Mattar Paneer is a popular main course Indian dish, made with green peas, paneer, and a creamy blend of spices.
Serve 2 to 4.
Ingredients:
- 1 16 oz. bag of frozen green peas
- 3 medium size tomatoes
- 1/2 lb paneer
- 3 tablespoons oil
- Pinch of asafetida (hing)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 2 bay leaves (tajpat)
- 1/2 inch of cinnamon stick (dalcheene)
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt or adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Method
- Cube the paneer into half inch pieces and deep-fry them on medium high heat. Fry until the paneer becomes a light golden color. Take the paneer out and place on a paper towel so the extra oil is absorbed.
- Mix cornstarch with three tablespoons of water and keep aside.
- Blend the tomatoes and ginger to make a paste.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil. If the cumin seed cracks right away, the oil is ready.
- Add the asafetida (hing), cumin seeds, bay leaves and cinnamon and stir-fry for a few seconds.
- Add the tomato paste, coriander, turmeric, chili powder and paprika. Cook until the mixture reduces to half.
- Add the green peas and 1/4 cup of water. cook on medium heat pan should be covered. When the peas are tender, add the salt and paneer.
- To thicken the gravy add corn starch mix. Cover the pan and let it cook for 3-4 minutes.
Suggestion:
Add 1 tablespoon fresh chopped fenugreek leaves or 1/2 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves to the gravy when cooking.
Thank you so much for these recipes. I make Indian food every Monday for my family and they are loving it. I’ve also started supplementing with frozen nann, which is pretty good. I’ve wanted to learn to cook a few Indian dishes and your recipes have been just the ticket. My life is better because of you.
Jeremy. Thank you, it makes me happy
Followed the written recipe with just an addition of 2 onions( into a paste) with the tomatoes, I have to say it was heavenly.
Thanks you very much, m’am!
Dear manjula,
Next time I think I will try it without the cinnamon stick, but everything else was good other than the cinnamon taste
Michelle, it is always good to adjust the spices to your taste and I think this is best part of cooking.
Can I use cornflour instead of cornstarch??
shraddha, I think in India corn starch known as corn flour, it will work
Lovely recipe! Since I was using frozen peas (which are quite tender) I didn’t pressure cook it and cooked it in the covered vessel, which allowed me to control the water content as well. Enjoyed this with yummy bread bhaturas!
wooooooowwww……i loved it
yummmmm
Hi Ma’m,
I tried preparing Matar Paneer… It came out amazingly tasty…
Thanks for filling my day with complements.
This looks delicious!!!! I will have to make this as you show sometime. We have no Indian stores nearby so I’ll have to try making my own panir. Thank you so much.
Lovely, lovely dish. Beautiful creamy texture, with no cream. I don’t eat meat or dairy, so I left out the paneer, and I used chana besan (chickpea flour) instead of corn starch. Also added a couple cloves of garlic to the ginger tomato puree. So good. Thank you Manjula.
The video for this grinds green peppers with the tomatoes and ginger but I don’t see the ingredient in the list… also sometimes I have noticed the quantities in the video are different from the recipe itself…. any reason for this..
Thanks
Jay, they should be the same but some time mistakes can happened.
Hi,mam i tried your pannermattar recipe it is very easy&tasty dish i ever tried . Thankyou mam
Dear Manjula Masi – I call you Masi as I like you to my mum. During Navratri I fast and I do not eat onions or garlic. I have always been under the impression that food cooked without onions and garlic is tastless. I am only learning to cook and although I can cook Matar Paneer (just about) I have never tried it without onions and garlic. I came across your site many months ago, promising myself I will try a dish… yesterday I really fancied some Matar Paneer so I followed your method. The only thing I didnt do was add the cornstarch as I liked the gravy as it was, in our home we have Dhana Jeeru, and I reduced the amount I put in to 3 quarts of teaspoon and put in 1 tablespoon of Punjabi Masala. Trust me when I say I do not eat my food if it doesnt taste nice.. however both me and my brother have polished off a dish that should have lasted 2 days!
Thank you so much for clearing this misconception that has clouded my brain for toooo long. My eye is now on the Mushroom Corn Curry… Yummy Yummy in Ma Tummy!
