Matar Paneer Recipe (Punjabi Mutter Paneer)

Matar Paneer is a classic Punjabi dish consisting of soft paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cubes and green peas (matar) simmered in a rich, spiced tomato-onion-cashew gravy, flavored with fragrant spices and herbs, creating a flavorful and hearty curry best enjoyed with naan, roti, paratha or rice. The recipe hails from the versatile Northern Indian cuisine that has many different (and delicious) variations. I’m sharing our family recipe of a flavorful and simple home-style Mutter Paneer that you are going to like.

About Matar Paneer Recipe

This simple homemade Matar Paneer is a family recipe spiced to perfection and cooked with green peas (matar or mutter in Hindi), and paneer which is Indian cottage cheese. It is also known as Matar Paneer ki Sabji in Hindi.

It is a tasty Indian dish that I make often, as matar paneer – also known as mattar or mutter paneer is one of the most popular dishes from the North Indian cuisine.

I have been making this recipe for YEARS. I originally learned how to make it at my in-laws’ home – a classic Punjabi recipe that was simple, easy, and absolutely fuss-free!

All of that being said, this family recipe is not a restaurant-style version. It tastes absolutely delicious, but is much simpler and lends more of a satisfying, comforting feel.

I share three ways of making this dish – Stove-top pressure cooker (with step-by-step photo guide), in the Instant Pot and in a pan or skillet on the stove-top (whose instructions I have listed in the recipe card below).

Ingredients You Need

• Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese): Paneer is a super soft, fresh, un-aged Indian cottage cheese, usually made from dairy milk. You can use ricotta cheese if needed instead of paneer, but it’s important to note that ricotta cheese may be salted and paneer is not. Squeeze and drain any extra whey from ricotta before using.
• Vegetables: You will need fresh or frozen green peas (matar), a few medium-sized ripe red tomatoes, a medium or large onion, and some green chilies.
• Cashews: Cashews act as a creamy thickener for the masala paste. However, if you do not have cashews on hand, you can substitute almonds.
• Spices, Herbs and Seasonings: You will need several seasonings and spices for this mutter paneer recipe, including cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, salt, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and seeds, black peppercorns, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.

How to Make Matar Paneer Recipe

Make Masala Paste

1. First, you will take all of the masala paste ingredients and add them to a grinder or a blender. Make sure you include:

• ½ cup chopped onions
• ¾ to 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger {sub with ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger (dry ginger powder)}
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 
• 10 to 12 cashews
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro)
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies or serrano peppers
• 4 to 5 black peppercorns
• 1 inch cinnamon (Use true cinnamon. For cassia cinnamon, use ½ inch of it)
• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds {sub with 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (coriander powder)}
• 1 green cardamom – optional
• 2 cloves

2. After that, you will grind the ingredients into a smooth paste. If needed add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water while grinding the masala paste. When the paste is creamy and blended to a fine consistency, set aside until later.

Note: There should be no small bits or pieces of cashews in the paste.

Make Mutter Paneer

3. Next add 3 tablespoons oil in a 2-litre pressure cooker or a pot. Let the oil become hot. Reduce heat to a medium-low heat. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and fry until they splutter.

4. Next, add in your ground masala paste, and mix well.

Tip: It is important to be careful while sautéing because the masala paste tends to splutter when added to the pressure cooker. If there is too much spluttering, then cover the cooker partly with a lid until the spluttering stops.

5. Now you will sauté the paste mixture for about 10 to 12 minutes on a medium-low heat.

You want to be sure to sauté long enough for the oil to separate from the paste. The masala paste will also thicken and look glossy.

6. After sautéing the masala paste, add in all of the dry spice powders, stir to combine well and sauté for a minute. Be sure to include:

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or sweet paprika (sub with ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cayenne or red chilli powder)
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder (replace with ¼ teaspoon of curry powder)

Note: If adding heavy or light cream or clotted cream (malai), you can add now. Add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or malai (the cream that floats on top of heated and cooled milk) or 2 tablespoons of light cream. In place of cream, substitute with ¼ cup whole milk.

