Mutter Paneer

Pan-Fried Cheese with Green Peas

There is no one north Indian restaurant menu, or any special occasion meal from that region, that does not include mutter paneer. This dish is rich, creamy and with some homemade freshly ground perfumed spices, they taste delicious. You can have this along with any store bought or homemade naan, and the meal is complete. The garam masala in this recipe is added in the beginning itself to let the lovely spices blend together with the creamy sauce.


If you don't find paneer or you don't have it handy, then you can easily substitute it with boiled and cubed potatoes and you can rename the dish as "Aloo matar". Even potatoes go very well with this sauce.

Recipe adapted from 660 curries

Ingredients:

1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
3 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 1 1/2 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 1/2 inch thick)
3 large cloves garlic
1 or 2 fresh green chillies
2 tablespoons canola oil (or vegetable/ sunflower)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1 cup tomato sauce , canned or homemade
2 teaspoons bin bhuna hua garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (no need to thaw)
1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
8 ounces Paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes and pan-fried with few teaspoons of oil till golden brown
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions:

Combine the onion, ginger, garlic, and green chiles in a food processor and pulse until they are minced.

Heat the oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the cumin seeds and bay leaf, and cook until cumin seeds sizzles, turns reddish brown, and smells nutty, 5 to 10 seconds. Immediately add the minced onion blend and stir fry until it is light reddish brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in tomato sauce, bin bhuna hua garam masala and salt. The sauce will quickly start to bubble up and splatter, so lower the heat to medium. Simmer the sauce partially covered, stirring occasionally, until some oil starts to appear on the surface and around the edges, providing a glistening sheen , 5 to 10 minutes.

Pour in 1/4 cup water and the peas. Cover the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender and olive green in color, 8 to 10 minutes.

Fold in the cream, paneer and cilantro. Cover the pan and simmer, occasionally stirring gently, until the cream and cheese have warmed through, about 5 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and serve.