Thank you
Manisha
Recipe looks ok and I was ready to make it except you have no onions. How can you make a North Indian (Punjabi) masala without onions. Also no decent Punjabi cook will add cornstarch or sugar (shudder!) to masalas or curries. Sorry have to pass.
i love your dishes love alote
i like your dishs
Hi,Manjula ji,I tried your rajma recipe.turned out brilliant.Best thing is no need to slog in the kitchen as the number of ingredients are small and no messy chopping/grinding.You are a boon to working moms.Keep up the good work.God bless
Mummy, you are excellent:-)
Excellent recepies aunty.They r easy & very clear.Aunty can u tell me how to make Paneer Makhani?THANK U
i like this recipe too much. I try the same and my all family members like this too much.
thanks…………….
I wanted to email you but could not quite understand the first word of your email address. I am having a wonderful time making several of your recipes. I just made Palak Paneer & Aloo Gobi for my boss at work who is a professional chef. He loved it. Yesterday I made paneer & tonight I am making this Mattar Paneer. I love the food & feel like you are my own personal instructor! In this video you showed a green chili, but it is not mentioned in the written recipe. I look forward to learning much, much more from you! Thank you for this website!
Sheilda,
I think she said the address was jainkitchen@yahoo.com. I love mattar paneer! I hope you enjoyed making it. Green chili is a popular ingredient to add because it imparts a spicy note to the sauce. Instead of sugar, I’ll use honey to create the sweet-and-spicy effect, and I like to put chopped potato into the sauce before the peas and cheese are added. The result is very wholesome!
Our next sample of your outstanding recipes! Outstanding, just outstanding!
Meat eaters at the table, “can I try that?” Sure! Try Manjula’s Naan with it… so much for meat 🙂
This recipe is awesome, thanks so much. A friend made it and it was sooooooo delicious. Keep up the good work!!
I love Mattar Paneer! So happy to have found your website (thru an itunes Indian Cooking application). So far I’ve only had Amy’s Kitchen Mattar Paneer, so I look forward to learning how to make my own (I figure it may be more cost effective). Thank you so very much!!
to get inspired from you I tried to make this…result was awesome .If you get time have a look please…
This looks delicious! I was just curious, is this typically served with any side dishes or special beverages?
Indian veggies or dishes are always served with carbs like rice or Indian breads. Dry veggies are served with the bread/rice and lentils. The idea being that every meal should be complete in terms of nutrition.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! This seems easy enough to cook and the end results look delicious! I am making this for dinner tonight 🙂
Nummy. This looks and sounds awesome!
I failed trying to fry the paneer I had worked to make earlier in the day. It crumbled on me in the pan. Any tips as to what I did wrong? Was it the paneer, oil temp?
Love your work and thanks so much for sharing with us.
Thank you for posting all of your recipes! Tonight for dinner I made your matar paneer, aloo gobi, roti, and raita. It all turned out delicious, and I’m bookmarking your recipes to use again in the future! Thanks!
Hi Manjula, I love all of your recipes… I have made your paneer and naan and will be making the mattar paneer tomorrow. Excellent teacher with excellent food. Thank you for sharing your talent with us!
Hi,
Really superb dish.I will try this on weekends.Like these i saw many parenting tips,cooking tips which are helpful to all women and mothers
Where can we find the corn starch in India? can any one suggest indian shop name where this can be found?
Premalatha,
You can use arrowroot.
Hi plz tell me where I can find cornstarch?
Vidya, any American grocery store will carry corn starch. Find it in the cooking section.
Hi Jaya, Today I went to walmart , I tried to find it in Grocery section , but I couldn’t found it. Plz tell me particular sub-section. thanks
I usually find it in the baking section
Thank you so much! I am American living in Amman Jordan. Back home in Chicago finding great Indian food was easy. In Amman not so much. One of my favorite foods is Mattar Paneer. I have never been able to make it correctly.
I watched your video and voila it was perfect.
Thank you so much. I will be trying many other things on your website.
Karen
hello manjulaben
thank for your advice for indian food
every week i made one recipe in my home form from your web
but i want make sev khamni
pls u have any idea pls suggest to me i m waiting for your reply
soon as possible because i invite my friends.
thanks
one again thaks ofr your indian recipe wen and your family
nilay (u.k.)
hello manjulaben
thank for your advice for indian food
every week i made one recipe in my home
but i want make sev khamni
pls u have any idea pls suggest to me i m waiting for your reply
soon as possible
thanks
one again thaks ofr your indian recipe wen and your family
nilay (u.k.)
