Swaran Jawa’s Mattar Paneer

This is the latest version of this recipe as of 8/24/20. Plain text, HTML versions & photos at the bottom.

Updates:

Ingredients

— Masala Base —

— Paneer —

— Gharam Masala —

Equipment

Instructions

This makes about 4-6 servings of Mattar Paneer (serve over basmati rice, optionally with naan & yogurt). Essentially, the recipe involves making 3 parts (masala base, gharam masala, & paneer) & then mixing them together with peas & some additional spices. Note that it is helpful to make two of the three parts in larger quantities in advance & save them off for later use (masala base & gharam masala).

  1. Combine 2.5 cups of water with 1 unit of masala base (see below) in large pot
  2. Add 20 oz frozen peas
  3. Put on high
  4. Add 3 teaspoons of salt
  5. Optional: my wife likes to add a bit of garlic salt & its quite yummy – maybe 1/2 TBSP?
  6. Add 1/4 teaspoons of red pepper
  7. Cover, leave on medium
  8. At some point when peas are close to done, add 1 heaping TBSP of gharam masala (see below)
  9. When peas are wrinkled/shriveled, the gravy is done – put on low until paneer is ready (see below)
  10. You can add a half cup of water if you want more watery
  11. When the paneer is done (lightly fried) dump it in the gravy, stir it up a little & you’re done!

Masala Base (gravy base)

This makes 1 unit (about 1.5 cups) of the masala gravy base. I like to make 2 to 4 units & save them in the freezer for later use. This is the most labor intensive/time consuming part of the recipe, so it is good to do it less frequently.

  1. Chop up onions really small in food processor (small diced)
  2. Put onions into large pot and add 3 TBSP oil & turn up to high heat stirring OFTEN to not burn
  3. Chop up garlic cloves & ginger small in processor
  4. Turn down onions to low, keep stirring – note slowly browning (this takes a long time – I turn the heat up, but you MUST keep watching them)
  5. When dark brown put in ginger/garlic mix (really dark brown, think “dark milk chocolate brown”)
  6. Put in 1/2 teaspoon of tumeric
  7. When almost burnt, slowly start adding tomato sauce – keep stirring (the oil may separate if there is a lot, that is a good sign)
  8. Put a little water in tomato can & slowly pour it in
  9. NOTE you can always put on low & leave for a while at any stage
  10. When deep reddish brown, it is done

Gharam Masala (spice mix)

This makes 1 heaping TBSP of the spice mix. I like to make this in larger quantities (4x/6x) & save it off with my spices for later use.

  1. Roast 1/4 TBSP of cumin seed in a pan on the burner for a few minutes
  2. Place the following ingredients in spice blender & grind until fine powder

Paneer (cheese):

This is SUPER EASY to make & SUPER FUN, great for entertaining children & guests (& me!). It is time consuming in that there is a lot of waiting for milk to boil, so I recommend starting this at least 1.5 hours before serving. The rest of the cooking can be done while the milk is boiling. Boiling on the stove is reasonable, however it is VERY easy to burn the milk & thus the microwave is much easier. Another good idea is to make the paneer a day or so before & refrigerating it until the cooking time.

NOTE: You will do these steps twice. Since my microwave (and most likely yours) will not hold a bowl large enough for an entire gallon, I make the paneer in 2 batches of 0.5 gallon each. I recommend starting the second batch between steps 5 & 6 & not starting step 9 until both batches are cubed. See * below.

  1. Pour 0.5 gallon milk in large bowl
  2. Microwave for 20-30 minutes to BOIL. (The exact time depends on your microwave, it is ready when there is a large bubble of air on top.)
  3. Stir in 4 tablespoons of white vinegar
  4. Keep stirring
  5. When cheese separates fully and gets clumpy (& liquid gets yellowish and clear) pour into collander with cheesecloth
    –*now start 2nd batch–
  6. Squeeze out as much water as possible. The more water you get out, the better your paneer will be.
  7. When cheese is firm & cohesive it is done – it should not be crumbly! should be like almost like extra-firm tofu in terms of consistency
  8. Put on a plate and slice into cubes – if it is crumbly, you did not press it enough
    –*wait for 2nd batch–
  9. Put a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan at high & then put down to medium low
  10. Drop cheese cubes one by one in at side of pan to lightly fry them (until golden brown)
  11. Dry cheese in cloth towel to remove oil
  12. Rinse cheesecloth after use

My Shopping List

When I make mattar paneer, I rarely make all of it at once. I like to keep gharam masala & base made in advance: gharam masala is often useful & the base takes the longest to make & keeps well. So then when i want some mattar paneer, I just pull out some base from the freezer, some gharam masala off the spice rack & make the rest. To that end, I often need this shopping list in the following quantities:

Main 2X

Gharam Masala 8X

Base 4X