Indian Mutter or Matar Paneer masala is a delicious restaurant-style vegetarian curry recipe. This rich and creamy vegetarian curry is an easy one-pot meal that comes together in an hour.
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A restaurant favorite
Matar paneer is one of the most popular curries in Indian restaurants. This classic North Indian curry is made with green peas and paneer in creamy tomato gravy.
Matar or Mutter means green peas in Hindi. Green peas and paneer make a great combo! This vegetarian paneer masala is mildly spiced, aromatic, and extremely comforting to taste.
In India, this matar paneer recipe was mainly made during the winter because that was the harvest season for green peas in North India.
But since now, they are available all year round, you don't need to wait for winter! Frozen peas to the rescue!
What is paneer
Paneer is an Indian cottage cheese made from milk. It has a soft and spongy texture (similar to tofu) and does not melt when heated. It's made by curdling milk using some kind of acid like lemon juice or vinegar. Unlike tofu, it has flavor. It can be consumed uncooked and is used in many savory dishes. Paneer can also be used to make sweet dishes like Paneer Gujiya or Rose Sandesh. If you are a paneer lover, then you must give this recipe a try!
Why make this
- A delicious restaurant-style curry
- This recipe is made without cream
- Is vegetarian and gluten-free
- Indian paneer recipe
- One-pot meal
- Easy to make
- Needs basic ingredients
- Can be made on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot
- Comes together in one hour
- Great weeknight or weekend meal
Ingredients needed 🧾
Paneer - I have used a block of store-bought paneer. Paneer can also be made at home. In Indian grocery stores, you can also get cut paneer cubes.
Green peas - I have used frozen green peas in this matar paneer recipe. You can also use fresh green peas. You will need to cook it a little longer if using fresh green peas.
Tomatoes - Canned tomato puree or use fresh tomatoes to make a puree or even mix them both. Even canned crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce will work here.
Other veggies and aromatics - Onion, garlic, ginger, and green chillies are what you will need Indian paneer ki recipe.
Spices - Cumin seeds, chilly powder, Kashmiri chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, cardamom powder, Kasuri methi, cilantro, and garam masala are what you will need.
Nuts - Cashews are crucial to this matar paneer recipe. They bring a creamy, nutty, and rich flavor and texture to the curry.
To give it a rich, exotic, and restaurant flavor, make this vegetarian paneer dish in butter and ghee.
How to make it 🔪
- Cut paneer into one-inch cubes.
- Soak it in warm water. Set it aside for now. Let them remain in the water till you need them in the recipe.
- Soak cashews in hot water for 15 minutes. Add onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, and drained cashews to a blender jar.
- Blitz to make a smooth puree. Keep it aside for now.
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- Heat butter and ghee in the pot. Temper cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add Kashmiri chilly powder, chilly powder, and turmeric powder. Fry for 30 seconds.
- Now add the ground onion paste along with ½ cup of water. Saute for 5 minutes on medium flame.
- Next, add the canned tomatoes along with salt. Mix and continue to cook for 10-12 minutes. Cover if it starts to splutter. Keep stirring at intervals.
- Next goes in the green peas along with water. Bring it to a boil. Then cover the pot and cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring at intervals.
- The curry would have reduced and thickened by now.
- Then add coriander powder, cumin powder, and cardamom powder. Mix.
- Add the paneer cubes and mix them into the curry. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Garnish with crushed Kasuri methi, cilantro, and garam masala. Mix and take the pot off the flame. Keep the pot covered.
Serving suggestions 🍽
Matar paneer masala tastes best when served with Indian flatbreads like naan, roti, puri, chapati, kulcha, paratha, or bhakhri. It can also be served with regular bread. We also like to serve it with rice. If looking for a healthier option, serve mutter paneer with cauliflower rice, or cooked quinoa.
Some sides that will pair well with this meal are Burani Boondi Raita, Buttermilk Popsicles, Tomato Salad, and end the meal with Carrot Halwa! This exotic Matar paneer gravy can be prepared on special occasions, when guests come over, for parties, brunches, potlucks, on any festival days, during holidays, date nights, or for weekend dinners!
