January 20, 2007

Mutter Paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Green Peas.


A relatively easy dish to make and a veritable family pleaser. This with a hot phulka (roti)and a salad sends me right back to my school days when I came home in winter to a hot meal. Now at dinner, my son and I play with the green soldiers(peas) stuck in a glacier(paneer). So much for not playing with food! Hi hi! At least he ends up cleaning the plate this way.

The mutter paneer has endless versions, with butter, with cream, with fried paneer, without fried paneer....
Paneer is a very high fat and high cholesterol food and all the added cream and oil just overpowers the nutrition in this dish at restaurants.While at home, I make a light curry without too much cream, to eat without counting calories.
Hence if you making this for a crowd, make sure you have made it at least once before to familiarize with the balance of flavors so that you can change the richness and spice as suited. Serve with roti or naan.

You Will Need: Serves 4
Paneer- 100 gm
Green Peas- 200 gm (Fresh or Thawed)
Onions – 1 1/2 cups chopped finely.
Green chilies-4 sliced lengthwise
Ginger Paste-1 tsp
Garlic Paste-1 tsp
Tomatoes-3 medium ones
Plain Yoghurt-2 tbsp
Red Chili Powder-1 tsp or less as per taste
Turmeric- ¼ tsp
Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder-3/4 tsp
Cashew nuts- 1 tbsp soaked in water
Cream -3 tbsp or milk
Garnish:
Cilantro Leaves- ½ cup washed and chopped.
Garam Masala- ¼ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 1 or 2tbsp

Preparation:
1. Blanch the tomatoes in hot boiling water for a minute. Peel them and chop or puree them. Alternately, use one small fresh tomato and 1 1/2 cup of canned tomato puree.

2. Cut the paneer into small cubes and sauté in just 1 tsp oil or less just until all four sides are slightly seared and starts turning golden. Do not deep fry and do not let it get crisp. Keep a close watch and keep stirring to avoid the pieces from sticking to the pan. Drain onto paper towels and keep aside.

3. Grind the cashewnuts to a fine paste along with the ginger and garlic. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and fry the onions on very low heat for about 5-8 minutes till it turns golden. If the heat is very low and you have patience, you don't need a lot of oil to fry the onions. Also if you microwave it for 5 minutes before frying, it cuts down the time a lot. Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and sauté till the raw smell disappears. Add 1 tbsp of water if it is sticking to the pan. This should take about 2 minutes.

4. Now add the yoghurt and let it sizzle away the water. Add the tomato puree and let it cook for about 6-7 minutes on low heat. Cover the pan as the tomatoes will splatter everywhere. Open and adjust seasoning and then add the green peas and salt. Add 1 cup water if it is too dry. Cover and cook until the oil separates in the pan.

5. Add the paneer pieces, green chilies to the gravy, fresh cream and cook for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle garam masala powder and fresh chopped coriander.

P.S. The cashews are optional and add a healthy creaminess to the dish. You could replace the cream with whole milk to cut back on the richness. Substitute with ½ cup milk and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

This curry has the onions as small pieces so if you prefer an absolutely smooth gravy, you could sauté (or microwave) the onions for 2-3 minutes without burning and then grind the onions to a paste and then continue frying till golden. I prefer simplifying so unless necessary, I just chop it real fine and sauté.

21 comments:

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Gorgeous, just gorgeous! I love mutter paneer. I have never made them with cashews but certainly can imagine the rich taste in gives to the dish. Thanks Shaheen.

J said...

Hi Shaheen! Thats a rich and creamy recipe - I can almost taste it! Yummy!! I make mutter paneer regularly tho' I do not use cream, milk or cashews, and we just love it. But the next time we have guests for lunch, I'll turn a blind eye to the calories n try ur version!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Shaheen,

I've been craving something all weekend and just couldn't put my finger on it -- it must be this beautiful mutter paneer. Love the recipe, and that photo really brightens up a cold winter morning. Thanks! :)

FH said...

Great looking Matar Paneer!:))

Bong Mom said...

The paneer looks lovely and I really liked the way you play with the veggies for your son. Maybe I should try that some time

But I too avoid the cream etc. when I make this for a home meal.

Anonymous said...

What kind of cottage cheese is paneer? The only cottage cheese available at our grocery stores doesn't look the same as paneer. I have seen recipes translate paneer as cottage cheese. But I don't understand. Am I missing something?

Mutter paneer looks great! I am glad you made a new post...because that meen curry picture was driving me insane whenever I come here. :)

indosungod said...

Shaheen how did you guess?!, I made the Fish curry with Salmon, was simply delicious my friends who had come for dinner also loved it. Mutter Paneer looks awesome, I avoid cooking, don't like adding cream, but maybe I can skip that.

Shah cooks said...

Meeta, cashews just a touch of creaminess so once in a while i add it.

Jyothsana..its not really a very rich recipe and it makes a big difference in taste.

linda, Thanks, thats what i thot too when I saw the photo.

Asha, Thanks..

Sandeepa, daily cooking is a lot simpler in taste than when we cook for guest, right?
My son and i play a lot with stories at the dinner table.:)

Rp, cottage cheese is any cheese made from the first splitting of milk and it has a lot of water content. They call paneer that but u are right, this is definitely not the cottage cheese u get in supermarkets. I make paneer at home when my milk is nearing the date.

Indo, i know u love salmon..:)
do try even without cream, it is good.

Anonymous said...

gr8 recipe.
i would like to know your tried n tested way of making paneer. i still hav n't really mastered the art of making panner, ie retainin its shape once i cut it n cook it.

Anonymous said...

cont.....

maybe with ur usual step by step illustrations:)

lov
ki

sra said...

Mallugirl! Must try this version. By the way, check out the meme - I've updated it to include you!

Viji said...

Very nice presentation. I love the way you prepare this famous side dish. Viji

Menu Today said...

Hi Shaheen,

Simply Superb!!!!!!

Krithika said...

looks lovely !! this is one of my favorites

Anonymous said...

A classic dish so well presented. I know what to cook this weekend! Thanks for the recipe.

Unknown said...

best side dish for fried rice and roti!!!nice picture...

Anonymous said...

Soldiers and glaciers!!!! LOL!!!! Thats so cute!!!

This is an easy simple version of mmumtter paneer. Perfect for everyday meals as well :)

Unknown said...

Mmm. I am thinking about making that for dinner tonight!

Jimmy Page said...

the mutter paneer is just wow!!!i am a newbie to cooking and mindless of the nuances.... it was simple making and following your instructions... love it thanks

VeganDharma said...

Looks delicious I am going to make this dish Vegan, by using tofu instead of Paneer, and instead of heavy whipping cream&Yogurt, use Soy yogurt instead.

For those of you wondering Vegan a diet that uses no animal products such as dairy(milk, yogurt, butter, ghee etc) and eggs.

Anonymous said...

OMG THIS IS THE FIRST RECIPE THAT I HAVE EVER MADE THAT ACTUALLY TURNS OUT THE WAY THEY SAID IT TO AND ITS GREAT THE TASTE AND FLAVOR AND COLOR IS AWESOME. THANKS SO MUCH