Mutter Paneer

Paneer(cottage cheese) and mutter(green peas) are made for each other 😍.
In Qatar we cannot find fresh paneer and mutter in markets.So we buy frozen paneer and mutter.But still paneer and mutter in thick masala gravy tastes yum.

We call it a Qatar party rescue dish.. Here we don’t get vegetables in nearby groceries and have to stock up all veggies on weekend from Supermarkets.If friends turn up with out notice, Paneer mutter masala always comes on to the plate since these frozen items are always stocked up.So having every now and then at get togethers , we have got tired of it and normally don’t prefer it otherwise.

Ingredients

• 250 g paneer cubes
• 1 cup mutter / green peas – fresh or frozen
• 0.5 cup water
• Salt to taste

Ingredients to be ground to paste

• 3 medium sized tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 2 green chillies chopped
• 1/2 inch ginger chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves
• 8 cashews soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and then chopped
• 5 black peppercorns
• 2 cloves
• 1/2 inch cinnamon
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

Spice powders

• 0.25 tsp turmeric powder
• 0.5 tsp red chilli powder
• 0.5 tsp garam masala

Seasoning Ingredients

• 0.5 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp oil

Garnishing Ingredients

• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Preparation

1.  Blend into a smooth paste all the ingredients mentioned under ground to be paste. Do not add any water.

Method

1.  Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. Saute till the cumin seeds splutter
2.  Add the ground paste and saute on a low flame. Take care while sauteing as the paste splutters.
3.  Saute for around 15 min till the oil separates from the masala paste.
4.  Add all the spice powders and mix well.
5.  Add mutter/green peas and stir again.
6.  Add water and salt. Mix well.
7.  Cover and cook till the green peas are cooked and the gravy is of medium consistency.
8.  Add paneer cubes and simmer for another 5 minutes.
9.  Garnish with coriander leaves.
10.  Enjoy hot with phulkas.

Notes

1.  I used frozen paneer and frozen green peas. If using fresh green peas , use more water.
2.  Use ripe tomatoes. If tomatoes are sour, then sweeten the gravy by adding a little sugar.