Matar Paneer Recipe Restaurant Style is popular and well known in India and abroad.
The masala curry recipe includes fresh Green Peas and soft Cottage Cheese cubes, cooked in a spiced gravy.
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The vegetarian Matar Paneer (Mutter) Recipe is Gluten- and Nut-free and freshly prepared from scratch.
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📕 What is Matar Paneer?
Matar Paneer or Mutter Paneer is a North Indian dish made of Green Peas and Indian Cottage Cheese cubes in spicy curry gravy.
Mutter means Green Peas and Paneer is the Cottage Cheese.
This dish is super popular across the Indian subcontinent and has been more common lately in Indian restaurants in the west.
🫕 Ingredients
Matar Paneer Recipe Restaurant style makes a great weeknight dinner for two.
The Recipe is almost a one-pot meal and can be prepared in less than 25 minutes.
Try to use only fresh green peas and if possible fresh Paneer.
Add the cottage cheese at the end of the curry preparation. Overcooked Paneer can crumble in the curry.
The food coloring is optional and a common trait of restaurant-style Matar Paneer.
Use of Alternative Masala Curry Paste Recipe
Another way to prepare Mutter Paneer is to use a cashew tikka masala curry sauce as a base instead.
That's another common way to prepare mutter paneer and one that I make frequently enough.
The curry base turns out creamy too and super flavorful.
🇮🇳 How I discovered Matar Paneer in India
Here I was, sitting in the restaurant garden, looking at the gravy in front of me.
My taste senses were not activated, in fact, the warm dish appeared rater uninspiring.
"Another spice bomb disguised as a harmless dinner," I thought.
I hadn't ordered, my husband was the culprit who left me with the food because somebody again timed well by calling him when he was about to attack his dinner.
A common annoying occurrence in our lives.
What was the gravy called?
Mata Paneer? Mother Paneer? "Matar Panner!" exclaimed a friend.
"Green Pease and Indian Cottage cheese in a sauce," he said while answering the apparently obvious question in my eyes.
He must have noticed the expression on my face because he started to laugh out loud and said "No spicy.
It's very good, try!"
How many times have I heard somebody say that in India?
Each time when I would order something somewhere in this massive country, I would tell them "No spice, no Chillies, please (for god's sake)".
Each and every single time I would be of course disappointed and the imagination of a heavy and happy tummy vanished with the first bite.
Sometimes I wondered why people couldn't see the fire coming out of my nostrils.
How could they just swallow huge plates containing 90 % chili spice flavor? How!?
The memories of previous food adventurous in the Indian subcontinent hadn't subsided, sometimes they would even haunt me.
So, I couldn't be blamed when I was ogling the obscure Matar Paneer, unclear if I should give the dish a chance and most importantly give the chef a chance who had conjured the plate of food.
The gravy looked smooth, the Paneer bouncy, the peas looked like peas.
The chef couldn't be such a catastrophe after all!
The fresh cow patterned chapatis were waiting at the side, still warm and ready to be torn, covered in gravy and to be devoured in one bite.
I did that.
Tore the Chapati into a food spoon, picked up a piece of Paneer with gravy and popped it into my mouth.
Boy, I hadn't expected what was to follow!
A light tickling sensation of tomato goodness, spreading its flavor essence gently over my taste receptors.
A surprisingly mellow spice experience that made me smile.
I couldn't believe what was happening, I loved the Matar Paneer and I didn't mind the usually so rough cilantro aroma, no it was worse (or better?) I needed more of this gravy.
I wanted to chew on a paneer piece again, experiencing the silent squeak of the cheese rubbing against my teeth.
I wanted the flavors of the peas and tomato gravy combined and most importantly I wanted it all with the soft and partially crisp Chapati flatbread.
👁️ More Paneer Recipes
- Paneer Korma - Mughlai Shahi Paneer Curry
- Palak Paneer
Dear Reader, have you tried the mutter paneer?
📖 Recipe
Matar Paneer Recipe Restaurant Style
Ingredients
- 3.5 Ounces Green Peas
- 1 Onion
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic *see Notes
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Ground
- ¼ Teaspoon Chilli Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds Ground
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds Ground
- ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- 1 ½ Teaspoon Garam Masala
- Pinch Dried Fenugreek Leaves optional, aka Kasoori Methi
- 1 Cup Tomato Sauce
- 2-3 Tablespoons Table Cream or heavy cream or half and half
- ½ Cup Veg Stock
- Red Food Coloring optional
- 7 Ounces Paneer
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro Fresh to garnish, aka fresh Coriander
Instructions
- Boil your Green Peas and keep aside.
- Blend the onion to a paste
- Heat up a pan, add the oil and stir fry your onion paste & ginger garlic paste for 2 minutes so that it cooks a bit and the ingredients start to emit the wonderful flavors.
- Continue to throw in the spices. turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander seed powder, cumin seed powder, black pepper powder, garam masala, and dried fenugreek leafs.
- Stir cook the spices for a minute and then add the tomato paste, cream and the veg stock. Mix well. Let cook for 10 minutes on medium to slow heat and stir occasionaly.
- Add a drop of red food coloring if you want
- Then add in the paneer cubes and green peas and let cook for about 5 minutes on medium to low heat.
- Serve hot and garnish with coriander. Best enjoyed with rice or chapati.