Top recipe tips 💭
To save time, you can use ready cashew paste instead of soaking cashews. To make this matar paneer nut-free, use tahini, sesame seeds, or coconut milk instead of cashews. If the tomatoes or the canned tomato puree is very tart, or sour, balance the flavors by adding a teaspoon of sugar.
After adding the tomatoes, do not rush the cooking process. The longer the tomatoes cook, the tastier they become. Once you add the paneer, do not overcook or overmix the curry. The paneer cubes could break and also become rubbery.
Recipe FAQs 📖
Soaking uncooked paneer in water helps keep them soft especially if they are hard. Just leave them in the bowl of water till you need to add them to the dish. If you want, you can also shallow fry paneer cubes in ghee or oil along with some slit green chillies till they turn light golden and crisp. Then add it to the dish.
Alternatively, paneer cubes can also be deep-fried, air-fried, grilled, or baked. To save some time, you can also get frozen fried paneer cubes. Thaw and use them.
The most obvious substitute is tofu. Use the extra-firm variety. Remove the excess water, cut it into cubes, and add it to the gravy instead of the paneer.
To give the tofu more flavor, I highly recommend grilling the tofu cubes rather than adding them plain because, in comparison to paneer, tofu has no original flavor. Instead of paneer, some other vegan substitutes are potatoes, cauliflower, mixed veggies, makhana, or even vegan meatballs (like I have used Kofta Curry).
But if looking for a non-vegan option, then you can also use Ricotta cheese. Squeeze out the whey from it before using it.
Also remember, ricotta cheese may have salt in it. So, first, taste the curry and then add salt.
Yes, you can. Prep all the masala as mentioned in the recipe. Add them in the same order. You don't need to cook them in saute for long. After adding water, close the pot, and cook in manual or pressure mode for 3 minutes. Then release the pressure manually. Open the lid and add the garnish.
The cooking time will not change even if you double or triple this recipe.
Matar paneer ki sabzi can be made ahead of time. It stays good in the fridge for 4-5 days. Let it cool down completely before storing it in the fridge. It will thicken up as it cools. When reheating, add some water, and salt accordingly. Mutter Paneer Masala also freezes well. If you do plan to freeze it, I suggest you prepare the curry and freeze it separately without the paneer. Add paneer when reheating.
More Indian paneer recipes
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Recipe 📖
Matar Paneer
Equipment
Ingredients
For the ground paste
- ¼ cup cashews
- 1 onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 3 green chillies
To prep the Paneer
- 14 oz low-fat paneer
- water
To make the gravy
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilly powder
- 1 teaspoon chilly powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 28 oz canned chopped tomatoes
- salt
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 cup green peas
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon Kasuri methi
- 2 tablespoon cilantro
Instructions
To make the ground paste
- Soak cashews in hot water for 15 minutes.
- Add onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, and drained cashews to a blender jar. Blitz to make a smooth puree. Keep it aside for now.
To prep the paneer
- Cut paneer into one inch cubes.
- Soak it in warm water. Set it aside for now.
To make the gravy
- Heat butter and ghee to a pot. Temper cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add Kashmiri chilly powder, chilly powder and turmeric powder. Fry for 30 seconds.
- Now add the ground onion paste along with ½ cup water. Saute for 5 minutes on medium flame.
- Next add the canned tomatoes along with salt. Mix and continue to cook for 10-12 minutes. Cover if it starts to splutter. Keep stirring at intervals.
- Next goes in the green peas along with water. Bring it to a boil. Then cover the pot and cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring at intervals.
- The curry would have reduced and thickened by now.
- Then add coriander powder, cumin powder and cardamom powder. Mix.
- Add the paneer cubes and mix them into the curry. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Garnish with crushed Kasuri methi, cilantro and garam masala. Mix and take the pot off the flame. Keep the pot covered.
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