Matar Paneer Recipe in two ways : Authentic And Instant

Matar Paneer is a famous Indian curry dish prepared with green peas and Indian cottage cheese that comes in a variety of flavours. Mattar paneer (also spelled matar paneer, muttar paneer, or mutter paneer) is a vegetarian North Indian and Punjabi dish made with peas and paneer in a tomato-based sauce seasoned with garam masala. It's usually eaten with rice and some sort of Indian bread (naan, paratha, poori, or roti, depending on region). Other ingredients such as potatoes (aloo), maize, yoghurt, or cream are frequently added.

This Punjabi cuisine may be prepared in two ways: authentic or instant. Both methods are simple and fuss-free! Having said that, this matar paneer dish is not a restaurant-style matar paneer. It tastes excellent, but it's a lot simpler and has a more domestic, warm feel to it.

What do you need to make this Matar Paneer?

Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) is an extremely soft, fresh, unaged Indian cottage cheese prepared primarily from dairy milk. If you don't have paneer, you can substitute ricotta cheese, but keep in mind that ricotta cheese is salted while paneer isn't. Before using, squeeze and drain any excess whey from the ricotta. Fresh or frozen green peas (matar), a few medium-sized red tomatoes, a medium-sized or large onion, and some green chilies. Cashews thicken the masala paste in a creamy way. If you don't have any cashews on hand, you can use almonds instead. Spice Mix : Cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and seeds, black peppercorns, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon are among the flavours and spices required for this mutter paneer recipe.

Recipe for Matar Paneer :

Serving for : 1-2

Preparation Time : 30- 40 mins

Step 1-  To make the masala paste, combine all of the ingredients in a grinder or blender. The components will next be ground into a smooth paste. If necessary, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to the masala paste during grinding. Set aside until the paste is smooth and mixed to a fine consistency. In the paste, there should be no minute fragments or pieces of cashews. Make sure to include:

1. Onions( chopped) - 1/2 Cups
2. Tomatoes ( Chopped ) - 1/3 Cups
3. Ground ginger (dry ginger powder) / Minced ginger - 1 tsp
4. Minced garlic - 1 tsp
5. Cashews - 10- 12
6. Coriander (coriander leaves) (cilantro) - 1-2 tsp
7. Diced green chilies or serrano peppers - 1tsp
8. Black pepper,- 4–5 tsp.
9. Cinnamon stick (It's best to use real cinnamon.) - 1 (Use 1/2 inches of cassia cinnamon for this recipe.)

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Step 2:In a 2-litre pressure cooker, add 3 tablespoons of oil. Allow the oil to heat up. Reduce the heat to medium-low. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, fried until sputtering After that, stir in your powdered masala paste thoroughly. When adding the masala paste to the pressure cooker, it tends to sputter, so be careful while sautéing. If the spluttering becomes excessive, partially cover the cooker with a lid until the spluttering stops.

Green Pea ,Image Source : Canva

Step 3: On a medium-low heat, sauté the paste mixture for around 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure you cook the paste long enough for the oil to separate from it. The masala paste will thicken and become glossy as well. After a minute of sautéing the masala paste, add all of the dry spice powders, swirl to thoroughly integrate, and continue to sauté for another minute.

- One-quarter teaspoon turmeric powder or fresh grated haldi

- 1/2 teaspoons of Kashmiri red chilli powder or sweet paprika (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons of cayenne or red chilli powder can be substituted)

- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons of garam masala powder (replace with garam masala powder)

Step 4: Stir in 1 cup washed green peas or matar. Recombine the ingredients.

Step 5: Finally, thoroughly combine 1 to 1.25 cups of water and salt.

Step 6: Cook the green peas in a pressure cooker until tender. Cook for 9 to 10 minutes, or 2 to 3 whistles, over medium to medium-high heat, making sure the cooker is completely covered. Open the pressure cooker cover when the pressure lowers naturally. Simmer until the gravy achieves the required consistency if it appears thin. It should have a medium consistency, not be thick or thin. If the gravy looks too thick, add additional water and continue to cook.

Step 7: At this stage, you can add up to 12 teaspoons of sugar for a somewhat sweet taste.

Step8: Finally, add the paneer cubes and stir well, or cook for a few seconds on low heat until the paneer cubes are fully cooked. Overcooking the paneer will cause it to become dense and hard.

When your matar paneer is done, sprinkle it with chopped coriander leaves and serve warm or hot. Indian flatbreads such as Roti, Paratha, and Naan pair well with matar paneer. It also goes great with cooked Basmati rice and cumin rice.

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 Pro Tips :

1- Add 1/2 teaspoons of crumbled kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) to add extra flavour.

2- You don't want to overcook the paneer since it will turn dense and rubbery. You can also shallow fry or pan fry the paneer chunks before adding them to the dish.

Recipe for Matar Paneer in the Instant Pot :

Image Source : Canva

In an Instant Pot, matar paneer is simple to make.

Preparation: Follow the steps in the above step-by-step guide to make the masala paste with tomatoes, spices, herbs, and cashews. 

Sautéing: On the Instant Pot, press the sauté button and wait for the display to show "hot." Fill the inner steel pot halfway with oil. First, toast the cumin seeds. Sauté the ground masala paste, stirring frequently, until it thickens and becomes glossy. If the pot becomes too hot, press the sauté button twice to lower the temperature. Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and garam masala powder to the ground spices. Mix everything together and cook for few minutes.

Including green peas: Combine the green peas, 1 cup of water, and salt in a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mixing to deglaze the inner saucepan. To cancel, press the cancel button.

Cooking under pressure: Close the lid and set the valve to seal. Set the timer for 3 minutes on the pressure cooker/manual button. Cooking on high pressure for a long time. Wait 5 minutes after hearing the beep sound that indicates the cooking is complete before doing a fast pressure release. Last but not least, press the cancel button. Mix in the paneer cubes thoroughly.

Finally, toss in some coriander leaves and stir well. One serving of Mutter Paneer has 10 grams of total carbs, 8 grams of net carbs, 10 grams of fat, 5 grams of protein, and 160 calories.

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