Matar Paneer is an extremely popular vegetarian North Indian curry dish made of paneer(Indian cottage cheese) and Matar (green peas) in a creamy, spicy onion-tomato base gravy. It can be served with rice as well as naan or paratha or roti.
This Matar Paneer Curry is my go to Indian recipe to make for dinner parties, small gatherings or when you need that special dinner on weekends or weekdays!! It's very easy to make, turns out delicious no matter what and is loved by all including my lil one!! Its Vegetarian, gluten-free and can be made vegan too!
To keep things simple, I like to make my matar paneer recipe with cream but there are a lot of variations that come with this recipe and every home has its own way. Some like to add cashews, few prefer yogurt while some skip all these and still this paneer matar sabji turns out delish!!
Is this Restaurant style
I wouldn't call this a restaurant style matar paneer recipe as this is my everyday version cooked in most punjabi homes. Hence its even better than that served at restaurants.
Being an everyday curry it doesn't have much richness to it that will make you feel heavy after eating. The only rich or calorie dense ingredient here is cream (not counting the paneer) which is used in very little quantity and can be skipped too if you want it for a casual meal.
How to make vegan matar paneer
To make this recipe for matar paneer vegan, use Tofu instead paneer, skip ghee and use oil only. Skip cream or use vegan/cashew cream.
Can I freeze Matar Paneer Curry
Yes!! Let the curry come to room temperature and then pack in portion you tend to use in freezer safe ziplock bags or containers. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then microwave or heat in a pot over stovetop until completely hot and bubbly. You can adjust the consistency by adding some water (if needed).
Serving Suggestion:
My favorite way of serving matar paneer masala is with naan or fresh homemade laccha paratha's (whole wheat flaky multilayered flatbread) or zeera rice with side of kachumbar (indian spiced onion tomato cucumber salad).
How to make Matar Paneer
You can make this mutter paneer recipe either on stove top or in your Instant Pot. Below are detailed step by step instructions for both
Step by Step Method (Stove Top):
Soak the frozen paneer in some hot water and once soft, cut in cubes and keep aside. You can keep them soaked in warm water until ready to use while you make the gravy. Skip this step if using fresh paneer.
In a dutch oven or thick bottomed cooking pot, heat oil on medium flame & once hot add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon stick. Once cumin seeds start spluttering add the onions & saute till they turn translucent. Add in green chilies (optional), ginger & garlic paste and cook till raw garlic smell disappears.
Stir in the tomato puree/paste & mix. Cook for 2 mins stirring intermittently. Then add all the ingredients listed under “Dry Indian Spices” along with salt, pepper powder and ketchup. Cook till this mixture thickens & starts oozing oil from the side (approximately 2 mins).
Adjust the consistency by adding a cup or two of water. Mix & simmer till it comes to a boil. Now crush the dry Fenugreek leaves between your palms & add it to this gravy.
Add the boiled green peas, mix well. After about 2 mins, lower the heat and then add cream and mix. Final step is to add the paneer & mix with light hands to prevent the paneer from crumbling. Simmer for few minutes and Matar Paneer recipe is ready to be served. Top it with some coriander for garnishing and serve warm with serve warm with some zeera rice or naan/paratha/roti with side of salad.
Step by Step Method (Instant Pot):
Soak the frozen paneer in some hot water and once soft, cut in cubes and keep aside. You can keep them soaked in warm water until ready to use while you make the gravy. Skip this step if using fresh paneer.
Start Instant Pot on saute mode (normal). Once its hot, add the oil/ghee and allow the oil to heat up. Then add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon stick. Once cumin seeds start spluttering add the onions & saute. When the onions turn translucent, add green chilies (optional), ginger & garlic paste. Saute till raw garlic smell disappears. Stir in the the tomato puree/paste & mix.
Add all the ingredients listed under "Dry Indian Spices" along with salt and pepper powder. Add ketchup (optional but highly recommend) & mix. Cook for a few seconds and then add the paneer cubes and peas along with 1 cup of water. Mix well, make sure nothing is sticking to the pot. Cancel the saute mode. Close the Instant Pot lid with vent to sealing. Cook on manual (pressure cook) mode at high pressure for 3 mins followed by quick release.
Crush the dry fenugreek leaves between your palms and add it. Mix to stir and adjust seasoning and water as needed. The dish is ready to be served. To take it up a notch, start the instant pot on saute mode and add in the cream, mix and saute for 2-5 mins. If your tomato gravy still tastes sour even after adding cream add a pinch of sugar to cut the sourness down. Finally garnish with some cilantro and serve warm!!
That's it our Mutter Paneer is ready, serve it hot with Indian bread like Roti/Chapati/Naan or some hot rice, chutney and salad. Enjoy!!
More such delicious Paneer Curry recipes for you to try:
Hope you enjoy this Mattar Paneer recipe as much as we do!! If you give this recipe a try, we did love to hear from you ❤️ Please let us know your rating ⭐️and feedback in the comments below. Thank you!
