Green Peas Masala | Green Peas Curry
Green peas masala recipe with step by step photos – an almost restaurant-style delicious recipe of green peas curry. Almost restaurant like as the recipe does not have onions and garlic. Though, if you want you can add onions and garlic. Makes for a comforting meal when paired with some roti, naan or rice.
This matar masala recipe does not use butter or cream like most of the restaurant style recipes I have posted. Cashews and milk powder are added to make this gravy creamy, smooth and slightly sweet. I made the gravy a bit spicy, but you can always add the amount of spices as per your tastebuds. The gravy tastes similar to Paneer butter Masala gravy.
Usually I combine peas with other veggies to make dishes like Aloo Matar, Matar Paneer or gobi matar. But at times I just make a gravy like this recipe or make a dry peas curry. For best taste use fresh green peas. However, you can also use frozen green peas if they are not in season.
Serve peas masala with roti, naan or phula. You can also serve green peas masala with jeera rice or saffron rice or ghee rice.
How to make Green Peas Curry
Preparation
1. First soak 10 to 12 cashews in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes. Use whole cashews.
2. When the cashews are soaking, steam the fresh peas in a pan or a steamer till they are tender and softened. You can steam them in a steamer or a stovetop pressure cooker or in the Instant Pot.
If cooking in a pressure cooker, then cook for 2 whistles adding water as needed. You can also use frozen peas.
3. Later drain all the water from the cashews. Add the cashews together with 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes in a blender or grinder jar.
4. Without adding any water, grind to a fine and smooth paste. Keep the tomato-cashew paste aside.
Make Masala Base
5. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a pan. Lower the heat and then add the whole garam masala or whole spices:
- 1 tej patta
- 2 cloves
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 or 2 single strands of mace (optional)
Fry for some seconds on low heat till the spices become fragrant.
6. Then add 1 to 1.5 ginger+green chili paste and a generous pinch of asafoetida (hing). Stir and sauté on low heat till the raw aroma of ginger and green chilies go away.
7. Now add the tomato-cashew paste.
8. Stir and mix the paste well.
9. The mixture splutters a lot while sautéing, so cover the pan with a lid and cook this masala mixture, till it stops spluttering on a low heat.
10. Meanwhile in a small bowl whisk 2 tablespoons of fresh whole milk curd (yogurt) till smooth.
11. Stir and sauté the masala paste on a low to medium heat, till it thickens and you see oil specks on top and oil releasing from the sides.
12. Then add the below listed ground spices:
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon red chili powder (add as per taste)
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
12. Stir and sauté for a minute.
13. Now lower the heat or you can opt to turn the heat off. Add whisked or beaten curd (yogurt).
14. As soon as you add the curd, stir quickly with a ladle or spatula so that the curd does not split.
15. Stir the curd very well with the whole mixture. Remember to add beaten curd on a low heat and keep on stirring quickly and continuously till the entire curd is mixed and incorporated evenly in the masala paste.
16. Add 1 cup water. Stir and mix thoroughly to make an even gravy.
Make Green Peas Masala
17. Then add the cooked green peas.
18. Season with salt as needed.
19. Stir and mix everything very well.
20. Add 2 tablespoons milk powder.
Instead of milk powder, khoya or mawa (milk solids) can be added. But remember to add khoya and sauté it after the tomato-cashew paste is cooked through.
21. Stir and again.
22. Bring the peas masala curry to a simmer on a low to medium heat. About 5 to 6 minutes on a low to medium heat after you add the milk powder.
23. Lastly add ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves), which has been crushed. Stir the curry and switch off the heat.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve green peas masala with chapati, tandoori roti, naan or roomali roti.
You can also serve green peas curry with steamed rice or jeera rice or biryani rice or ghee rice.
More curry recipes
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
for tomato-cashew paste
- 3 tomatoes (medium to large) – 250 grams tomatoes or 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes
- 10 to 12 cashews
other ingredients
- 1 cup matar or 140 grams matar (peas)
- 1 to 1.5 teaspoon ginger+green chili paste or ½ inch ginger + 1 to 2 green chilies – crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle
- 2 tablespoon Curd beaten (yogurt)
- 2 tablespoon milk powder or dairy whitener
- 1 generous pinch asafoetida (hing)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi – crushed (dry fenugreek leaves)
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoon oil
- salt as required
whole spices
- 1 tej patta
- 2 cloves
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 or 2 single strands of mace – optional
Instructions
Preparation
- First soak 10 to 12 cashews in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes.
- When the cashews are soaking, steam the fresh peas till they are cooked completely. You can steam them in a steamer or pressure cooker. If cooking in a pressure cooker, then cook for 2 whistles.
