Recipe for matar paneer – easy to follow step-wise instructions to make Matar Paneer Curry, perfectly every time using your Instant Pot.
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I am apologizing to Paneer whenever I cook with it these past few years, for not loving it before. Yeah, Paneer wasn’t my favorite about a decade back, but now, I can’t get enough of it. It could be acquired taste or mostly because my family loves it and cooking with it frequently kinda made me think I might as well eat it, lol.
Anyway, homemade paneer or store-bought paneer has a permanent spot in our fridge these days; Paneer and mushroom to be precise. Because our little one loves them both and these amazing protein sources are too tasty to cook once in a blue moon.
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So, coming to this curry, it is a family favorite and I especially love it, from the time I got this recipe from a chef. My husband had this small restaurant a couple of years back and we have dissolved it since then, but those were good times. I managed to learn and master a couple of restaurant favorite Indian dishes. One of those is this recipe for Matar paneer, I just had to learn it once I tasted it.
What is Matar Paneer? (aka Mutter Paneer / Green Peas and Paneer curry):
This North Indian curry is a beautiful rich curry loaded with fresh or frozen Green Peas and Indian cheese Paneer. It is an elegant dish made with a super easy but the best curry base full of onions and tomatoes. With just a bit of spice, it makes for a wonderful curry when cooked with Paneer and Peas.
So what goes in this curry?
Thickeners: This recipe for Matar paneer makes for a thick curry; it is creamy and thick curry. Onions and tomatoes are sauteed, cooked, and pureed without much addition of water and of course, some cooked cashew nuts gives the BEST base for this curry.
Sweeteners: As I said before, this is a sweetish curry. Originally the sweetness is supposed to be imparted from sauteed onions, cashews, milk, and paneer. But since we’re used to the sweet restaurant-style Matar paneer gravies, we are now adding some added sugar. You can choose to skip it if you like
Spices: A few spices go into this curry but those are all pantry ingredients or ones that are easily available. Out of these spices, I would say two are very important and they make this curry stand out from South Indian curries: Cumin Seeds and Kasuri Methi.
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There is a wide range of uses for cumin seeds in South Indian, but the addition of cumin as the very first ingredient while sauteing gives a unique flavor. And then comes the Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), which add a beautiful slightly bitter flavor that balances the sweetness of this curry.
Serving suggestions:
How to serve matar paneer? This matar paneer curry can be served with flatbreads like chapatis /rotis, naan bread or whole wheat naan, kulchas, stuffed parathas, romali rotis. Since this recipe is a north Indian curry, it is safe to assume that it goes well with a North Indian style spread.
You can serve some Jeera Rice or Plain Cooked INSTANT POT Basmati Rice to go with this. Cook up some delicious kebabs like this Chicken Seekh Kebab for a complete and perfect meal!
Nutrition in this recipe for matar paneer:
Is matar paneer healthy? I would say so, especially this recipe gives a healthier curry. Because I don’t use heavy cream or too much butter. Plus, you can skip out the added sugar if you’re not keen on a sweetish curry. You can also lessen the quantity of paneer if you like. But if you’re on a keto diet, I see no reason for you to reduce paneer.
How to store this matar paneer curry:
This curry is best when immediately out of the Instant Pot. And it does stay good at room temperature for up to 5 hours (even on a hot day). Keeping the Instant Pot lid tightly closed helps in that way.
But if you’re gonna be serving it after more than 5 hours, you will have to transfer to an airtight container as soon as it cools down and keep it in the refrigerator. To reheat it, you can pour the curry (carefully! you don’t want the paneer to break) back into the Instant Pot, add some water like 50ml (this is because there would have been moisture loss in the fridge) and PRESSURE COOK for “0” minutes.
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On the other hand, if you wanna make this curry ahead of time say for a party or something. I would suggest making the curry base, ( i.e. stop with the first stage of pressure cooking) blend and transfer to airtight freezer bags once cooled down. You can keep this curry base frozen for up to a month or even more.
If you’re not making this ahead for a party, you can split it into two bags and freeze ’em separately for two different but wonderful dinners. Maybe with one of those you can make this INSTANT POT Chickpea Butter Masala.
To use this frozen curry base, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight or on the kitchen counter for a couple of hours. Then follow with the second stage of cooking.
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Special diets:
This recipe for matar paneer gives a KETO friendly, vegetarian curry. You can make this lactose free and vegan by skipping the butter and by replacing it with nut milk (coconut milk would be my choice) or even with water.
Recipe for matar paneer – how to make it:
This exquisitely delicious Matar Paneer curry is very easy to make. Here are the ingredients you’ll need for making this curry in Instant Pot:
1st stage:
- Oil – 2 tbsp
- Butter – 1 tbsp
- Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
- Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
- Green Chillies – 3 medium
- Red Onions – 4 medium approx 300g, sliced
- Roma Tomatoes – 5 large, approx. 350g, cubed
- Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
- Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
- Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
- Cashews – 12 whole
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Water – 50 ml
2nd stage:
- Whole Milk – 3/4 cup or 200 ml
- Sugar – 1 tbsp
- Garam Masala – 1 tsp
- Paneer – 300 g, cubed
- Green Peas – 180 g ( frozen, thawed)
- Kasuri Methi leaves – 1 tbsp (dried, crushed) plus more for garnish
Instructions
First Stage:
- Heat the Instant Pot and pour the oil and butter into it. Let the butter melt. Add the cumin seeds and wait until it splutters. Then add the green chilies and ginger-garlic paste. SautƩ for a few seconds. It is all a quick sautƩ since its gonna be pressure cooked.
