Name: Dry Matar Paneer
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 200 g Paneer, cut into small cubes; 1 cup Green Peas, matar, boiled (if fresh) or thawed (if frozen); 1 Onion, medium, finely chopped; 1 Tomato, medium, finely chopped; 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste; 1 Green Chili Pepper, slit; 1 tsp Cumin Seeds; ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric; ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder; 1 tsp Ground Coriander; ½ tsp Garam Masala; ½ tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves, crushed; 2 tbsp Cooking Oil; ¾ tsp Salt, to taste; 2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped

25 mintotal

Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Medium

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Method

Heat a portion of the specified cooking oil in a flat pan. Swiftly pan-fry the paneer cubes until their surfaces develop a light, golden sear. Immediately extract them from the pan and submerge them entirely in a bowl of warm water for a strict 5-minute soak to guarantee an ultra-soft texture. Drain completely and hold aside.
In the same pan, heat the remaining volume of oil. Pitch the cumin seeds directly into the hot fat and stand by until they splutter audibly.
Dump the finely chopped onions into the tempered oil. Sauté them relentlessly until they shed their raw moisture and caramelize into a deep, pinkish-brown mass.
Stir the ginger-garlic paste and the slit green chilli into the onions. Cook for 1 minute to take away their raw, sharp taste.
1 min
Deposit the chopped tomatoes into the pan alongside the turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, and the allotted salt. Crush this masala base repeatedly with your spatula, cooking until the tomatoes disintegrate completely and the separated oil visibly rings the paste.
Fold the pre-boiled green peas into the dense masala. Sauté the peas heavily in the spiced paste for 2 solid minutes over medium heat.
Add the soaked, softened paneer cubes to the pan. Fold them in very gently so the thick onion and tomato base coats the cheese and the peas without breaking the paneer up.
Clamp a lid over the vessel and drop the heat to the lowest setting. Force the paneer to steam-bake and absorb the dry flavors for 3-4 minutes. Absolutely no liquid is added at this stage.
3–4 min
Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the garam masala, the crushed kasuri methi and the fresh coriander generously over the top.
Give it one last gentle toss to mix in the garnishes, and bring it to the table piping hot.

How to tell it's done

A dry, well-spiced sabzi with no gravy, where sweet green peas sit against soft, golden-crusted paneer cubes.

Getting it right

Tip

Drop the pan-fried paneer straight into a bowl of warm water. It relaxes the cheese and keeps it sponge-soft, so it doesn't go rubbery in a dry sabzi.

What to serve it with

The undisputed apex predator of the lunchbox (tiffin) ecosystem, explicitly because its zero-moisture profile prevents disastrous oil leaks. Consumes brilliantly alongside layered Parathas.

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Ingredients