Muttar Paneer

I really think that with Indian food it doesn’t matter if the dish is with meat or vegetarian, it will always taste great and this dish is one of them.

Muttar Paneer, Matar Paneer or however it is translated is a dish of Indian cheese called paneer with peas served in a tomato gravy seasoned with mainly Garam Masala. It’s a dish from the villages in the Punjab in Northern India. You can easily make the paneer yourself if you can’t find it.

You can fry the paneer first until golden brown or simply add it to sauce if you want a softer cheese. The same goes for the sauce, you can make it thick and rich or add extra water to make it thinner either way it makes this a wonderful dish.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil (for frying the paneer)
1 tbsp oil for cooking
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3cm piece of ginger, grated
250g tinned plum tomatoes
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fenugreek powder (methi)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
200g peas
150 – 250g paneer (cut into approx 5cm cubes)
1 tsp garam masala
Handful of fresh coriander (chopped)

Preparation Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add the diced paneer and fry until it has is golden brown then remove from the pan and drain it on some kitchen roll to remove the oil.

In the same oil add the onion and after a few minutes stir in the garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes until the onions are soft and turning golden.
When the onions are cooked add the tomatoes, ginger, salt, turmeric, fenugreek and chili.

Stir together and cook the sauce until the tomatoes and onion melt together creating a thick masala paste.

Once it is thick and shiny add the paneer and frozen peas, stir them in and cook for about 10 minutes.

If you want to thin the sauce a bit then pour in some hot water to get the consistency of the sauce that you are looking for and to finish sprinkle with garam masala and freshly chopped coriander.

Enjoy!