It enhances the taste of the gravy.

How to add Paneer into the gravy for best result

There are two ways to add Paneer into the gravy.

In most of the restaurants raw paneer is added to the gravy and then they get cooked into the gravy slowly.

But many people prefer to eat fried Paneer rather than raw Paneer. In that case, fry the Paneer pieces in low flame for few seconds before adding to the gravy.

Both processes are correct and does not affect much in the taste of Matar Paneer. Personally, I always fry the Paneer pieces before adding to the gravy.

What kind of Matar (Peas) to be used for Matar Paneer?

You can choose to either use frozen or fresh Peas for this recipe. It hardly makes any difference in taste. But the duration of cooking reduces when you are using frozen Peas as compared to the fresh ones.

In my childhood days, Matar Paneer was mostly prepared in winter when tender and tasty Matar (Peas) used to be available in the market. Now a day’s frozen peas are easily available throughout the year.

Why do Paneer sometime become hard and chewy and how to overcome that?

If you are using fried Paneer then one of the reasons behind it is over frying.

On the other hand, if you are using raw Paneer then the reason behind it is temperature.

Reason behind the popularity of Matar Paneer

Matar Paneer is one of the most versatile vegetable dishes in the sub-continent of India, especially in North. It is a super versatile dish and goes amazing with any Indian bread like Rotis, Parathas, Pooris, Naan, Kulcha etc. In fact, it also pairs up superb with rice items like steamed Basmati rice, Jeera rice, Ghee rice, Veg Biryani, Veg pulao etc. This versatile nature of being a great companion with so many options is the main reason for its popularity.

In any occasion, like marriage ceremony, anniversary, birthday party, Matar Paneer is the most common and demanded vegetarian option.

Matar Paneer is not only a palatable dish but it is very healthy too. It has the goodness of both green Peas and Paneer. In short, it’s a perfect dish which balances health and taste without compromising each other.

Variations of Matar Paneer preparation

Matar Paneer can be prepared in many ways like instant pot Matar Paneer, homestyle Matar Paneer, Restaurant Style Matar Paneer, Jain Style Matar Paneer etc. Every region has their own variation of this recipe and every preparation tastes superb.

Many people use only Tomato puree and Onion paste for the gravy whereas many others use Yogurt. Few people also Cashew paste or Almond paste or sometimes both.

Ingredients:

• 250 gms Paneer (Cottage Cheese), cut into triangular pieces
• 1 cup fresh or frozen Peas (Matar)
• 2 large Onions, roughly diced
• 2 Tomatoes, deseeded and roughly diced
• 1-inch Ginger
• 3-4 Garlic cloves
• 2 green Chillies
• 2 tablespoons Yogurt, whipped
• 1/4 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
• 1 Bay leaf (Tejpatta)
• 3 Cloves (Lavang)
• 1 Cinnamon stick (Dalchini)
• 3 Cardamom (Elaichi)
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon Cumin powder (Jeera powder)
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhania powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala powder
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking
• 1 cup Water for gravy
• Cilantro for garnishing

1. Add Oil into the pan and wait until the Oil is hot.
   

2. Once the Oil is hot, put the flame in low and add the Paneer pieces.
   

3. Shallow fry them for few seconds from both the sides till they become light golden in colour.
   

   Tip: Don’t over fry the paneer as it will make them hard and chewy after cooking.

4. Take the Paneer pieces out into a bowl.
   

5. To make the Paneer softer, add hot water into the bowl and allow the Paneer to soak in the water.
   

6. Add Oil into the same pan.
7. Once the Oil is hot, add the Onions, Tomatoes, Ginger and Garlic and fry them for 2-3 minutes.
   

8. Cook for another 5 minutes in low flame till the mixture loses moisture.

9. Let the masala cool off.
   

10. Put the masala in the jar of a grinder or blender.
    

11. Grind the masala for 1 minute.
12. Add 1 tablespoon of water if required.
13. Make a smooth paste and keep it aside.
    

14. Add 1 tablespoon Oil into the same pan and wait until the Oil is hot.
15. Once the Oil is hot, add Cumin seeds, Cinnamon stick, Cardamom, Bay leaf and Cloves let them crackle.
    

16. Pour the paste (step 13) back into the pan and add green Chillies. Cook it till it starts releasing Oil.
    

17. Let them cook for 1 minute in low flame.
18. Add Peas and mix them well.
    
    

19. Cover the pan and cook them for a minute in low flame.
20. Add Turmeric powder, Chilli powder and Salt into the pan and mix it well.
    

21. Add the whipped Yogurt into the pan.
    

22. Mix it thoroughly with the masala.

23. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame for 2 minutes.
24. Add Coriander powder, Cumin powder and give a nice mix.
    

25. Cook them for another minute in low flame.
26. Add 1 cup water and give a nice stir.
    

27. Cook them in high flame until the gravy simmers.
    
    

28. Add the Paneer pieces (Step 5) into the pan.
    

29. Cover the pan and let it cook for 5 minutes in low flame.
30. Add Garam Masala powder, Sugar and give a nice stir.
    

31. Cook them for 30 seconds and switch off the flame.