- Later drain the water from cashews and add the cashews along with 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes in a blender or grinder jar.
- Without adding any water, grind to a fine and smooth paste. Keep the ground tomato-cashew paste aside.
Making masala base
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan. Then add the whole garam masala – 1 tej patta, 2 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 1 inch cinnamon, 1 or 2 single strands of mace (optional). Sauté till the spice become fragrant.
- Then add 1 to 1.5 ginger+green chili paste and a generous pinch of asafoetida. Stir and fry on low heat till the raw aroma of ginger and green chilies go away.
- Now add the tomato-cashew paste. Stir and mix the paste well.
- The mixture splutters a lot while sauteing, so cover the pan with a lid and cook this masala mixture, till it stops spluttering.
- Meanwhile in a small bowl whisk 2 tbsp of fresh full fat curd till smooth.
- Stir and saute the masala paste on low to medium heat, till it thickens and you see oil specks on top and oil releasing from the sides.
- Then add the ground spices – turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder.
- Stir and sauté for a minute.
- Now lower the flame. Then add beaten curd.
- As soon as you add the curd, stir quickly with a ladle or spatula so that the curd does not curdle.
- Stir the curd very well with the whole mixture. Remember to add beaten curd on a low flame and keep on
- Stirring quickly and continuously till the entire curd is mixed incorporated in the masala paste.
- Add 1 cup water.
making green peas masala
- Then add the cooked green peas. Season with salt. Stir everything very well.
- Add 2 tbsp milk powder. Instead of milk powder, khoya can be added. But add khoya and saute it once the tomato-cashew paste is done. Stir again.
- Bring the green peas masala curry to a simmer on a low to medium flame.
- Lastly add 1/2 tsp kasuri methi, which has been crushed. Stir and switch off the flame.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve peas masala with chapatis, tandoori rotis, naan. You can also serve green peas curry with jeera rice or saffron rice.
Nutrition
This Green Peas Masala recipe post from the archives, first published in March 2015 has been updated and republished on November 2022.
Absolutely love this recipe. I always loved green peas anyway, and with this recipe I’ve found another way to incorporate it in my diet. Thanks Dassana!
Glad to hear that. Green peas are so versatile, and I am glad this recipe gave you another delicious way to enjoy them. Thank you for the lovely feedback.
I just love all your recipes. They all turn out awsmm. Whenever I have to try something new …your blog is for my rescue. Just love your blog. Keep posting more such wonderful recipes
thanks a lot kimaya. felt nice to read your comment. sure, i will keep on adding more recipes. thank again.
Tried this recipe and it came out really well.
Thanks for sharing!!
welcome and thanks for sharing the feedback pooja.
Its testy & quick also. Loved it????.
I have added fresh mint leaves.
Thanks????
Welcome Riddhi. Good to know this.
Its tasty & quick also. Loved it????. I have added fresh mint leaves. Thanks????
Welcome Riddhi. Nice to know this.
I made this yesterday and it turned out to be amazing. Replaced the milk powder with coconut milk whuch gave a slightly coconut tasts… Overall, an amazing way to have peas! Thanks!
Welcome Namrata. Thanks for sharing your positive feedback on matar masala. Glad to know the variation you did to the recipe.
Hi
This came out so well…loved it!
Quick and tasty too.
Lots of love and blessings.
Thanks Sukhi for your positive feedback and best wishes.
Finger licking good!!!!
Thanks Bindu
Tasty one,I made it, thank you
Welcome Shoba
This is an awesome recipe! Esp even without onion and garlic it was restaurant style! Thanks!
welcome janani. thanks for sharing your positive feedback. glad to know that you liked it.
can we skip milk powder ?
you can skip milk powder.
Very yummy when tried by adding ginger and onion too.. Everyone guests come for dinner this curry is my first choice.. Thks a lot
Welcome Latha. Glad to know this.
Thanks a lot for the recipe dear.
I was awesome in taste as well as presentation.
My hubby and his friends simply loved it.
Welcome Bharti. Glad to know this.
hi instead of fenugreek leaves can I use fenugreek powder as I have Everest fenugreek powder I got it aftr chkn in few of ur recipes. And also wen u say 2 tablespoons is that heaped or flat. Thank you.
kaneez, you can use fenugreek powder, but just add a light pinch or else the gravy will become bitter. its flat and not heaped. if i use heaped, then i will mention that its heaped tablespoon.
I tried the recipe today and it was amazing! Thank you very much!
Only that I couldn’t grind the cashews to a fine paste like in the recipe (I think your grinder works better than mine 🙂 )… Still the taste wasn’t compromised at all I think!
