Easycooking: Paneer Matar

Paneer is something which I absolutely love and to me,any north-Indian meal is incomplete without a Paneer dish!I have come across many people who frown when they see me ordering Paneer Butter Masala-my favorite of the lot,and ask me..how can you eat THAT..??I show them,like THIS and gobble down a big piece of butter naan soaked in paneer;-).Strangely,its only the non-veg eating people who have this dislike towards paneer.(I am not being judgemental here,just sharing my experience and what I feel about it).My hubby for instance has a strong dislike towards paneer based dishes,I have to plead to him to at least TASTE the dish before saying anything.To my relief,he has started eating paneer dishes ONLY if I make them at home.

I always buy ready made paneer blocks,since they are much easier to handle and I don’t find much of a difference between store bought and home-made.(I maybe wrong here!),I also feel that home-made ones have that crumbly texture in contrary to the silky soft texture of store bought ones.I make paneer at home only if the milk curdles(which happens often due to the power failures!) and always end up making scrambled paneer with veggies(shall blog about that soon).

Fresh peas are in season and what better way to include them in your paneer dish than the famous Paneer matar..??A total win-win situation for me since peas is hubby’s favorite and paneer is mine..can it get better than this..??I followed the exact recipe from here,also check out her Notes and Health tips!!

Recipe Marathon – Day 24
Low fat-restaurant style Paneer Matar ala Saffron Trail

Ingredients

Paneer – 200 gms,cut into small cubes
Fresh/frozen peas – 1 cup
Onions – 2 medium,finely chopped
Tomatoes – 2 medium,finely chopped
Ginger garlic past – 2-3 tsp
Haldi/turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Red chilly powder – 1 tsp
Coriander-cumin powder – 1 tsp each
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil – 1 tbsp
Broken cashews – 1 tbsp
Kasoori methi – 1 tsp

Method

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed kadai. Saute the broken cashews till lightly golden.
Add the ginger-garlic paste and onions and cook on a low flame with a pinch of salt till they soften and turn light brown.
Add the tomatoes with the turmeric powder. Stir well and cook for 5-7 minutes, till mushy.
Remove the contents of the kadai and blend to a fine puree in a blender, once cooled thoroughly. You may use upto ½ cup water to aid the blending process.
In the same kadai, transfer the fine puree. Season with spice powders (red chilli powder, cumin coriander powder, garam masala) and salt. Simmer for 3-4 minutes till the gravy is infused with the spices.
Add the boiled green peas to this gravy and simmer for 5 minutes, after which the paneer cubes go in. Simmer for another 2 minutes, check for salt, sprinkle crushed kasoori methi and give it a stir.

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot!!