Notes
- You can use a Paneer substitution in this recipe.
- Use freshly fine chopped ginger and garlic with a ratio of 1:2 or use Ginger and garlic paste.
- The food coloring is optional. Chefs in India love bright colored foods so they usually add lots of food colors into foods to make them appear more alluring. I leave the decision to you.
I've never tried Paneer before, and it's available in my supermarket. Yay!
Is it tablespoons or teaspoons for the garam masala?
Looking forward to trying something new. Thank you!
Hi Wendy, yes it's 1 1/2 Teaspoon Garam Masala. Thanks for pointing it out, I fixed it in the recipe.
This looks delicious and the addition of kasuri methi must be giving amazing flavours.
You really made it look easy, all the photos are great, especially the one where there is hand written note that says matar paneer, Really nice work
I love Indian food and this Matar Paneer screams my name. I never tried to make Paneer dish before but I will give it a try!
Mattar Paneer is one of my FAVORITES, lol, but I also love anything spicy. I can't imagine traveling through India and NOT developing a taste for the nuance of chili and heat. But you're right - this is a perfect entry dish to Indian cuisine because it is rich but easy on the palate. I'm so craving it right now! 🙂
Jeni, India takes spicy food to a whole new meaning. What is spicy in the western world is non spicy in India. You need to experience it for yourself, some places like Rajasthan have spicy food which you didn't think could be possible. Even my Indian spice loving husband can't eat the food in some places in India, as it's basicaly just chilis. Also they put chaat masala in lemonade. lol
I do love spicy, but that has a different meaning to everyone! Sometimes a "hot" spicy won't phase me at all while a "mild" will have me on fire.
ditto! =D
I laughed way too hard - totally feel you on wariness for impending spice assault - I cannot handle things that are too in my face and result in water chugging haha. Love the look and sound of this delicious Matar Paneer recipe!
Yeah... lol
It's just sometimes, too much is too much.
We are on a wave Jenn. 😉
Paneer is delicious and I love all the gorgeous spices in your dish. I also like that you've called the chapati a food spoon 🙂
Yum! I am still working on building up my heat tolerance. Paneer is a favorite of mine. I would love to try this!
Oh Helene, that looks so good, and I actually licked my lips as I was reading your taste experience with the Muttar Paneer, one of our favourites. I'm wondering if you will post a recipe for the Chapati.
I posted about making my own paneer and Naan, I hope you can pop by and check it out.
http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/indian-dinner-party-paneer-makhani/
and http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/draft-indian-dinner-party-naan/
I had posted a recipe for naan previously, but the one above is MUCH better and so easy. I highly recommend it. A few followers have made it with success too. I do hope you can try it and let me know what you think.
You make it look so easy!
I like spice, but only a mild to medium spice. I always have to ask for for mild when ordering an Indian dish:-) Your Mutter Paneer looks fantastic! Hugs, Terra
I cannot deal with spicy too because my stomach cannot take it every time I eat spicy food. It's so unfortunate because a lot of great and delicious foods are meant to eat spicy (in many Asian countries, too). My Indian friend make non-spicy Indian food for me and I'm so grateful... 🙂 This looks great!
I guess I've totally missed the fact that you can't deal with spicy. Hey - if your body doesn't like something, it doesn't like it! Regardless of the chile, you sure know how to spice things up. The list of spice in this recipe has my nostrils going wild. I bet this dish smells as good as it taste!
I don't think I've ever had paneer - of any kind. When we get to cooking from India, I'm going to have to give this version a try. (If not sooner.) 🙂
I love this dish! And you're right, it's not spicy, although really flavorful. I love spicy, though, so I'd really enjoy all of those dishes that give you distress! Good recipe, fun post - thanks.
This looks so good. I have only just embraced paneer. I love peas though. I'de put them in anything! So glad you enjoyed it in the end. It looks very yummy 🙂
I agree with Minnie. You are in the hottest part of India. Not all Indian food is chilli hot and it's unfortunate if that's all you've had. If you are ever in Colorado, I will cook for you. My food is not chilli hot but its layered flavour with many spices. I am glad you liked the muttur paneer though, I love pea curries. Yours looks like the real deal.
Nazneen
I love the spicy! Maybe it's because I live next to Mexico, and am just used to it. It seems like you can't go wrong with any Indian dish. The huge photos are so great, and I love the picture with the handwritten recipe and placed peas and tomato. You do such a good job on your presentation every time:)
ha ha ha!!! You had me laughing at the picture your presented. Matar paneer is delicious, no matter how you make it. You can simply fry mustrard in oil, throw in some tomatoes and some spices, and viola! An aromatic treasure is ready in less than half an hour 🙂
Looks like you made the real deal here though, looks sooo delicious!
North Indian food is never as hot as food from south and west India, and you are sitting at a place that possibly serves one of the hottest cuisine of the counrty. Not that I am complaining, I LOVE hot food, especially Goanese.
I love it Helene how you resisted it at first just to discover a world of flavors and sensations you like. You made me smile at the image of agonizing heat coming off Indian food. 🙂 I love the depth of color achieved in this dish and just by looking at it I know it is delicious!
not all indian food is spicy or hot... hmmm like this mutter paneer. the mutter paneer and rotis are really looking restaurant style, especially with the red color.