Thanks once again..
thanks for this lovely feedback ruchi. good to know that the matar masala recipe was good in spite of the cashews not being ground to a fine paste.
welcome ruchi, thanks for positive views.
Hi Dassan, if I use garlic and onions in this recipe, when do I add them please ? After sautéing the whole garam masala spices OR blending them with the cashews and tomatoes To maintain smoothness of gravy ? Hope to hear back from you in this…..tnx much and always 🙂
dimpy, add garlic when ginger+green chilies are added. add onions after sauteing the ginger+green chili+garlic. if using garic and onions than no need to use hing. saute the onions till golden, then add tomato+cashew paste.
Hi,
Thank u so much for the tasty receipes, nt only this one bt i have tried many of the receipes, al the receipes were tasty. Thank u for the detailed explanations, and also for your patience….whenever i want to try somethng new i wl go throgh ur site, and i wll be able to clear all my doubts here….. i may nt be able to comment al the time bt always thank in my heart… thank u so much sister….. all the best…… and will be waiting for more receipes to try ….. thank u once again….
thanks a lot shwetha. its fine if you are not able to comment. will be adding more recipes 🙂
Thanks for your wonderful recipe.
Can I freeze fresh peas directly after removing the outer pods? Please advice.
yes geetha you could freeze fresh peas when not in season and you want to store for future use 🙂
Tried it. It was ok.
Thank you so much for these recipes. You always serve as a helping hand in the kitchen. Thank you so much for your presence.
thanks a lot sneha 🙂
this might be the best website i have came across :>
made this recipe.. and it came out delicious .
i added some garlic and one chopped up large onion
pleased to know this chris thankyou 🙂
WOW Dhagar Dish…Awsome …..
thankyou ravi.
Hi Dassana,
Thank you for the awesome recipes! Live in US and your recipes help me stir up some amazing Indian dishes!
Can I add paneer to this dish? Also I saw the section with no onion or garlic.. Do you have some Jain recipes? ( no potato, onion and garlic)
thanks hiral. you can add paneer to this recipe. i do not have any jain recipe without potatoes. but there are many no onion garlic recipes.
Tried this today.. It was excellent.. Thanku for posting such wonderful and amazing recipes..
welcome ankita
Hello. I have been following your recipies for sometime now. Tried peas curry today. My husband loved it so much that he had it as a main dish and a side dish. He did not touch any other dishes on the table.
Thank you for the lovely recipient.
welcome meera. nice to know this.
Hello Dassana
sorry to leave you comment on this page actually I wanted to leave a comment on palak paratha but was not able to . For palak paratha if I want to use frozen spinach what is the method to make this paratha and how much frozen spinach for how many cups of atta please advise, thanks
welcome simmi. i will not be able to tell you about how much frozen spinach. because i have never used it. you will have to use approximation.
Awesome recipe site..i just discovered ths site n found all te recipes i hv gone through as 100% genuine…measurements, ingredients, process everything is similar to how we do. As i m a south indian…these r all our regular b.fast recipes n our way of making. Good job dear…since m on mobile screen…i was just going tru few of breakfast recipes..dint try to find bloggers name or details.. Anyway…good job to who ever owns ths site..thr r 100s of recipe sites…n i been exploring many f them…but dint find any blogs which i felt i can close my eyes n cook as per recipe given..I m going to try some of ur recipes.. Kudos to you…keep up te good job..step by step picture tutorial n briefing really helpful for beginners as well as for non professional cooks.. Awesome !! Let me explore more…Thanks!!!
thanks a lot preethi for this encouraging feedback. glad to know that you liked the recipes. do try some recipes.
thanks for your reply.so If I understood right on karela sabzi you meant if we don’t rinse in water then you can squeeze but I guess rinsing is important as karela will have salt on them let me know, thanks
I will try chole by adding black salt do you think chana dal or mashing chana will help me to achieve that taste.
For palak paneer can I prepare palak puree with ginger garlic and green chillies way in advance if yes how many day earlier is good? do you think it will give same taste in palak paneer please let me know, thanks
right simmi. there is not much salt on the karela as the salt gets dissolved in the bitter juice and gets squeezed out. i have never added chana dal in chole. i just mash a few of the chickpeas with the spoon as this helps in thickening the gravy. also mashed potatoes can be added to thicken the gravy. but this is helpful when you make chana or chole in large quantities.
for palak paneer, i would suggest to make the puree fresh. the taste will change a lot if you refrigerate the puree. at the most 1 day is fine.
