MATAR PANEER
KASHMIRI MATAR PANEER IS A VEGETARIAN CURRY THAT IS DELICATE AND DELICIOUS.
Dad’s matar paneer recipe was my favourite meal. We always make the paneer from scratch because it makes a huge difference to this Indian vegetarian curry. A great meat alternative that is nourishing, delicate, and never disappointing.
Find out more about making matar paneer >
RECIPE DETAILS
Serves: 4 as part of an Indian meal
Prep time: 30 minutes + 24 hours hanging time.
Cooking time: 60 minutes.
Dietary Style: Gluten Free | Vegetarian
INGREDIENTS
MAKE THE PANEER THE DAY BEFORE
- 3 litres full fat milk
- 2 or 3 lemons, juiced
- 2 tbsp full fat yogurt
TO FRY THE PANEER
- 3 cups vegetable oil
PRODUCE PREP
- 2 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 cups peas, parboiled
- 3 cups whey
THE MASALA
- 1 tsp fine pink salt
- 1/3 tsp fine white salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1.5 tsp fennel powder
- 2/3 tsp ginger powder
- 1/3 tsp amchur
- 1/3 tsp mace powder
- 1 cinnamon quill
- 3 cloves
- 3 tsp cumin seed
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 4 green cardamom pods, husks cracked
- 2 cm x 2 cm piece jaggery
METHOD
How to make our matar paneer recipe.
The day before
In a large pasta or rice pot, put on 3 litres of milk to boil on a high heat. While this is heating up, gather your lemon juice and yoghurt to the stovetop and have them ready to use. Stir the milk continuously once it starts to heat so that it doesn’t catch the base of the pot and burn. Once the milk starts to froth and expand and climb the pot, quickly add the lemon juice to cut it. Turn off the heat straight away and also add the yoghurt. Stir it through. The curd and whey should instantly separate. If this doesn't, add a little more lemon juice.
Put a pot beneath the strainer to catch the whey. Lay a muslin cloth over the strainer to catch the curd. Strain the curd. Reserve the whey, and then hang the curd cheese—your paneer—from a tap in the kitchen or laundry. Leave it until the next day. Reserve your whey in a sealed container in the fridge.
STEP 2
In a large heavy wok, or deep based heavy bottomed pot, add 3 cups of vegetable oil and set to high heat. While this oil is heating, parboil 2 cups of peas, dice your tomatoes, cube your paneer into 2 inch pieces and remove the whey from the fridge and pour out 3 cups. Keep it all by the stovetop.
Fill a large Tupperware or container with cold water and set aside next to the stovetop. This is the draining method for the paneer.
STEP 3
Once the oil is hot, fry the paneer in small batches. When just caramelised, remove from the hot oil and place directly in the cold water. Be careful not to let your cooking implement touch the water so that it doesn’t spatter in the oil.
Once all the paneer is fried, turn off the oil. Strain the paneer of its water and set aside next the peas and the whey by the stovetop.
STEP 4
In a large frying pan that is off the heat, place the ghee and all of the spices—if you do this while the heat is on, you won’t be able to work quickly enough and your spices will invariably burn. Place the frying pan on a medium heat. Add the jaggery. Stir until aromatic and tempered, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add in the diced tomatoes. Cook down for between five to seven minutes, or until the oil begins to split and the tomatoes become a rich and spicy slurry.
Add the peas, the fried paneer, and stir through the spices gently. Straight away, add enough whey so the paneer is not quite covered—think of them like icebergs with 70 percent of their surface area below the level of the whey.
STEP 4
Place on a medium high heat for a few minutes until the paneer begins to bubble. Once hot, turn down to medium low and cook without stirring for around 45 minutes to one hour. If the simmer is too strong, turn it down. The end result should be fluffy paneer, just a small amount of lubrication left in the bottom of the pan, and a richly spiced taste. Serve hot with rice and dal.
LEARN MORE ABOUT
MATAR PANEER
What if I don’t have whey?
If you buy paneer, or forget to reserve the whey there are substitutions. You can use a 50-50 vegetable stock and water mix. A 50-50 buttermilk and water mix. Yoghurt and water. Or even a 50-50 buttermilk and vegetable stock mix, which would be extra rich and creamy.
What’s the top tip for making matar paneer?
Start with beautiful spices and creamy paneer. That aside, the most significant element is the time given for the paneer to cook on that low, undisturbed simmer for around 45 to 60 minutes. The gentle cooking plumps the paneer with the masala, resulting in a delicate and fluffy mouthful.
Can I make paneer with alternative milks?
Yes. Essentially you can work a similar process with soy milk to arrive at a tofu product that can pass for paneer. I have tried making paneer with nut milks with no success—they have a different structure.
Do I have to use peas?
No. The beauty of a recipe like this is that it serves as a template. If you or your family don’t like peas, you can use cauliflower, spinach, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, eggplant—any vegetable you like really. The masala can stay the same.
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