Matar Paneer - Paneer and Green Peas in a Spiced Tomato Sauce

Creamy and delicious Matar Paneer is a classic Indian vegetarian curry made with Paneer and Green Peas in a creamy onion-tomato sauce.

5 from 3 votes

Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 20 minutes mins

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Creamy and delicious Matar Paneer is a classic Indian vegetarian curry made with Paneer and Green Peas in a creamy onion-tomato sauce.

5 from 3 votes

Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 20 minutes mins

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

An incredibly creamy and delicious vegetarian curry, this Matar Paneer is made with paneer and green peas cooked in a flavor packed tomato-onion sauce. A must try for Paneer lovers! Pairs well with hot rotis smeared with ghee.

This is definitely one of those paneer curries that you must have in your Indian curries repertoire and is a great dish to make for dinner parties.

Both paneer and green peas are high in protein, so this is an excellent vegetarian curry if you are conscious of your protein intake.

A lot of the curries you eat at the restaurants are not necessarily made in Indian homes for everyday dinners. We love the creamy rich curries as much as anyone else, but it is not something I can stomach (literally) all days of the week.

In fact, my family is now so used to the variety of cuisines that are made at home, that they seem to get bored with repetition of any kind. Spoilt much? A little bit, I think so.

But that said, this Matar Paneer, Dal Fry, Lauki Chana Dal, Dal Palak, Egg Curry with Coconut Milk, Chicken Curry, Sambar, Zucchini Dal, Sweet and Sour Mango Curry and Rajma Masala are some of our everyday curries and we tend to get biased towards the richer Paneer Tikka Masala, Malai Kofta and Butter Chicken on special occasions or when we have guests over!

Ingredients for Matar Paneer

• Paneer - this is the star and the main ingredient in this curry. Freshly homemade paneer can be used in this recipe, but store bought is just as fine as well. In fact, I mostly use store-bought paneer. Use any of your favorite brands of fresh and soft paneer. I love the Appel Farms paneer and find it to be very fresh and made with no other additives. This can be found in WholeFoods or PCC ( a local co-op store in the Seattle area). Other brands of Paneer can be found in any Indian grocery stores in your neighborhood.
• Green Peas - traditionally, fresh green peas are used in this recipe. Since that is a seasonal ingredient, available only for a month or so in a year, most everyone uses frozen green peas. I love to use frozen green peas for the convenience of it.
• Cashew - this may not be used in all recipes for Matar Paneer, but I sure love adding cashew paste when I make Matar Paneer. It adds a lot of creaminess to the curry base and I can totally skip the heavy cream that is usually added to the curry.
• Aromatics - ginger, garlic and onion are the aromatics added to this curry, as with most Indian curries.
• Tomato - I use a combo of fresh tomatoes and tomato paste to bring in a multi-dimensional richness to the sauce base.
• Spices - cumin, turmeric, garam masala and cayenne / Indian red chili powder along with some kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves are the spices used for making this Mattar Paneer curry.
• Oil - a neutral oil like avocado oil is my favorite for most of my cooking needs as with this curry.
• Salt
• Cilantro - fresh cilantro is used as garnish for this recipe.

You will also love these other paneer recipes like Paneer Methi Pulao, Paneer Butternut Squash Tikki, Garam Masala Paneer Wrap and Paneer Tikka.

How to make Matar Paneer

Soak cashew nuts in a bowl of water for about 10-20 mins.

Heat oil over medium heat in a deep pan and add the onion, ginger and garlic to it. 

Sauté till the onions soften. Add turmeric powder, cayenne / red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and cumin powder. Mix well and let them cook with the onions for a couple of minutes. 

Now add the chopped tomatoes and salt to this.

Sauté till the tomatoes soften. Turn off heat and let it cool.

Drain the cashew nuts and put them in a blender along with the onion-tomato mix and blend to a smooth paste.

Pour this onion tomato puree back to the pan and add the tomato paste. Add about a cup of water, ½ cup at a time and let it mix well. The consistency should be saucy yet thick, sort of like pasta sauce. 

Now add the fresh paneer cubes, fresh peas or frozen green peas and mix in. Let it cook on medium-low heat for 5 mins or so.

Add the dried fenugreek leaves / kasuri methi to this and mix it in. 

Fresh cream / heavy cream can be added to this at this point, if you want it extra creamier and richer. I usually tend to skip it as the cashews in the tomato gravy gives it a creamy texture in itself.

Garnish with cilantro / coriander leaves and serve with tandoori roti / chapatis / naan.

Recipe tips

• The tomato paste I use in this curry is not from a can or a tube as I am wary of BPA leaching into it. I try to avoid canned stuff as much as possible. I have found tomato paste in little glass jars in many stores and that is what I have switched to now.
• Many add a little cream to the sauce. I have always made it without the cream and that is how we like it. But you are free to add a little cream, maybe ¼ cup or so at the very end.

What to serve with Matar Paneer

This creamy matar paneer curry can be served alongside rice or Indian flat breads. Plain basmati rice, jeera rice or veg pulao works great with matar paneer. For the Indian breads, you can serve this matar paneer with tandoori rotis, phulkas, chapatis or naan. 

How to store leftover Matar Paneer?

Leftover Matar Paneer can be stored in an airtight glass tupperware in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

To reheat, pop it in the microwave for 2-3 mins, till heated through. Mix well once heated. If the curry has thickened too much, add 1-2 tablespoon of water, mix it in and heat it.

📖 Recipe

Matar Paneer

Manju

Creamy and delicious Matar Paneer is a classic Indian vegetarian curry made with Paneer and Green Peas in a creamy onion-tomato sauce.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, North Indian

Servings 6 servings

Calories 304 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoon avocado oil
• 1 red onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne / red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ¼ cup cashew nuts soaked in water for about 15 mins
• 2 organic Roma tomatoes chopped
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 14 oz paneer cut into 1 inch cubes about 2 cups
• 1 cup green peas
• salt to taste
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoon kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves

Don't forget to check out Step-by-step instructions with photos in the body of the post above

Instructions

 

• Heat oil over medium heat in a deep pan and add the onion, ginger and garlic to it.
• Sauté till the onions soften. Add turmeric powder, cayenne / red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and cumin powder. Mix well and let them cook with the onions for a couple of minutes.
• Now add the chopped tomatoes and salt to this.
• Sauté till the tomatoes soften. Turn off heat and let it cool.
• Drain the cashew nuts and put them in a blender along with the onion-tomato mix and blend to a smooth paste.
• Pour this onion tomato puree back to the pan and add the tomato paste. Add about a cup of water, ½ cup at a time and let it mix well. The consistency should be saucy yet thick, sort of like pasta sauce.
• Now add the fresh paneer cubes, fresh peas or frozen green peas and mix in. Let it cook on medium-low heat for 5 mins or so.
• Add the dried fenugreek leaves / kasuri methi to this and mix it in.
• Fresh cream / heavy cream can be added to this at this point, if you want it extra creamier and richer. I usually tend to skip it as the cashews in the tomato gravy gives it a creamy texture in itself.
• Garnish with cilantro / coriander leaves and serve with tandoori roti / chapatis / naan.

Notes

• The tomato paste I use in this curry is not from a can or a tube as I am wary of BPA leaching into it. I try to avoid canned stuff as much as possible. I have found tomato paste in little glass jars in many stores and that is what I have switched to now.
• Many add a little cream to the sauce. I have always made it without the cream and that is how we like it. But you are free to add a little cream, maybe ¼ cup or so at the very end.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 304kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 12gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 30mgPotassium: 254mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 729IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 340mgIron: 1mg

Keyword matar paneer

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