Hi Dassana Dear
I wanted to leave comment on karela sabzi which I want to try but there is no option for me to leave a comment I have question on karela sabzi ; once you wash the chopped and salted karela by rinsing them in fresh water then you have to squeeze water too but doing that do you think karela will break as they are cut in long piece please advise, thanks
by the way I tried your bhindi bhaji it was great except the fact I didn’t like the taste of saunf in it but thats just personally me anyway on the whole it was very nice.
also you have so many recipes on chole (white chana) I will try your punjabi chole for sure but does that give same taste as street vendors coz when you eat chole from street vendors it has some very peculiar taste which is hard to explain but very nice i don’t know whether by mashing the chana or adding chana dal can give that taste have you ever come across that type of chana if yes let me know what can be adding in chole to get that authentic taste, thanks
welcome simmi. no need to squeeze the karela pieces. if you don’t rinse in water then you can squeeze. taste is a matter of personal preference so thats fine. i also don’t like some ingredients in dishes. the punjabi chole recipe with roasted spices comes very close to the street vendors chole. i also suggest to only add black salt in chole. it makes a difference in the dish.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! In fact thank you for taking the time to share all your wonderful recipes on this website! I made this gravy for my pregnant wife and we both loved it. Didn’t have milk powder so I substituted it with some left over coconut milk. Delicious! Thank you again!!
welcome srini. glad to know this. thanks for sharing your positive feedback.
Omg ur recipes are mindblowing!! They saved my marriage ;)…. Everything turns out perfect.. My search for the perfect recipes is finally over.. Thanks a tons for sharing them!!
Will be trying this recipe today, but I don’t have milk powder or khoya.. So any other substitute?
thanks dhaara for sharing this sweet feedback. add 2 to 3 tbsp of fresh cream (or amul cream if you live in india). wishing all the best for your future.
Hi Dassana,
I came across your site few days back.
In fact, I think, You did such a great job sharing your beautiful recipes to the world. (I’m gonna try Neer Dosa tomorrow.)
Thank You.
welcome gitesh. thanks for your kind words.
Hi Dassana
I wanted to leave you comment on Bhindi recipes page but none of the bhindi recipes let me leave the comment. Thanks for sharing so many different kinds of bhindi recipes such as bhindi bhaji, bhindi do pyaza and bhindi masala and the list goes on I still have to try these delicious recipes.
And I would like to ask you a question on bhindi bhaji can you please tell me how putting the rimmed lid filled with water to cook vege is different than just cooking the vege by simply covering it and cooking on slow flame coz I mostly cook the vege by covering it with lid (not adding water) and cooking on slow flame and I hardly get vege burnt. Please let me know what are the benefits of using covering the vege with rimmed lid filled with water because i found this method very unique and innovative. Hats off to you.
also I make bhindi sabzi by sauting onions first and then adding bhindi chopped and all the dry spices (salt,turmeric,redchilli, amchur) and then cooking on medium flame without covering. Is bhindi do pyaza will have the same taste as mine please advise, thanks
welcome simmi. cooking with lid with water is a quick process because steam is created inside. this bhindi do pyaza will taste different than your method. comments are temporarily closed in most posts and will open them in few days.
Hello dassana,
I have tried so many recipes from ur site, and all have turned out to be super awesome !!! And my family and friends love it …
I just wanted to ask one thing, is there any substitute or alternative for kaju ? Because my parents are aged and they think kaju is full of cholesterol , they don’t like when I use it frequently.
thanks surabhi for sharing positive feedback on recipes. you can use magaz/melon seeds. make a powder or paste of it. but the taste will be different.
First site which makes clear the recipe. Amazing work. Love it.
thanks ashi
Peas with spice… Good combination for many people… Your cooking instructions are very clear.
thanks yemek
Dear Dassana,
Can I use sour youghurt? I know it will curdle if I heat it up, but can I add the youghurt after turning off the heat? I’m lactose intolerant and can’t get any lactose free cream here. But this recipe seems great and I’d love to try it!!!
Still one more question; can I make paneer with milk consisting of 1.5g fat per 100 ml / 1 dl? I can’t use full fat milk because it’s not lactose free here.
Thanks for the great recipes!
welcome sari. skip yogurt. you can try making the paneer.
Can i make it without heeng ?
sanjukta, yes you can. skip adding it.
I have never seen any cooking instruction in my life as clear and detailed as yours. Thank you very much.
welcome amit. thanks for sharing your motivating feedback.
Hi,
Can you please post gatte ki sabzi recipe..
i will try to add it.
Pls post a recipe of cheese balls..
ankita, i will try to add the recipe soon.
superb thank u
welcome gayathri