Matar Paneer Recipe (Mutter Paneer)

Matar Paneer recipe made in restaurant style. This Matar Paneer is a filling, delicious and hearty vegetarian Dinner with tons of North Indian flavors. It’s easy and perfect to make when you are in a mood to enjoy something restaurant style at home. Also known as Mutter Paneer, this is a rich, spicy, creamy and tasty paneer peas curry that your entire family will enjoy. Serve it over steamed Basmati Rice, any flavored rice, Butter Naan, Tandoori Roti or flatbreads of your choice.

About Matar Paneer

Matar Paneer is a popular North Indian dish of Indian cottage cheese aka Paneer and peas cooked in a spicy and flavorsome curry. Matar Paneer translates to peas paneer where ‘Matar’ is the Hindi word for ‘peas’ and ‘paneer’ for “Indian cheese”.

This classic dish is said to have originated in Punjab region but is made in numerous ways across the country. Every Indian home and even every family may have a different recipe. For the same reason, Matar Paneer in every home and restaurant tastes different.

In this Matar Paneer Recipe, to make the gravy, we first sauté the onions & tomatoes with some spices. Then cool down and blend this to a smooth paste. Later we spice it and simmer with water until a thick consistency is achieved. To this delicious curry base, green peas and paneer are added.

The process of sautéing brings out the subtle sweet flavor from onions and tomatoes. This step also enhances the depth of various tastes & flavors in the gravy. This sautéing part is what makes this Matar Paneer simply superb and unique.

Though this extra step consumes a bit of time it is totally worth the effort when you want to make something special like the restaurant kind. Sometimes when I am in a rush, I make it in a short cut way by simply blanching the onions and pureeing them with raw tomatoes.

I have shared that method too as method 2 below upon readers’ request. You can also make that in the Instant pot, for which I have included the instructions in the recipe card.

This recipe is roughly adapted from my Paneer Butter Masala which is a popular recipe on the blog. But this tastes completely different as there is no butter used & the process is slightly different. If you want you can also add a few tablespoons of yogurt when you blend the ingredients.

To make this dish vegan, simply use extra firm tofu in place of paneer. I also have a similar but different recipe to make Tofu Curry here.

More Paneer Recipes
Dhaba Paneer Curry
Kadai paneer
Paneer makhani
Paneer tikka masala

Photo Guide

How to make Matar Paneer (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation for gravy

1. Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp oil. When the oil turns hot, add

• 1 to 2 green cardamoms (optional, omit if you don’t like)
• 1 inch (8 grams) ginger (peeled & sliced/ roughly chopped)
• 3 medium garlic cloves (8 grams, sliced). Saute just for a minute.

2. Add 1 cup (110 grams) cubed onions from 1 large onion or 2 medium onions. Saute them until they turn pink to light golden, for 5 to 6 mins.

3. Then add 1½ to 1¾ cups (340 grams) chopped tomatoes, ½ teaspoon salt and 12 whole cashew nuts. To make this nut-free, simply omit the cashews and double the heavy cream at the last step.

4. Saute for 2 to 3 mins. Cover the pan. Cook on a medium flame until the onions and tomatoes turn mushy. If your pan is too dry, you may add a splash of water. Turn off the stove.

5. Cool this mixture completely.

6. Transfer to a blender jar and optionally add ¼ to ⅓ cup plain yogurt (curd) or 1 tablespoon tomato paste if you want. Plain yogurt or tomato paste are optional, use for a rich and tangy flavor. This matar paneer tastes great even without yogurt/ tomato paste.

7. Grind to a smooth puree without adding water. We don’t want any grits in the curry, so make sure this is smooth.

Make Gravy

8. Heat a pan with 1½ tablespoon (22 ml) oil or ghee. Optionally, add 1 inch cinnamon, a small bay leaf/ tej patta, and half teaspoon cumin seeds. Let them sizzle in oil, for a min. Reduce the heat to low. Add ¼ teaspoon turmeric, ¾ to 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala and ½ to ¾ teaspoon coriander powder.

9. Mix well. If the pan is too hot , the spices will burn so do it on a low heat.

10. Pour the onion tomato puree. If your puree is not smooth, turn off the stove and pass it through a strainer. Saute for 2 to 3 mins, until the mixture comes together & turns thick.

11. Add 1 cup (160 grams) frozen peas (rinsed & drained) or boiled fresh green peas. If using fresh peas, you may need to boil, drain and use here. I use frozen peas which are ready to use, so I just rinse well, drain and add. Stir in 1 to 1¼ cups water to make a gravy. (If you are omitting cashews add lesser water, about 3/4 cup)

12. Cover partially and cook on a medium heat until the gravy is thick. It takes me about 10 to 12 mins. While the sauce simmers, cut 8 to 9 ounces (250 grams) paneer to ¾ inch pieces.

Optionally If you want to fry the paneer, spread and heat half tablespoon ghee in a non-stick pan. Place the paneer. Fry on a medium high heat until golden, turn the pieces to the other side using a wooden tong. Fry until golden and turn off. (picture reference check this saag paneer). At home we are not fans of fried paneer, so I prefer to add raw as it soaks the flavors better.

