Food Recipes Matar Paneer Be the first to rate & review! Matar paneer is the definition of a party dish. It’s the sort of thing that you can serve to anyone—it looks really pretty and is always a crowd-pleaser (Cheese! Tomato sauce! Cumin-studded peas!). And it takes a *tiny* bit more effort than your standard Indian one-pan sabzi, which means you’ll usually only pull it out when you want to impress a crowd. Typically, the paneer in matar paneer is deep-fried. But as my mom discovered, deep-frying at home sucks, and the dish ends up tasting a lot more balanced and not overly rich when the paneer is simply simmered in the pan with all the other ingredients. By Priya Krishna Priya Krishna Priya Krishna has written about food and restaurants for a decade. A food reporter for The New York Times, she's also written two cookbooks, Indian-ish and Cooking at Home. Highlights: * Covers food and restaurants for The New York Times * Also writes about food for Bon Appetit, New York Magazine, and TASTE * Developed innovative and accessible Indian-American recipes for her cookbook, Indian-ish * With chef David Chang, co-wrote Cooking at Home, a cookbook that foregoes precise measurements and emphasizes innovation and experimentation Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Published on April 23, 2019 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Yield: 4 servings Ingredients ¼ ghee or olive oil, divided 4 green cardamom pods, or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (freshly ground is best) 2 tablespoons coriander seeds 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh ginger 1 small Indian green chile or serrano chile, halved lengthwise and stem removed 7 medium Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 2 bay leaves ½ teaspoon ground turmeric ¼ teaspoon asafetida (optional, but really great) 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more if needed 8 ounces paneer, cut into ½-inch cubes (1 cup; see Chef’s Notes) 1 cup fresh or frozen shelled sweet peas ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (stems and leaves), for garnish Directions In a large skillet over medium heat, warm ¼ cup of the ghee. Add the cardamom and coriander and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until they have lightly browned. Stir in the onion, ginger, and chile and cook until the onion is translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the tomatoes, and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes are wilted, 5 to 6 minutes more. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Transfer the cooled tomato mixture to a blender and blend into a chunky sauce—it should resemble baby food. If the mixture isn’t blending well, add a few drops of water to get it going. Set the sauce aside. In the same pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons ghee. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they turn a medium shade of brown, about 1 minute max. Reduce the heat to low and add the bay leaves, turmeric, and asafetida (if using). Pour the sauce into the pan, add the salt, and mix well. Add the paneer, peas, and 1 cup water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the peas are warmed through and have nicely comingled with the paneer and Serve sauce. Taste and adjust the salt, if needed. Garnish with the cilantro. Mackenzie Kelley Chef's Notes As soon as you cube the paneer, put it in warm water until you are ready to cook it—this will make sure it doesn’t dry out. Just be sure to drain it before adding it to the pan. Excerpted from Indian-ish © 2019 by Priya Krishna with Ritu Krishna. Photography © 2019 by Mackenzie Kelley. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Rate it Print