Paneer Matar

When we were kids I remember waiting for all those special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries when my parents would take us out dining. For me eating out means having non-vegetarian food and I would not accept anything else. The problem is that my father is a vegetarian and the smells and sights of all the meat and fish would sometimes become unbearable to him. I remember when mom used to cook fish he used to say, "What is that stench?" and I would always reply, 'Don't you mean scent?" and we always had a good laugh.

Anyways it was only for dads birthday that I would compromise and agree to go for a vegetarian meal. There too the one dish I had to have was Paneer Matar. Even now after so many years I'm just as crazy about it and make it quite frequently.

This is a very simple recipe and has no cream or anything so there is no reason to feel guilty after having it.....I love to make it for potlucks or when I'm having guests.

Ingredients:

250gms paneer (cottage cheese)

2tbs oil

1big onion, very finely chopped

2big tomatoes (pureed)

1tbs ginger-garlic paste

1tsp garam masala powder

1/4tsp black pepper powder

1/4tsp turmeric powder

red chilli powder to taste

2tbs yoghurt

1cup water or according to required consistency

salt to taste

150gms peas( fresh or frozen )

handful of coriander leaves

Method:

Cut the paneer into 1"cubes. Heat 1tbs oil in a pan and shallow fry the paneer till all the sides have browned, taking care to avoid burning. Remove and keep aside.

Heat the remaining oil and fry the onions till brown.

Add the tomatoes and ginger-garlic paste and cook till the oil separates.

Add all the masalas and fry for a minute.

Mix in the curd and cook till well blended. At this point the mixture should be thick and almost paste like.

Add water and salt, when it comes to a boil add the peas. Lower the heat, cover and let it simmer till the peas are cooked, about 5mins.

Mix in the paneer and coriander leaves, cover and cook for 2-3mins.

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Sending this to the event "Click-February-2009-Cheese/ Tofu" hosted by Jugalbandi.