Top | Savita Iyer-Ahrestani

Mom’s Mutter Paneer

(recipe, Savita Iyer-Ahrestani)

Introduction

This dish of curried peas and paneer (a soft Indian cheese) is classic comfort food. The recipe is also a guide for making Palak Paneer, the popular northern Indian dish of creamed spinach with paneer.

Ingredients

  1. 1 large onion, chopped
  2. 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  3. 1 tsp. chopped fresh ginger
  4. ¼ tsp. turmeric
  5. ½ tsp. red chile powder
  6. 1 tsp. ground coriander
  7. 1 package frozen peas (or frozen creamed spinach if making Palak Paneer)
  8. ½ tsp. garam masala
  9. 1 or 2 tsp. cream
  10. Salt to taste
  11. Paneer
  12. 1 Tbsp. ghee (to fry the paneer)
  13. Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, for garnish
  14. Chapati bread, for serving

Steps

  1. Chop the onion into small pieces and sauté in olive oil until translucent. Add the ginger and sauté together with onion until light brown. Add the turmeric, red chile powder, and coriander, and sauté together for a few minutes.
  2. Add the peas (or spinach) and 1 or 2 cups of water (the less water you add, the thicker your gravy will be), and then cook until the peas (or spinach) are soft.
  3. Add the garam masala and salt to taste, and boil for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in the fresh cream. Allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes before turning off the heat.
  4. Cut the paneer into cubes and fry till golden brown in the ghee. Add the paneer to the vegetable curry.
  5. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with chapatis.