Matar Paneerમટર પનીર
Paneer and green peas in a tomato gravy. It is the quickest Punjabi dish to put on the table when guests arrive, and nobody refuses it.
Ingredients
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- 250 g paneer, 1 cup green peas
- 2 onions, 3 tomatoes, 6-8 cashews
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- Cumin, bay leaf, 1 tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp coriander-cumin powder
- ½ tsp garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 tbsp oil or butter, salt, coriander
Method
- Simmer the onion, tomatoes and cashews in a little water, cool and blend smooth.
- Heat oil with cumin and bay leaf, then fry the ginger-garlic paste.
- Add the purée and cook 8-10 minutes until the oil separates, then add the spices.
- Add the peas and 1 cup water and simmer until the peas are tender.
- Stir in the paneer, garam masala and crushed fenugreek, and cook only 3-4 minutes more.
- Finish with coriander and serve with roti.
Tips
- The cashews thicken the gravy, so you don't need cream.
- If using frozen peas, add them near the end.
Storing and reheating
The gravy keeps three days covered in the fridge and tastes better on day two, once the spices have settled in. Paneer, though, firms up in the cold, so if you can, store the gravy separately and add the paneer when you reheat. Loosen with a quarter cup of water over low heat; standing gravy thickens. The gravy freezes for a month, without the paneer in it.
What you can swap
- No cashews? Use eight to ten melon seeds, or two tablespoons of ground roasted chana. Another route is a teaspoon of gram flour, dry roasted and stirred in. That thickens the gravy but will not make it creamy.
- If your paneer is frozen and hard, soak it in hot salted water for ten minutes before use. It softens right up.
- If you have no kasuri methi, leave it out. Nothing really substitutes for it. When you do have it, crush it between your palms rather than adding it whole.
- No peas? Boiled potato cubes go into the same gravy, which is how many homes make aloo paneer. If you are using frozen peas, do not thaw them, just add them in.
What to serve with it
This is what gets made when guests come, or on a day off. It goes with roti, paratha or naan, with a salad of raw onion and lemon on the side. Jeera rice or plain rice works too. On a Gujarati thali it takes the place of the everyday shaak as the Punjabi dish.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not simmer the paneer in the gravy. Three or four minutes is all. Cooked longer, paneer goes tight and rubbery.
- Do not undercook the onion-tomato purée. It needs the full eight to ten minutes, until the oil separates at the edges, otherwise the gravy keeps a raw onion taste.
- Do not add the garam masala early with the purée. It is a finishing spice; cooked long, its aroma goes and what is left tastes bitter.
- Do not blend the onion and tomato while hot. The pressure can blow the mixer lid off. Let it cool, and never fill the jar more than halfway.
Questions people ask
My gravy is too thin. What now?
Simmer it uncovered on medium heat for five to seven minutes and the water will go. For a faster fix, mix two tablespoons of ground roasted chana or a teaspoon of dry-roasted gram flour with a little water and stir that in. Add the paneer only after all of this.
Is homemade paneer better than shop-bought?
Homemade stays softer and takes up the masala better. Shop-bought holds its cubes neatly but is firmer. If you use shop-bought, cut it and let it sit in warm salted water for ten minutes.
Can the gravy be made ahead?
Yes, and for guests this is the best way to do it. The puréed gravy keeps three days in the fridge and a month in the freezer. Reheat, simmer the peas in it, then finish with the paneer, garam masala and kasuri methi.