Matar Paneer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil/ghee
- 1 cup green peas frozen or fresh
- 400 gms paneer block
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 green cardamoms
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 3-4 cloves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds zeera
- 2 green chillies finely chopped, optional and to taste
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced/grated
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 medium medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 3-4 medium tomatoes pureed approx 1 cup or use 2 tablespoon of tomato paste or 1 cup of store bought tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup optional but recommend it
- 1 tablespoon dry Fenugreek leaves Kasoori methi
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper or to taste
- some finely chopped coriander for garnishing
Dry Indian Spices :
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder haldi
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or to taste (lal mirch powder)
- ½ tablespoon coriander powder (dhania powder)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds powder (zeera powder)
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur)optional
Instructions
Using Stove Top:
- Soak the frozen paneer in some hot water and once soft, cut in cubes and keep aside. You can keep them soaked in warm water until ready to use while you make the gravy. Skip this step if using fresh paneer.
- In a dutch oven or thick bottomed cooking pot, heat oil on medium flame & once hot add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon stick. Once cumin seeds start spluttering add the onions & saute till they turn translucent.
- Add in green chilies (optional), ginger & garlic paste and cook till raw garlic smell disappears.
- Stir in the tomato puree/paste & mix. Cook for 2 mins stirring intermittently.
- Then add all the ingredients listed under “Dry Indian Spices” along with salt, pepper powder and ketchup. Cook till this mixture thickens & starts oozing oil from the side (approximately 2 mins).
- Adjust the consistency by adding a cup or two of water. Mix & simmer till it comes to a boil. Now crush the dry Fenugreek leaves between your palms & add it to this gravy.
- Add the boiled green peas, mix well. After about 2 mins, lower the heat and then add cream and mix.
- Final step is to add the paneer & mix with light hands to prevent the paneer from crumbling. Simmer for few minutes and Matar Paneer recipe is ready to be served.
- Top it with some coriander for garnishing and serve warm with serve warm with some zeera rice or naan/paratha/roti with side of salad.
Using Instant Pot:
- Soak the frozen paneer in some hot water and once soft, cut in cubes and keep aside. You can keep them soaked in warm water until ready to use while you make the gravy. Skip this step if using fresh paneer.
- Start Instant Pot on saute mode (normal). Once its hot, add the oil/ghee and allow it to heat up.
- Add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon stick. Once cumin seeds start spluttering add the onions & saute till they turn translucent.
- Next add green chilies (optional), ginger & garlic paste and cook till raw garlic smell disappears.
- Stir in the the tomato puree/paste followed by all the ingredients listed under “Dry Indian Spices”, salt, pepper powder and ketchup (optional but highly recommend) & mix until well combined.
- Now add the paneer cubes and peas along with 1 cup of water. Mix well, make sure nothing is sticking to the pot.
- Cancel the saute mode. Close the Instant Pot lid with vent to sealing. Cook on manual (pressure cook) mode at high pressure for 3 mins followed by quick release.
- Open the lid, crush the dry fenugreek leaves between your palms and add it. Mix to stir and adjust seasoning and water consistency as needed.
- To take it up a notch, start the instant pot on saute mode and add in the cream, mix and saute for 2-5 mins. If your tomato gravy still tastes sour even after adding cream add a pinch of sugar to cut the sourness down.
- Top it with some coriander for garnishing and serve warm with serve warm with some zeera rice or naan/paratha/roti with side of salad.
Notes
- I would recommend using good quality (store bought) tomato puree/paste. It gives a great color to the gravy. Alternately you can use fresh tomato puree made at home & add 1 tablespoon of store bought tomato puree for enhancing the color.
- For Stove top method: I have boiled the green peas with some salt till cooked, drained & then soaked them in cold water to retain their fresh green color. Its only at the end that I added them to the gravy but you could cook these along too. Add them when you add water & boil till green peas are cooked.
Happy Cooking!!
Shweta
So delicious! I made this for the first meal I’ve shared with friends in months, and everyone loved it. I only had about 150g paneer from some I made a while ago, so I also used tofu, which I dry fried before adding. Amazing recipe. I’ll make this one many times. Thanks!
Hi Natalie, I'm so glad to know you and your friends could enjoy this recipe together. Yes, Paneer and tofu both work well for this recipe. Thank you for trying!!
it looks delicious we would try it on weekend
Thank you! Let me know how it turned out!!
Hi! How much onion do you use?
Hi Priyanka, thanks for catching it. I use a medium sized yellow onion finely chopped. Recipe updated too.
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Perfect side dish, kids would love this..
Thanks everyone for the wonderful words 🙂
Thanks Katie, would love to know how it turned out 🙂
Perfectly done..
Yummy recipe...nice presentation..
Shabbu's Tasty Kitchen
simple dish but lovely taste. do visit my space in your free time.