Hello Mom, Pls tell me measurements in kgs or cups for making Mattar Paneer
the printed recipe is different from the one in youtube. while the paneer and green peas proprtions are much more in this printed recipe, the spices remain the same. cloves are missing in this printed recipe.
which is correct?? this website recipe or the youtube one??? pls help as i have guests coming and i would like to prepare this recipe for them. they don.t take onion and garlic.
Nandini,
Use printed recipe.
This is my favourite i’m so glad you showed this recipe!
yum yum 🙂
Hello Manjulaji,
I really enjoy your recipes as they are so simple and yummy. This one has become a regular favorite at my house and my husband and daughter love it. Infact, today I am also preparing it for my neighbors.
My mother in law also cooks the mattar paneer in a cooker for one whistle after adding the masala. I have also started doing it with this recipe and find the paneer to be very soft with this method.
best wishes,
Poorvi.
can i use cocunut milk instead of corn starch in any recipes?
I love your recipes. Just got back from an Indian grocery store and made some delicious Mattar Paneer! Thanks, Manjula!
Rajan, that recipe is already available. Look under the Subji/Vegetables list and you will find it.
Hi aunty,how can we make baigan ka bartha?
What do you mean by paprika in hindi. and What is corn starch and from where we can buy it. If we do not add corn starch to this recipe then is there any problem with its taste.
Shalini,
Paprika is dagi mirch used to give some color and corn starch is arrowroot.
yes. of course
great recipe…easy to follow..thank you so much for sharing, aunty…i even made my own paneer from this site for the recipe…
Hi Manjulaaunty
Can you tell me how we can make garammasala powder.
I’d use powdered cashews to make the curry a tad thicker in consistency. Just my 2 cents.
Hello Aunty,
Your recipes are mouth watering, easy to learn, cook. Please introduce us to more south Indian recipes
Dear Manulaji,
Your advice for goldening the paneer was a cut above the rest.
Much love
Rami, Amy, Anne, and Marc
You can add a small amount of butter. Look up curry roux. You don’t need too much 🙂
hi manjulaji,
thanksalot for wonderful recipes , and it makes really easy to learn by looking at you the way you are preparing , I have learnt lots of recipes from your website, its really a wonderful effort. Once again thanks.
hi aunty,
can u plz tell me wat can be used instead of corn flour to make the curry thicker…
Hi Manjula,
My daughter told me about your website. I have watched a few of your receipes. They all look great and easy to follow. I particularly like the fact that you don’t add too much of onion/garlic in your curry. i am going to try Matar Paneer tonight. Keep it up!!
Thanks!!
Dear Manjula Aunty,
I just made Mattar Paneer today. It was just awesome. It was so much better than the ones you get at restaurants. Thank you so much. You are an amazing cook.
Hello Aunty,
Yesterday my husband was upset with some office work load.I prepared this recipe specially for him in dinner to ligthen him up.He loved it.It turned out awesome.
I keep coming back to the site whenever i plan a party or dinner for my friends.The dishes always turns out gr8.Thanks a lot for such a wonderful site and videos.
Thanks a load.
Priya.
Dear Manjula,
I love paneer and this recipe is very delicious.
I have tried the carrot halawa but i think iam not patient enough and it seems it is missing something.
keep up the wonderful videos.
michele
thanks a lot for this recipe .. it turned out very well. i just got married and moved to the US. we keep having people over for meals and your recipes are a big hit :).
I am not a big fan of deep frying but I found a way to make paneer brown for mattar paneer, without deep frying. If you cut up the paneer, and place it under the broiler for a few minutes on each side, it develops a very nice brown just as though it was deep fried. Just make sure you lightly coat the pan with some oil before you put the paneer pieces on it, so that they don’t stick.
I add curry leaves. They leave a lovely flavour. Sometimes I also add a little coconut milk at the end and heat for a few minutes. That gives a great flavour with the curry leaves.
I am new at cooking. This recipe comes out delicious everytime!! Great with Roti!
Dear Manjula Aunty,
What is paprika. I am from India
hey radha
Paprika is deggi mirch
hi manjulas, i tried your malai kofta My famely and i like we enjoyed
Why is it that for matar paneer you put the paneer on the tava but for palak paneer you deep fry it?