7. Next, add in 1 cup of rinsed green peas or matar. You can chose to add either frozen or fresh green peas.

8. Mix again well.

9. Then, add 1 to 1.25 cups water, salt and mix thoroughly.

If you have used a pot or pan for sautéing the masala, add about 1.5 to 2 cups water or as needed. Cover pan with its lid. Simmer on medium-low to medium heat until the peas have softened.

Do check a few times so that the gravy does not get burnt while cooking. If needed add some more water while the gravy is simmering and the peas are cooking.

10. It’s now time to pressure cook the green peas until they are fully cooked. Be sure to cover the cooker tightly, then cook for about 9 to 10 minutes or 2 to 3 whistles on medium to medium-high heat.

Note: When the pressure drops on its own, open the lid of the pressure cooker. If the gravy appears thin, simmer until it reaches the desired consistency.

The consistency should be medium and neither thick nor thin. If the gravy appears thick, add some water and simmer.

For a slight sweet taste, you can also add up to ½ teaspoon of sugar at this point.

11. Finally, add the paneer cubes and mix well or simmer on a low heat for a few seconds or until the paneer cubes are fully cooked. Don’t overcook as the paneer will become dense and hard.

You can add more flavors, by including ½ teaspoon of crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) at this step.

Note: You want to avoid overcooking, otherwise the paneer will become dense and rubbery. You can even shallow or pan fry the paneer pieces separately and then add these to the curry.

12. Now that your matar paneer is ready to eat, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot or warm.

Serving Suggestions

Matar paneer goes well with Indian flatbreads like Roti, Paratha and Naan. It also pairs well with Jeera Rice and steamed Basmati Rice.

At home I usually make paratha or roti to go with it, but a side vegetable salad or Raita goes really well with the combination of mutter paneer and paratha.

You can also enjoy mopping the curry with Poori (Indian fried bread) and even your regular everyday Bread or some dinner rolls.

Storage and Leftovers

If you do have any mutter paneer leftovers, refrigerate in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days. The curry will thicken after cooling and so while reheating, add a bit of water to loosen the consistency.

Instant Pot Matar Paneer

Matar paneer can be made easily in an Instant Pot. I make many Indian recipes in the Instant Pot and even this mutter paneer. Read the instructions below to make this recipe in your Instant Pot.

1. Preparation: Make the masala paste with tomatoes, spices, herbs and cashews as listed in the above step-by-step guide. Set aside.
2. Sautéing: Press the sauté button on the Instant pot and let the display show “hot”. Add oil to the inner steel pot. Crackle the cumin seeds first. Add the ground masala paste and sauté stirring often until it thickens and looks glossy. You can press the sauté button twice to bring the setting to less, if the pot becomes too hot.
3. Adding ground spices: Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder. Mix and sauté for a minute.
4. Including green peas: Add the green peas, 1 cup of water, salt and combine thoroughly, deglazing the inner pot. Press the cancel button.
5. Pressure cooking: Seal the lid and position the valve to sealing. Press the pressure cook/manual button and set the time to 3 minutes. Pressure cook on high pressure. After you hear the beep sound when the cooking is complete, wait for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release. 
6. Final touches: Press the cancel button. Add paneer cubes and mix well. Finally add some coriander leaves and mix again.

Expert Tips

• Tomatoes: Include tomatoes that are ripe and sweet. If the tomatoes are sour, the curry will have a sour taste. To balance the sourness add some sugar or a bit of light cream.
• Creamier Version: For a slightly creamier version, I add cashews, but these can be skipped. To give some citrus notes to the curry, I also add coriander leaves (cilantro). If you are not a fan of cilantro, omit them.
• No onion no garlic version: In my recipe you can skip both garlic and onions. To mimic their flavors, include a generous pinch of asafoetida (hing) after adding cumin seeds and before adding the masala paste. Mix it well and then add the ground masala paste. Make sure not to burn the asafoetida while frying it in oil.
• Scaling: You can make a small batch or a large batch by easily scaling the recipe.
• Make-ahead: If you are pressed for time, grind/blend the masala paste and freeze it for a couple of days or refrigerate overnight, so that you can easily cook the matar paneer gravy the next day.
• Fats: I always make mutter paneer in oil. For a richer version, you can make it in ghee (clarified butter).

FAQs

This Matar Paneer recipe from the archives was first published on April 2013.