Matar paneer | Mutter paneer | How to make creamy restaurant-style Mattar paneer

Matar or matter or mutter paneer is a classic North Indian Punjabi side dish made with green peas and paneer (cottage cheese). This matar paneer has a soft creamy texture and served along with phulka, chapatti, roti, naan and many other Indian bread items. Enjoy this green peas paneer gravy with jeera rice and any veg pulao variety.

This creamy gravy is roughly adapted from paneer butter masala style. Matar paneer is made little spicier than sweetish butter gravy. Authentic dhaba style makhani(tomato-based) gravies don’t use onions in them. But I use onions for extra taste and balance of tanginess.

Comparatively, Matar paneer is an easy recipe as there is no extra time to chop vegs like any other veg kurmas. Homemade paneer is perfect for this gravy. If using store-bought paneer just dip the paneer cubes in warm water before adding in the gravy.

Fresh or frozen green peas, when tasted with soft paneer cubes, tastes heavenly. My kids eat this side gravy simply without any main food :D…Good food tastes great when nothing left out.

Let us go through the stepwise pictures and explanations to make this yummy delicious creamy matar paneer.

For more yum paneer recipes:

Paneer lababdar

Dhaba style paneer

Paneer fried rice

Kadai paneer gravy

Paneer tikka

Matar paneer | Creamy restaurant style Mattar paneer

Sangskitchen

Matar or matter or mutter paneer is a classic North Indian Punjabi side dish made with green peas and paneer (cottage cheese). This matar paneer has soft creamy texture and served along with phulka, chapatti, roti, naan and many other Indian bread items. Enjoy this green peas paneer gravy with jeera rice and any veg pulao variety.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Calories 140 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Ingredients:

• Fresh/frozen green peas – 100gm
• Paneer – 200gm
• Onion – 1 medium size
• Tomato – 2
• Ginger – 1 inch
• Garlic – 6pods
• Oil/ghee to cook – 1tbs
• Cumin/jeera seeds – 1tsp
• Garam masala powder – ¼ tsp
• Chilli powder – ¾ tsp
• Coriander powder – ½ tsp
• Bay leaf – 1
• Cinnamon – 1inch
• Cardamom - 2
• Cashews – 5
• Cream – 2tsp
• Kasturi methi (dried fenugreek leaves) – 1tsp
• Coriander leaves -few
• Salt – 1 tsp or as required

Instructions

 

Preparation:

• Chop onion into small cubes.
• Wash and chop tomatoes.
• Peel garlic pods and ginger piece.
• Cut paneer into cubes.
• Soak cashews in warm water.
• Boil green peas with little water. Drain and keep aside.

Recipe:

• Heat a kadai with a teaspoon of oil. Add ginger and garlic, fry them for a minute.
• Add chopped onion and cook them till transparent.
• Add chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt.
• Add cashews.
• Close the lid of the kadai. Let the tomatoes cook soft.
• Switch off the stove and let it cool down. Transfer the contents to a mixie jar and grind it to a nice paste.
• Now heat the same kadai, add ghee or oil.
• Add jeera seeds, bay leaf, cardamom and cinnamon one by one. Fry them for a minute until you get nice aroma.
• Add ground onion tomato and cashew paste and sauté well.
• Add chilli and coriander powders.
• Add garam masala powder if using. I feel whole spices give enough flavor and thus I did not use garam masala powder.
• Cook the mixture for few minutes by stirring continuously.
• Add cooked green peas and mix well.
• Now add a cup of water and adjust the consistency. Close the lid and let the mixture cook well.
• After five minutes a nice red color achieved as shown in the picture.
• Now add paneer cubes.
• Add required salt. Let it boil for a mins.
• Add crushed kasturi methi leaves.
• Add milk cream and mix. Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with roti, phulkas, jeera rice or veg pulao.

Notes

Tips/notes: 1) Fresh or frozen green peas are good to use. If using dried peas then soak them overnight and cook in pressure cooker. 2) Adjust the spice level according to your taste. 3) You can add ¼ tsp of sugar too. It’s optional. 4) I have used homemade cream. It’s very easy to make at home. Collect the malai(top fat layer) formed from boiled milk and store in fridge in a tight container. When you need fresh cream take a table spoon of malai and blend using the small jar in mixer. Fresh cream is ready. Or you can beat fast with a fork. 5) Fridge stored malai stays good for a month. 6) Adding kasturi methi gives an excellent aroma to this north Indian dish.

Nutrition

Calories: 140kcal

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Preparation to make Matar paneer:

• Chop onion into small cubes.
• Wash and chop tomatoes.
• Peel garlic pods and ginger piece.
• Cut paneer into cubes.
• Soak cashews in warm water.
• Boil green peas with little water. Drain and keep aside.

Recipe pictures:

• Heat a kadai with a teaspoon of oil. Add ginger and garlic, fry them for a minute.
• Add chopped onion and cook them till transparent.

• Add chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt with some cashews.

• Close the lid of the kadai. Let the tomatoes cook soft.
• Switch off the stove and let it cool down. Transfer the contents to a mixie jar and grind it to a nice paste.
• Now heat the same kadai, add ghee or oil.
• Add jeera seeds, bay leaf, cardamom and cinnamon one by one. Fry them for a minute until you get nice aroma.

• Put ground onion tomato and cashew paste and sauté well.

• Chilli and coriander powders.

• Add garam masala powder if using. I feel whole spices give enough flavor and thus I did not use garam masala powder.
• Cook the mixture for few minutes by stirring continuously.
• Add cooked green peas and mix well.
• Now add a cup of water and adjust the consistency. Close the lid and let the mixture cook well.

• After five minutes a nice red color achieved as shown in the picture.
• Now add paneer cubes.

• Add required salt. Let it boil for a mins.
• Now add fresh milk cream (storebought or homemade) and mix. For homemade cream check tips section.

• Add crushed kasuri methi leaves. Garnish with coriander leaves.

• Serve hot with roti, phulkas, jeera rice or veg pulao.

Tips/notes:

1. Firstly, fresh or frozen green peas are good to use. If using dried peas then soak them overnight and cook in the pressure cooker.
2. Moreover, adjust the spice level according to your taste and also you can add ¼ tsp of sugar too. It’s optional.
3. Further, I have used homemade cream. It’s very easy to make at home. Collect the malai(top fat layer) formed from boiled milk and store in the fridge in a tight container. When you need fresh cream take a tablespoon and blend using the small jar in a mixer. Fresh cream is ready. Or you can beat fast with a fork. Fridge stored malai stay good for a month.