Matar Paneer - Light Everyday Recipe (2024)

My kids simply love matar-paneer (Peas with Indian cottage cheese in light tomato gravy). In fact, it seems like all south-asian kids love matar-paneer. I don't mind if they eat it for both lunch and dinner because both matar (peas) and paneer (Indian cottage cheese) are a great source of protein. Adding greek yogurt in the recipe, further increases the protein content. However, I make my day-to-day matar paneer in a slightly different way to keep it light on little tummies and keep the carbohydrate to protein ratio more balanced. In other words, I do not add nut paste and heavy cream to make it creamy with thick consistency.

This simple day-to-day matar paneer recipe only takes a few ingredients and has very simple steps. Actual cooking takes 40 to 50 minutes due to simmering and cooking tomato puree. But, you can also take care of other errands while this is cooking on the stove.

Simple and quick matar paneer recipe used as part of Family Meal Ideas - Quick Indian Dinner Recipes.

Matar Paneer Ingredients

• Produce
  • Tomato - 6 medium size pureed
  • Green Peas - 2 cups frozen:
  • Ginger - 1 inch piece
  • Green Chilies - 2 or 3 chillies slit into halves (adjust as per spice level)
  • Lemon Juice
  • Cilantro - Handful chopped
• Protein/Dairy & Nuts
  • Cottage Cheese Paneer - 2 cups cubed
  • Greek Yogurt - ¼ cup strained/hung
  • Broken Cashews - ¼ cup
• Spices
  • Ghee -1 tablespoon Optionally avocado/olive oil
  • Asafoetida (Hing) -⅛ tsp
  • Cumin seeds (Jeera) -1 tsp
  • Salt (Namak) -½ tsp
  • Turmeric powder (Haldi) -1 tsp
  • Red chili powder (Laal mirch) - ½ teaspoon adjust as per spice level
  • Coriander powder (Dhania powder) -1 tbsp
  • Garam masala -½ tsp
  • Dry mango powder (Amchur) -1 tsp
• 4 cups Water

Method

1. Heat Dutch oven on medium heat and add ghee/oil in it.
2. Add asafetida, cumin seeds, ginger and green chilis. Sauté for few seconds.
3. Then add nuts and roast for a minute more.
4. Now add tomato puree, give it a good stir, cover it up with a lid and let it cook on medium heat.
5. Sauté it for around 15-20 minutes or until tomato puree start leaving the pan or start separating the oil from it. Keep stirring in between to prevent the burning. Be careful of the tomato splutters though.
6. Now add hung yogurt and mix well and cook for 5 more minutes.
7. Add all the spices except garam masala, and give it a good stir to mix up all the spices well.
8. Now add green peas and cubed paneer. Stir it and add 4 cups of water.
9. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Simmering is what brings all the flavors out in the dish. If it starts to get too thick, add little more water and adjust the consistency as per your desire.
10. Add garam masala, lemon juice and mix well.
11. Garnish with chopped cilantro and enjoy.

Recipe

Other recipes that go along with this entree to make a complete family meal:

• Aloo Shimla Mirch - Bell Pepper Potatoes Stir-Fry
• Palak Dal - Spinach Lentil Soup
• Cucumber Raita - Greek Yogurt with Cucumber
• Avocado Spinach Chapati (Roti)
• How to Get Perfect Steamed Rice

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