Matar Paneer

• Cuisine: Indian
• Diet: lacto-vegetarian (no eggs, meat, or fish)
• Serves: 2
• Time: prep 15 min / cook 30 min
• Source: original
• Added: 2026-09-27

Ingredients

• 0.83 lb paneer, cubed
• 1 tbsp ghee, plus more for searing
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic + 1-inch ginger, made into a paste
• 1-2 Thai chilis, chopped (standing in for green chili)
• 2 tomatoes, or 1 cup crushed canned tomato
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (color + mild heat)
• 1/2 cup peas (frozen is fine)
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• Pinch kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed
• Salt
• Splash cream or milk (optional)
• Cilantro, to finish

Instructions

1. Sear the paneer: pan-sear the cubes in a little ghee until light golden on a couple of sides — don't overdo it, or it turns tough. Set aside. (Prep-ahead) 2. Brown the onion: cook the onion in ghee over low-medium heat until deep golden brown, 12-15 minutes. This is the real flavor base of the curry — don't rush it. (Prep-ahead) 3. Add the ginger-garlic-chili paste, cook 1 minute, then add the turmeric and other ground spices and stir 20-30 seconds in the fat before the tomatoes go in. Cook down until the oil starts to separate at the edges of the masala — that's the sign it's done. Store as the masala base. (Prep-ahead) 4. Day-of: reheat the masala base with a splash of water, add the peas, and simmer 4-5 minutes. Add the seared paneer and warm through for 2-3 minutes — don't overcook it or it toughens. 5. Finish with garam masala, the crushed kasuri methi, and an optional splash of cream. Top with cilantro and serve with rice or roti.

Air Fryer Oven Method (Cuisinart air fryer oven + 9x13 pan, needs a blender)

Same dish, but the oven does the two slowest steps (browning the onion, searing the paneer) hands-off. Written as a 1.5x masala that stretches the same 0.83 lb paneer to 3 portions with extra peas.

Masala (roast, then blend):

• 1.5 onions, cut into thick slices (thin slices burn before they soften)
• 1-2 tomatoes, quartered (if you only have 1, see the yogurt step below)
• 3 cloves garlic, 1.5-inch ginger, 1-2 Thai chilis, left whole or roughly chopped (they get blended)
• 1.5 tbsp ghee
• 1/3 tsp turmeric (tossed into the roasting pan)
• 3/4 tsp cumin, 1.5 tsp coriander powder, 3/4 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or paprika, salt
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 2-3 tbsp Greek yogurt + 1/2 tsp garam masala to finish

Paneer marinade:

• 0.83 lb paneer, cubed (thaw first: sealed bag in warm water, 15-20 min)
• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt, pinch of turmeric, 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or paprika, 1/4 tsp each cumin, coriander, and garam masala, 1 tsp ginger-garlic (grate a little extra while you're prepping the masala), squeeze of lemon, salt, 1 tsp melted ghee

1. Roast the masala. Toss onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, chili, turmeric, and ghee in the 9x13 pan. The turmeric coats everything in ghee and cooks through in the oven, so it won't taste raw. Bake at 400°F for 25-30 min, stirring once halfway. You want soft onions with charred, dark-brown edges — that browning is the same flavor base as 12-15 min of stovetop stirring, just hands-off. Pale onions = flat curry, so let it go the full time. 2. Marinate the paneer while the masala roasts (even 15 min helps). Thick Greek yogurt is the point: it clings and chars instead of sliding off and steaming. 3. Air fry the paneer (rack/basket, single layer with gaps between cubes) at 400°F for 10-12 min, flipping halfway. Pull it when the edges are spotted dark but the cubes still give when pressed — past that, paneer turns rubbery. Do this after the masala comes out (one oven). 4. Blend the roasted masala with ~1/2 cup water until smooth. Pour into a saucepan, stir in the cumin, coriander, chili powder, and salt, and simmer 3-4 min to cook out the raw spice taste. Add the peas and simmer 4-5 min more. 5. Temper the yogurt. Off heat, whisk a spoonful of the hot sauce into the 2-3 tbsp yogurt in a small bowl, then stir that back into the pot. Cold yogurt dumped straight into a hot sauce curdles into grainy bits; warming it gradually prevents that. Yogurt also brings back the tang and body you'd normally get from a second tomato. 6. Finish with garam masala (and kasuri methi if you have it), fold in the paneer, and portion out.

Reheat: microwave with a splash of water. Paneer softens a bit in the sauce over a few days — that's expected.

Notes / Variations

• Turmeric technique: always cook it in fat (ghee/oil) briefly before liquid goes in, because its flavor is fat-soluble. Raw turmeric added to a watery sauce tastes dusty and bitter. Keep it to about 1/4 tsp, since too much turns the whole dish bitter.
• If you're ever out of turmeric, skip it. A well-browned onion base does most of the work, and the Kashmiri chili still gives color.

Cooking History

• YYYY-MM-DD — rating /5 — brief note