- Next, add in the onions and sautƩ until it becomes translucent.
- Transfer the cubed tomatoes to the Instant Pot and the salt. Let it cook for a minute.
- Quickly add the turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and mix. Drop in the cashew nuts.
- Give it a mix and add the water. Cover and seal with the Instant Pot lid. PRESSURE COOK for 8 minutes.
- Quick-release after the cooking time and open the Instant Pot. Using a handheld blender, blend the cooked mixture until smooth and no visible chunks are seen. *
Second Stage:
- Pour in the milk into the curry base. Add the garam masala powder, sugar, and the Kasuri methi leaves. Give it a thorough mix.
- Add the Paneer and the peas. Gently mix to coat.
- Cover with the Instant Pot lid and SEAL it. PRESSURE COOK for 5 minutes.
- Quick Release, remove the lid, and serve it right away!
Recipe Source: I got this recipe from a North Indian roommate back when I was working.
Notes:
- Milk: With minimal addition of water/liquid the thickness of the curry comes out just perfect using milk. I don’t see any need for heavy cream at all. But if you want to go for the richest or you have excess heavy cream you can use the same quantity of heavy cream in place of milk.
- Blending: The cooked mixture has to be blended until smooth. Ensure there aren’t any visible solids by stirring through with a slotted spoon.
- Chilli Powder: I use regular chili powder for this curry. But if you like a bit more of an orangish color, go for Kashmiri Chilli Powder or chili powders labeled as dark. In that case, use 1.5 tsp of Kashmiri chili powder.
- Hotness and sweetness: This gives a spicy but sweetish curry. That’s how this curry is supposed to be. But you can reduce or skip the added sugar or you can reduce or increase the quantity of chili powder.
- Storing: This curry tastes the best when served immediately. Paneer tends to get hard when refrigerated and it does not freeze well. If you would like to make this ahead, stop with the first stage of PRESSURE COOKING, blend and freeze in an airtight container once it cools down. To reuse, thaw it overnight or place the container in warm water. Dump this and all the ingredients mentioned in the second stage and cook.
- Paneer: You can either add the paneer directly or shallow fry them in a nonstick pan and then add them to the curry.
- You can also use fresh peas in place of frozen green peas. In that case, you will have to blanch the peas in hot water for 2-3 minutes before adding to the Instant Pot.
Recipe for Matar Paneer (Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker)
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
- 3 medium Green Chillies
- 4 medium Red Onions , approx 300g, sliced
- 5 large Roma Tomatoes , approx. 350g, cubed
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Chilli Powder*
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 12 whole Cashews
- 1 tsp Salt
- 50 ml water
2nd Pressure Cook:
- 3/4 cup Milk* , 200 ml
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 300 g Paneer , cubed
- 180 g Green Peas , frozen, thawed
- 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi leaves , dried, crushed
Instructions
First Stage:
- Heat the Instant Pot and pour the oil and butter into it. Let the butter melt.
- Add the cumin seeds and wait until it splutters. Then add the green chillies and ginger-garlic paste. SautƩ for a few seconds.
- Next, add in the onions and sautƩ until it becomes translucent.
- Transfer the cubed tomatoes and the salt. Let it cook for a minute.
- Quickly add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder. Drop in the cashew nuts.
- Give it a mix and add the water. Cover and seal with the Instant Pot lid. Pressure cook for 8 minutes.
- Quick release after the cook time and open the Instant Pot. Using a hand held blender, blend the cooked mixture until smooth and no visible chunks are seen. *
Second Stage:
- Pour in the milk into the curry base. Add the garam masala powder, sugar and the kasuri methi leaves. Give it a thorough mix.
- Add the Paneer and the peas. Gently mix to coat.
- Cover with the Instant Pot lid and SEAL it. PRESSURE COOK for 5 minutes.
- Quick Release, remove the lid and serve it right away!
Notes
- Milk: With minimal addition of water/liquid the thickness of the curry comes out just perfect using milk. I don’t see any need for heavy cream at all. But if you want to go for the richest or you have excess heavy cream you can use the same quantity of heavy cream in place of milk.
- Blending: The cooked mixture has to be blended until smooth. Ensure there aren’t any visible solids by stirring through with a slotted spoon.
- Chilli Powder: I use regular chili powder for this curry. But if you like a bit more of an orangish color, go for Kashmiri Chilli Powder or chili powders labeled as dark. In that case, use 1.5 tsp of Kashmiri chili powder.
- Hotness and sweetness: This gives a spicy but sweetish curry. That’s how this curry is supposed to be. But you can reduce or skip the added sugar or you can reduce or increase the quantity of chili powder.
- Storing: This curry tastes the best when served immediately. Paneer tends to get hard when refrigerated and it does not freeze well. If you would like to make this ahead, stop with the first stage of PRESSURE COOKING, blend and freeze in an airtight container once it cools down. To reuse, thaw it overnight or place the container in warm water. Dump this and all the ingredients mentioned in the second stage and cook.
- Paneer: You can either add the paneer directly or shallow fry them in a nonstick pan and then add them to the curry.
- You can also use fresh peas in place of frozen green peas. In that case, you will have to blanch the peas in hot water for 2-3 minutes before adding to the Instant Pot.
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Made this? Got doubts? Let me know what you think in the comments below!