Matar paneer (paneer and pea curry)
20 min · 24 g protein · 375 cals / serving
Soft cubes of paneer and plenty of sweet peas in a spiced onion and tomato gravy with ginger, garlic, cumin, garam masala and fenugreek, made creamy with Greek yogurt. The North Indian favourite without the blender, ready in 20 minutes, and it freezes.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds ground cumin
- 1 large onion, grated (or very finely chopped)
- 2 tsp ginger, grated, or jarred ginger-garlic paste
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 green chili pepper, chopped, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika, or Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 (14 oz) can canned crushed tomatoes, or passata
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 2/3 cups water, hot from the kettle
- 3 1/3 cups cooked frozen green peas
- 7 oz paneer, in 2 cm (3/4-inch) cubes
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed ground fenugreek, or 1/4 tsp ground fenugreek
Yogurt
- 2/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 small handful fresh cilantro, chopped
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat, add the cumin seeds for a few seconds until they crackle, then the grated onion with a pinch of the salt. Fry 5 minutes, stirring, until golden.
- Add the ginger, garlic, chilli, turmeric, paprika and coriander and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes and the rest of the salt and cook 4 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens and the oil glistens at the edges.
- Add the hot water, peas and paneer, bring back to a simmer and cook 4 minutes, until the peas are tender and the paneer is soft.
- Turn off the heat, stir in the garam masala and crumble in the fenugreek, and let the pan stand 1 minute. Whisk the cornstarch into the yogurt, stir in 3 spoonfuls of the hot gravy to warm it, then stir it into the pan and scatter with cilantro. Serve with rice or roti (not counted). Keeps 4 days in the fridge; reheat gently without boiling. To freeze (3 months), freeze it before the yogurt goes in and stir the yogurt in after reheating.
Good to know
Should I fry the paneer first?
Browning the cubes in a teaspoon of oil for 2 minutes gives them a golden crust, but it adds a pan and time. Soaking shop paneer in hot water while you cook makes it softer.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 85
- Protein
- (26%)
- 5 g
- Fat
- (40%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (34%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 178 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1499 kcal goes into the pot and 1918 g of ingredients comes out as about 1769 g of food: 85 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.