The humble Matar Paneer is an all-weather dish.

When you dunk cubes of cottage cheese and green peas in an easily-made rich, creamy cashew-based Mughlai-style tomato gravy you, voila, create Shahi Paneer Matar.

Bethica Das's recipe goes well with steamed rice, biryani, pulav, naan, tandoori roti and chapatti.

This paneer recipe is quite typical of Bethica's repertoire of recipes -- she has a recipe for everyone and does traditional, conventional just as good as hatke stuff.

Shahi Paneer Matar

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• 200 gm paneer, cut into cubes
• ½ cup green peas, frozen or fresh
• 3-4 tbsp oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 small dalcheeni or cinnamon stick
• 2-3 green elaichi or cardamom
• 4 laung or cloves
• 2 tej patta or bay leaves
• 1 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp red chilly powder
• 1 tbsp roasted coriander-cumin powder
• 1 tbsp shahi paneer masala
• 1 tsp kasuri methi, crushed
• 2 tomatoes
• 10-12 cashews
• 2 green chillies
• 1 tsp chopped green dhania or coriander or cilantro leaves, for garnish
• Green chillies, for garnish
• 1 cup water

Method

• In a mixer, blend the tomatoes, cashews, green chillies into a smooth paste.
  Keep aside.
• In a small bowl, mix together the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, red chilly powder, roasted coriander-cumin powder and ½ cup of water.
  Keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, cumin seeds.
  Saute for a few seconds.
  Add the onion and saute till light brown.
  Now add the spice paste and continue to saute till the oil separates.
  Add the green peas and cook for 1-2 minutes.
  Add the tomato-cashew paste and mix well.
  Cook till the oil separates.
  Add salt.
  Add the paneer, kasuri methi and ½ cup more water.
  Cover and simmer till the gravy thickens and the oil separates.
  Take off heat.
  Garnish with coriander leaves, green chillies and a pinch of shahi paneer masala.
  Serve with naan, tandoori roti, jeera rice or biryani.

Editor's Note: Non-veggies can replace the paneer with boneless pieces of chicken and vegan folks may replace the paneer with tofu.

This gravy is great for alu too and instead of 200 gm paneer use 2 large boiled potatoes.

Bethica Das is a Sharjah-based food blogger.

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