Mutter Paneer (Peas and Paneer Curry)

If using frozen peas and paneer, set them out on the counter to thaw. If your paneer is in a block, you might want to dunk the bag of paneer in warm water to quickly thaw it. I always cut my paneer into cubes before freezing, it saves me a lot of time and frustration. If using tofu, wrap it in a paper towel or kitchen towel and put something heavy on it to further drain out the moisture.

In a blender or with a hand blender, grind onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chili to a smooth paste to make the base of “masala” for our mutter paneer. You might need to add a tablespoon or two of water to get it going.

Set a heavy-bottomed saucepan or pressure cooker on medium high heat. Add oil and once the oil is shimmering, add cumin seeds. Wait until cumin seeds start dancing around in the hot oil, then add the prepared ground masala. It might sputter and splash a bit so be careful. Add all the dry seasonings except garam masala, stir and mix everything together. Turn heat to medium low and cook the masala until all the moisture evaporates and you can see tiny droplets of oil start to appear at the edges of the masala. This should take no more than 10 minutes. Keep stirring in between.

While masala is cooking, cut paneer or tofu into bite size cubes. If you feel like it, you can pan fry the paneer in a little bit of oil in a nonstick pan to make sure it doesn’t fall apart in the gravy. I do this only when I am feeling fancy or making mutter paneer for company.

After the masala is cooked, add peas and cubed paneer, water (add to adjust consistency to your liking— we like our curry a little thick), salt to taste and mix. Turn heat up to high and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium low and cook for 10–15 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, after turning the heat to high, put the lid on and cook for 1-2 whistles.

Turn heat off, uncover (for pressure cooker, wait until the pressure releases by itself) and add garam masala and chopped coriander. Adjust salt if needed. Serve hot with roti, naan or rice. Enjoy!