Dhaba style Matar Paneer is a simple & traditional Punjabi recipe. Here, we cook cottage cheese cubes in a onion tomato sauce with generous quantity of peas. However, you can also make this Jain style. Just avoid using onion garlic. You can pair it with any roti or jeera rice. Amateur cooks or bachelors can cook this curry very easily. You can certainly impress people when you have a matar paneer recipe restaurant style as a their ace up their sleeve.
All you need is some frozen or fresh paneer. There are so many paneer dishes which you can enjoy whatever be your choice. Be it appetizers like chilli paneer,paneer pakoda or paneer tikka or one pot dishes like Paneer Biryani. Curries like achaari paneer,paneer tikka masala and paneer butter masala are a treat. So are sweets like Chenna Pudo , Rassogulla or Rajbhog or Rasmalai.
What is dhabha style ?
Dhabha or Dhabhas are roadside restaurants that you will find on the highways in India. These are not swanky restaurants but very simple roadside eateries that are known for their rustic cooking.The recipes in the menu are minimal and reflect the local cuisine of the state that you are travelling in.
How to make Shahi Matar Paneer dhabha style ?
The most important tip to make it in way is to cook the onions in oil upto a point that they are perfectly cooked and when tomatoes are added to the mix , they should be cooked until the oil starts to ooze out of them. This will help the curry to ooze out that oil at the end.
Can I make matar paneer without onion ?
Yes , you can make that without onion, just blend tomatoes with ginger and green chillies and cook as same steps.Without onion the gravy or the Matar Paneer gravy is not that heavy as well.
Ingredients
The ingredients for dhaba style paneer are very simple. apart from the paneer/cottage cheese, you just need onion,tomato and some spices.
You can use homemade paneer or use the store bought paneer. If you are making the paneer at home,the paneer pieces needs to be little hard to get the restaurant style matar paneer.
You can prepare this recipe using frozen peas or fresh peas.
- Paneer cubes / Indian cottage cheese. Refer to our details post on making paneer at home here
- Onion
- ginger garlic paste ,chillies with tomato puree
- Spices(cumin,turmeric, red chili powder ,coriander, garam masala powder)
- Kasoori methi / Dried fenugreek leaves
- Salt & Oil
- Fresh Green peas (not in the below picture) or Frozen green peas
Refer to recipe card for details.
Step by step pictures (matar paneer on stovetop)
Read below the steps to understand how to make matar paneer curry.
- Heat oil in a pan,add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds,Cook onions with salt until brown.
2. Add pureed tomatoes with ginger and chillies.
3. Cook until oil oozes out.
4. Add spices(turmeric, coriander, red chilli powder ) and cook for few minutes.
5. Add yogurt and mix well.
6. Add paneer cubes, peas and water. Cover & cook until it comes to boil.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves , serve matar paneer with flatbread/poori or steamed basmati rice.
Step by step pictures - instant pot matar paneer
You can easily make this matar paneer in instant pot.
- Make the onion,tomato gravy from the above steps in the instant pot or as I prefer to make this indian curry in bulk and use it later on.Add paneer cubes to the pot.Add fresh or frozen peas to the mix
- Add water and cook for 5 minutes on high pressure on the Seal position. Release pressure after 5 minutes.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves,serve warm
Variations & Substitutions
- You can make vegan matar paneer by using tofu. Refer to the tofu curry recipe.
- You can also add fresh cream at the end to make this curry as creamier.
- Some people also like to add cashew paste or 2-3 tbsp. gram flour depending on how thick you want your curry to be.
- As paneer is gluten free, this paneer curry is also gluten free by default.
Read other related recipes
Dhaba Style Matar Paneer recipe
Equipment
- pan
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon green chilli chopped
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 cup tomato puree with ginger,chillies
- 250 gram paneer or cottage cheese
- ½ cup peas
- 2 tablespoon curd optional
- 1 cup water
Spices:
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon red chilly powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves optional
- Salt as per taste
- For Garnish: 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan.add cumin seeds,let them crackle
- Cook onions & salt until brown.
- Add tomato puree,spices&salt.Cook for 8-10 mins or until oil oozes out.
- Add yogurt,cook until oil oozes out.
- Add paneer cubes,peas,kasuri methi & mix well.
- Add salt along with 1 cup water.Cook until it starts to boil, cover for few minutes,turn off the heat
- Garnish with chopped coriander
- Serve hot with roti or rice.
mutter paneer instant pot
- Make the onion,tomato gravy from the above steps in the instant pot using the saute option
- Add paneer cubes to the pot.
- Add fresh or frozen peas to the mix
- Add water ( For 250gms paneer add 1 cup water for the curry )
- Cook for 5 minutes on high pressure on the Seal position. Release pressure after 5 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh coriander, serve warm
Notes
If you do not have paneer handy,you may use haloumi.
For vegan option,replace paneer with tofu and replace yogurt with 1 tablespoon chickpea flour. Add more water if you prefer to thin gravy Adjust the spices(chillies/garam masala) as per your taste. Refer to our details post on making paneer at home here
Nutrition
See video recipe for Shahi Matar Paneer below:
FAQs
The basic ingredients for Matar Paneer include paneer, green peas, tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, green chili, spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala), salt, and oil or ghee for cooking.
Matar Paneer masala can be healthy if you go easy on the oil/ghee and use fresh stuff. Paneer gives you protein and calcium, and green peas offer fiber and vitamins. But the healthiness of the meal depends on how you cook it and how much you eat.
Sure, you can use frozen peas for Mattar paneer ki sabji.
This mutter paneer halwai style recipe pairs nicely with rice, naan, roti, or any other Indian bread like rumble roti and kulcha. You can also serve it with a side of salad or raita (yogurt-based dip).
Sure, you can make it in advance and keep it in the fridge for 3 days max. Heat it up before eating.
To spice up the Mutter paneer, add more green chili or throw in some red chili powder. To make it milder, cut down the green chilies or don't put it in at all.
Conclusion: lip-smacking dhaba style matar paneer recipe is one of the most popular indian curry dish for dinner parties and also for everyday meals. You can serve it with naan or jeera rice for an easy meal options.
Tara says
when you say tomato puree, is this from the shop or can we puree tomatoes in the blender?
Gaurav says
yes you can puree tomatoes in blender.