Matar Paneer recipe!

Living away from home has made me a cook. To be honest, until recently I did as less as I possibly could to stay away from the kitchen- beans on toast, takeaways, good ol' pasta and pesto!

But now inspired from Masterchef, I have tried my best to try new recipes, and this one is my absolute favourite. Its Matar Paneer (matar meaning peas and paneer is a type of cottage cheese)

For the recipe, you need:

• Peas (can be frozen)
• Paneer (easily found in supermarkets like asda and tesco)- cut into small cubes
• Spices: Garam masala, ground coriander, cumin, tumeric powder, chilli
• Tomato and tomato puree
• Onions, garlic and ginger
• Optional: cashews, bay leaf, cream, coriander 

Method:

• Firstly, with little oil in a pan fry the paneer cubes until golden brown. You can then transfer it in a bowl with cold water to get rid of the water.
• Fry onion and garlic in vegetable oil until onion is slightly transparent. Add cashews and ginger and fry for 2 minutes. Then add tomatoes.
• Add tomatoes and tomato puree, fry for a bit and then add the spices.
• After the mixture is done remove it from the pan and you can grind it for a smooth texture.
• Then, on the fresh pan, put a bit of vegetable oil, then add the bay leaf and cumin. Then add the mixture and the peas.
• Cover the pan for about 5 minutes or until the peas are soft. Then add the paneer after removing it from the water and let it soak the mixture.
• You can add cream if you want at this point. 
• Then serve with coriander to garnish and enjoy!

You can find variations of these recipes quite easily, heres one of them: http://foodviva.com/punjabi-recipes/matar-paneer-recipe/

Ranu,
South Asian Ambassador