Cottage Cheese with Green Peas:) My Special Matar Paneer:) by Nita Mehta!

Matar Paneer is nothing to blog about. Right. But when the Indian culinary guru Nita Mehta calls her Matar Paneer, "My Special Matar Paneer", it is something to blog about. The making of Matar Paneer is no big art. Onion-tomato paste, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, panner and green peas. Done!
Nita Mehta, gives wonderful twist to its making, and believe me, if the recipe is followed to the T, it would produce results!
Indian cottage cheese (Paneer, as we call it) is very versatile. It does not have any distinct flavour on its own, but absorbs the flavour of whatever it is put into. Any form of curry, be it tomato based or spinach based, or whether you barbeque it or grill it, do whatever, paneer tastes 'out of this world'!



Here goes the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Cottage Cheese (Paneer) - 150 grams, cut into cubes
Green Peas (shelled) - 3/4 cup (fresh or frozen)

Gravy:
Onions - 3, chopped very fine
Tomatoes - 3 chopped very fine
Garlic - 3 flakes, crushed
Ginger - 1 inch piece, chopped fine
Watermelon Seeds - 3 tsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Tandoori Masala - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup

METHOD

Mix tomatoes, garlic and ginger with 1 cup water in a small pan. Boil. Keep covered on low flame till the tomatoes turn soft. Let the water evaporate and the gravy thicken. Cool. Blend it for a few seconds ( not too much, dont make it into a fine paste) and keep aside.
Soak the watermelon seeds and poppy seeds in 1/4 cup of water for 10 minutes. Grind into a paste (if the quantity is too little for grinding, add a little of the tomato paste to it, and grind).
Heat oil, add the onions and fry till golden brown.
Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder and coriander powder.
Add the water melon-poppy seeds paste. Stir for a few seconds.
Add the tomatoes. Cook for 5 -7 minutes till the oil separates.
Add milk gradually, stirring continously for 2 minutes on very low flame.
Add garam masala and tandoori masala. Add salt.
Add enough hot water to get a thick gravy. Add pre-cooked/frozen green peas. Add the paneer. Give one boil.
Simmer on low flame for 3-4 minutes till the paneer is heated through and is soft.
Serve with pulao/rotis.



Note: If you are using fresh green peas, shell them, and tranfer them into a small pot. Add enough water and boil them, covered, till they are cooked and soft. Add them to the gravy at the required time.

If using frozen green peas (which I did), just take them out of the freezer when you need to put them in the gravy. Add them in the gravy and simmer.


Lots of love and happiness:)

Comments

Indian Khana said…
Looks so perfect...lovely colour n pics
kranthi said…
no words.simply super
natalie456 said…
These culinary websites offer videos of world-class Michelin rated chefs exhibiting their techniques. Also features documentaries on fine dining restaurant locations and cities, recipes, forum, and more.
1. www.Gourmandia.com
2. www.GourmetRecipe.com
Anonymous said…
Hi, Neat post. There is aan issje togetheer with your site
in web explorer, could test this? IE nonetheless is the market leade and a huge element of other folks will
pass over your great writing because of this problem.


my site: formation informatique []
Ginza said…
I hunted down this recipe now. It's my favourite mutter paneer recipe.

Popular Posts