What is the difference?
what is paprika
Dearest Manjula
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge of how to make Matar Paneer. Having a video and the written ingredences right below it is most helpful.
Your video presentation is excellent. You are a very good teacher.
My whole family loves your Matar Paneer.
It is my personal very favorite dish bar none.
Again, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :O)
Hello! breast enhancement colorado
Shilpa,
It’s probably from the tomatoes. Different tomatoes have different degrees of tartness/sourness – especially fresh tomatoes.
One solution is to sprinkle some sugar into the sauce and re-taste it (this is how the Italians tone down the sourness in fresh spaghetti sauces).
I usually use the canned tomato puree and estimate the amount that would be used if I used fresh tomatoes.
The tomato puree is usually more predictable and less likely to give you too much tartness or “khatta” in the food.
Jaya 🙂
Hi Manjula,
Thank you for all your great recipes. I’ve learned so much from you! And your matar paneer recipe is excellent!!
Hi, manjula
I cooked the mutter paneer. I like it but it was too sour please tell me what i could do to fix it.Thanks
It’s already available to you under the “Appetizers” category. 🙂
Aunty,
Coul you please send me the receipe for Dokhla.
Thanks.
Hello Manulaji,
I tried your mattar paneer recipe. My husband and I both enjoyed it. I was not having the cornstarch & since u add it to form a thick uniform curry, i instead added wheat flour paste as u have done in palak paneer recipe. It was yummy. Thank You a Lot.
thanx a lot yo make us perfect .ur method is very simple and easy to learn more and more i m very grateful to u..can u plz tell me can i use fine flour instead of cornflour sometime…thanx again one time for this help
Hello Aunty,
I tried this receipe and it turned out to be pretty good.My husband liked it. Usually he says ok for any dish I make for this he has it is good.I was really happy.wanted to share it with you.
Also, could you please send me the recipe for pav bajii.
Thanks.
Hi Bhavika, just add more water to make gravy.
hello Aunty,
I made matar Paneer as per ur recipe.
I made for 2 people.It tatses good.But it came out very dry.
I used puree of 1 large tomato.
If i would have used more than 1 tomato then it would have become sour.
does the quantity of puree depend on the kind of tomatoes which we get here.
which kind of tomato you prefer to use?
Thanks
Hi Manjula
visited your site a couple of days back and have tried a few of your recipes since then and everyone of them have turned out fantastic. thanks for sharing them. i think what makes your recipes stand out are the easy instructions and the preciseness. you are a very genuine and good teacher.
I use sugar, to reduce the acidity and sugar helps giving nice color.
Dear Manjualaji,
Why do you add sugar? Is it to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes or for another reason?
Thank you for your site. I enjoy it much more than Indian cooking sites that have hundreds of recipes which are try at your own risk. The accompanying videos make your site stand out far beyond others.
i wonder from where u get all these ideas…like instead of deep frying the paneer …just put them on tawa…with little oil..
I tried this dish last year and it was just amazing! Although I tried it with Tofu so maybe I should give it a shot with real Paneer.
Thanks aunty!
Shashi
Dear Mrs. Manjula:
Thanks for your quick response, You’re so great! I will be able to make Matter Paneer now.
Best wishes for my favourite cook!!!!
Hello Shanaz, make the chenna just you will do for rasgullas and just knead little bit and press it kind of square piece refrigerate for atleast an hour and cut them in pieces.
Dear Mrs. Manjula:
I love Mattar Paneer, and want to try your recipe. But I don’t have any access to store bought Paneer. So my little request to you if you could share the method of home made paneer. I understand first I have to make the chenna just like we made for rasgulla but after that I really need your help. Waiting for your kind response.
Best wishes for my favourite cook!!!!!
Hello Anne, just a pinch of cinnamon powder
If I do not have cinnamon sticks, how much ground cinnamon do you think I could use to substitute?
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I made it this evening and it turned out wonderfully. I look forward to cooking more with your recipes!
Marie
Hi Manjula,
I love eating at Indian restaurants and have always wanted to learn to make a few simple Indian dishes. I made your Mattar Paneer the other night for dinner and I loved it! Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Jennifer in Ohio
wonderful way of presenting recipes. It is indeed very tempting and I am going to make your mattar paneer recipe. Even my 9 year old son was impressed and loved watching your video. ” This is one of my favorite site.”
cheers
anitha