Aloo Matar Paneer (Cottage Cheese with Potatoes & Green Peas)

Have you ever wondered, if you were cooking something nice for a vegetarian guest and wanted to play safe, what would be on top of your list – Aloo Gobhi, Aloo Matar, Paneer Matar, Gobhi Matar. And yeah, you could have gravy or a dry masala as a variation. So when there is a 99% chance that a vegetarian would be treated to one of these, it becomes a must for this blog to have the basic recipe which can be altered here and there to make more varieties.

This is my mom's recipe and that basically means, spices will be few and focus would be on retaining the taste of the vegetables and paneer.

Serve this with Paratha (flaky crispy flat Indian bread) and Boondi Raita for a simple yet nice dinner! Yes, it's possible even on a Wednesday night! 

You need:

Paneer/ Cottage cheese – 300 Grams

Boiled Potatoes – 2 medium size

Sweet green peas – ½ Cup

Onion – 1.5 Large (roughly chopped in big chunks)

Ginger – 1 inch (grated)

Garlic – 4-5 cloves (grated)

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Cinnamon stick – 1 no.

Green cardamom – 2

Black cardamom – 1

Bay leaf – 1

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Tomatoes – 1 Large (roughly chopped)

Garam Masala – ½ tsp

Red chili powder – ½ tsp

Oil – 2 Tbsp

Fresh green coriander/ Cilantro – Lots and lots )

1. In a non stick pan fry Paneer cubes in 1 tsp of oil till they become golden brown from almost all sides. Do this on medium high heat so that the paneer remains succulent from inside as it gets a little crisp on the outside. Transfer to another dish.
2. In the same pan heat the remaining oil.
3. Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom. Fry on low heat for about 30 sec or till it oil gets infused with all the spices.
4. Tip in ginger, garlic and onions. Immediately add some salt. This helps in sweating the onions and this avoids oil from getting soaked in.
5. Once translucent in color, add turmeric, red chili and coriander powder. Fry for 1-2 min.
6. Now add chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes become a little pulpy.
7. Add garam masala and fry for 3-4 min till all the raw taste of masala is gone. Add a couple of tablespoon of water if the masala starts sticking to the bottom.
8. Now add roughly chopped boiled potatoes and green peas. Give it a good mix. Cover and cook till peas are cooked from inside and potatoes have soaked in some flavors from the masala.
9. Now add the paneer and gently mix to evenly coat all the masala.
10. Spread chopped coriander on top and switch off the heat. Let it stay with the lid on for 4-5 min. Loads of coriander is an integral part of this preparation.
11. Mix well before serving.

*Adding salt as soon as you add the onions is a good technique to stop the oil from getting soaked in onion and other vegetables. You will end up using much less oil, though the curry will still look nice and rich.

** If you want to make this with cauliflower, pan fry the florets in a non stick pan till they become golden brown from outside. Then cover and cook for 3-4 min, so that they are also cooked well from inside. Add the florets along with the potatoes and green peas.
***Poori (deep fried flat Indian bread) along with this veggie tastes heavenly!!