About Restaurant Style Matar Paneer:
Matar Paneer is one of the most popular North Indian recipes, especially Punjabi dish in which paneer and green peas are cooked in tomato, onion, fresh cream, spices and herbs. This is a very tasty and delicious recipe, which you can found in all vegetarian restaurants in India. In India, this recipe used to serve with roti, paratha, naan, poori, jeera rice, or with ghee rice.
Ingredients:
- 250 gm of paneer cut into cubes.
- 1 cup boiled green peas/frozen green peas.
- 5-6 tablespoons of cooking oil or ghee.
- 5-6 black peppercorns.
- 2-3 green cardamoms.
- 1 cinnamon stick.
- 2-3 cloves.
- 1 black cardamom.
- 1 bay leaf.
- 7-8 cashew nuts.
- 3-4 tablespoons of fresh cream.
- 7-8 garlic cloves.
- 1-2 inches of ginger chopped.
- 2 medium sized onion roughly chopped.
- 1 medium sized onion finely chopped.
- 2 medium sized tomatoes roughly chopped.
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds.
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds.
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder.
- Red chilli powder to taste.
- Green chillies to taste.
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder.
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder.
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala.
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves).
- Some finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Water as required to make the gravy.
- Salt to taste.
Note: You may increase or decrease the quantity of ingredients depending on for how many people you are making for.
Method of Making Restaurant Style Matar Paneer:
- Soak the cashew nuts at least 20-30 minutes and then make a smooth paste out of it and keep aside for later use.
- Take a pan and turn on the flame.
- When, pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee.
- When oil is hot, add on all the whole garam masala except bay leaf, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds and saute them on a low flame for 1-2 minutes.
- Then, add on the garlic cloves, ginger, and green chillies and saute for 1 minute.
- Then, add on the roughly chopped onions and saute them on a medium flame until onion turns translucent or light golden in colour.
- Then, add on the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
- Then, switch off the flame and let the masala to cool down.
- Then, take a blending jar and make a smooth paste out of it and keep aside.
- Then, take a pan or kadai and turn on the flame.
- When pan is hot, add 1 tablespoons of oil.
- When oil is hot, add on the paneer pieces and shallow fry them until they are light golden in colour (if you want you can deep fry the paneer).
- Then, transfer the paneer pieces and keep aside for later use.
- Then, on the same pan add on 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee.
- When the oil is hot, add on the bay leaf and finely chopped onions and saute until onion turns light golden in colour.
- Then, lower the flame and add on all the dry powdered spices except garam masala and cook for 20-30 seconds on a low flame.
- Then, add on the paste which we made out of the whole spices, garlic, ginger, green chillies, onions, and tomatoes and add salt to taste and cook them on a medium flame for 7-8 minutes.
- Then, add on the cashew paste and cook on a medium flame for 5-7 minutes or until the oil gets separated from the masala.
- Then, add on the kasuri methi and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Then, add on the boiled green peas/frozen green peas and cook them with masala on a medium flame for 2-3 minutes.
- Then, add water as required to make the gravy and mix well.
- Then, keep the flame high and let the water come to a boil.
- Then, cover the lid and cook the gravy on a low flame for at least 10-15 minutes or until gravy thickens.
- Then, add the shallow fried paneer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Then, add on 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala and mix them well.
- Then, add on 3-4 tablespoons of fresh cream and mix them well.
- Then, cover the lid and cook for another 2-3 minutes on a low flame.
- Then, add some finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
- Then, turn off the flame and transfer this into a serving bowl.
- Serve this hot with any kind of Indian breads, jeera rice, or with ghee rice.