13. When the sauce is thick, taste test to add more salt or garam masala, and optionally add 1 teaspoon sugar (to balance the flavors). Crush 1 teaspoon kasuri methi in your palm and add it.

14. Add 1 slit green chili (optional) and diced paneer. Mix gently and cover. Cook just for 1 to 2 mins. Adding green chili at this stage gives a unique flavor but you may omit if you want. Turn off the heat. Overcooking can make your paneer chewy.

15. Stir in 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream/ whipping cream. (If you have omitted the cashews, double the heavy cream – about ⅓ to ½ cup, but make sure your sauce is thicker else it’s going to be runny.)

Serve matar paneer with fluffy Basmati Rice, Naan, roti, phulka, Jeera rice or ghee rice.

Here is a picture of the mutter paneer made in Instant pot.

Photo Guide

Matar Paneer Recipe – Easy Method 2

Instructions

1. Though I have skipped this step in the step by step pictures below, I don’t suggest skipping it because a lot of times raw onions taste bitter after blending and ruins the entire dish. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil & add the 1 cup cubed onions (110 grams). Boil for 2 to 3 mins. Drain the blanched onions.

2. Add blanched onions, 1½ to 1¾ cups tomatoes (340 grams), 1 to 2 small cardamoms, 1 green chili (optional) and 12 to 14 cashew nuts to a grinder jar. If you want you can also add ¼ cup yogurt at this stage and then blend.

3. Make a fine smooth puree. We don’t want any chunks of cashews in the puree. If you do not have a powerful blender, you may pass through a sieve and blend the coarse mixture again.

4. Optional step. Saute paneer in little oil and immerse them in warm water until used.

5. Heat 2 tablespoons oil or ghee in a pan. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 green cardamom, 2 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon & bay leaf. When the spices sizzle, reduce the heat, add 1½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste.

6. Fry ginger garlic paste until the raw smell goes off. Do this on a low flame to avoid splatters.

7. Add the ground onion tomato puree & saute on a medium heat stirring often. You can partially cover the pan if it splatters a lot.

8. Saute until the masala cooks well and the raw smell disappears completely.

9. Add ¾ to 1 teaspoon chili powder, ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala, ½ to ¾ teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ to ¾ salt. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

10. Add1 cup peas and pour 1.5 cups water. If you are using frozen peas, you may add them later.

11. Mix well and cook until the gravy thickens and the peas soft cook. If using frozen tender peas, you can add them after the gravy cooks for a while as the frozen ones cook faster.

12. When the gravy turns thick, you will also see some oil on top of the gravy. There is not much oil used in the recipe so you can see very little oil on top. To the thick gravy, add paneer and 1 tsp crushed kasuri methi. Crush the kasuri methi in between your palms and then add.

13. Cook for just 1 to 2 minutes. If you fry the paneer at the earlier step, skip cooking again here. Using cream is optional. Pour 4 tbsps cream to a small bowl, add little gravy and mix well. Stir this into the pan.

Switch off the stove and add finely coriander leaves. Serve matar paneer with roti or rice.

Ingredients & Substitutes

Paneer: Paneer is Indian vegetarian non-melting cheese made by curdling milk. It is easily available in Indian stores in the frozen section. You can also make your own by following this homemade paneer recipe.

If you are a vegan then you can easily substitute it with extra firm tofu or Quorn. Just note that you will need to precook Quorn until tender and then add them along with green peas

Green peas: In India, fresh green peas are in season during the winters and most people use them as they are easily available. But mutter paneer can be made anytime of the year with frozen peas, like the way I did here.

Garam masala is the key spice blend in this recipe. The flavors of your matar paneer will depend highly rely on how aromatic your garam masala is. So do use a good garam masala.

Whole spices can be easily skipped but they slowly infuse the flavors when you simmer the gravy. The depth of flavors is not comparable when you skip them.

Kasuri methi are dried fenugreek leaves. They are easily available in the Indian stores selling North Indian groceries. You may skip them if you don’t find but they impart a unique aroma and there is no substitute to it.

Cashews are used for a creamy texture. They can be replaced with soaked and blanched almonds. Alternately you may use 3 tbsps of white poppy seeds. Soak the seeds for 2 hours in warm water and grind them separately in a small grinder to a thick creamy consistency. Pour it at the last step before adding paneer. Simmer until it thickens then add paneer.

Heavy Cream adds a milky flavor to the gravy and also makes the dish creamier. However you may just skip it and use 6 more whole cashews.

Variations

Matar Paneer gravy can be made in many ways. Here are a few variations:

• For the simplest version, saute fine chopped onions until deep golden, then ginger garlic and then add pureed tomatoes & cashews. Saute until thick and add spices. Pour water and make a thick gravy. Add matar and paneer to this.
• To add yogurt & skip cream, you can follow my restaurant dum aloo recipe. Just skip the aloo and use matar and paneer instead with the amount of water mentioned in this post. I also have instant pot version in that post.
• To make matar paneer without onions and garlic, you can follow my paneer makhani recipe.

FAQs

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Recipe Card

Matar Paneer Recipe first published in Sept 2015. Updated and Republished in November 2022.