Matar Paneer

 

This dish was my gateway drug to Indian cooking. It introduces some exotic flavors but is also composed of remembered flavors, tomatoes, onions, dairy, and in the end it IS cheesy-peas.

Paneer is a type of unaged cheese in which milk is soured with lemon juice, then cooked, and the resulting curd is then pressed into a dense pate. You can find many recipes on line, and it’s easy to make, but for the sake of getting dinner on the table, I buy it. Almost every Indian grocery has paneer, and many mega-marts in urban centers do as well. You can find it refrigerated and frozen, and certainly you can buy organic - which I do. 

If you absolutely cannot find paneer, desire a vegan option, are lactose intolerant, or heck, just looking to clean out your pantry, I’m told that tofu works very well in this dish.

One other substitution; the recipe calls for 3 ripe tomatoes, which I use when they are in season, but mid-winter and, lets be honest, when I just can’t get to the grocery store, I use a 14oz. can of diced organic tomatoes and everything turns out fine. I am a huge fan of keeping organic tinned tomatoes around, at all times, and good news, the lycopene in tomatoes is actually made more available to the body through cooking.

I am evangelical about thoroughly rinsing and soaking Basmati rice. I could write an entire thesis on the subject, but I won’t…today. I soak my rice in three baths of fresh water, for about twenty minutes each time: one hour total. I place the desired measure of rice in a medium sized mixing bowl and cover it with at least two inches of water, then I get in there and really agitate it - stirring it and running it through my fingers for a minute or so - and then let it soak until it’s time to change the water. After the third soak I’ll usually drain the rice into a hand sieve and rinse it briefly with cold running water, which should, by this stage, run clear. I cook my rice in a rice cooker because the one thing I’m truly and expert at: is burning rice.  

But here is the truly important thing about rice, whatever method you use to cook it, make lots! I use leftover rice in pudding, fried rice, pilaf, and I even freeze it for those nights when I think I’ll never get a meal on the table: leftover rice makes it possible.  

So with your favorite Basmati at the ready, off we go:

Matar Paneer

You’ll need:

1 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped

1 inch piece of ginger pealed and coarsely chopped

6 Tbsp. canola or other flavorless oil

400g. (about 14oz.) paneer cut into ½ to ¾ inch cubes

2 cups low sodium vegetable stock*

1 whole chili pepper (Thia, or Birds Eye) pricked with a fork

1 Tbsp. freshly ground coriander seeds

½ tsp. turmeric

2 tsp. garam masala (divided)

3 medium ripe tomatoes (can use 14oz. tinned tomatoes)

1 ½ cups. peas fresh or frozen

1 lemon, juiced

¼ cup. creme fraiche

1 tsp. salt (to taste)

1/4tsp. black pepper (to taste)

1/3 cup water

* Some traditional recipes call for using the whey from the paneer making process. If you make your own paneer by all means use it, and then omit the lemon. I think a flavorful liquid, like stock, in its place is just as good. And DO use low sodium stock as you’ll be reducing it during cooking and some stocks become unpleasantly salty when reduced.

Mise en place:

The key to most Indo-Chinese dishes is having everything ready to go before you start to cook. This method does dirty a lot of prep bowls but it is well worth the washing up.

 Place chopped onion and ginger in the work-bowl of a food processor or blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until it resembles a coarse wet paste. Remove to a small bowl and set aside. Return work-bowl to processor, chop and place tomatoes in processor and puree thoroughly. Remove to a small bowl and set aside. (If using canned also puree the canned tomatoes and all their juice.)

Grind dried coriander seeds in a mortal and pestle or a spice grinder. Place this into a small pinch bowl, along with 1 tsp. garam masala and ½ tsp. turmeric. Place the remaining garam masala in separate bowl, or have it nearby at the end of cooking.

Prick the sides of your chili with a sharp knife or fork, and set aside. 

Dice paneer into cubes and set aside. Cut lemon in half and have close near the end of cooking. 

Measure stock, peas, crème fraiche, and set aside. 

Cooking:

Heat oil in a Teflon or other non-stick 12” skillet over medium/high heat. When oil is hot, fry cheese cubes in a single layer, until golden and browned on two sides. Do this in batches and remove finished cubes of paneer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

 Place chili in the remaining oil and fry for a minute or two until blistered on all sides.

Add onion mixture to the pan carefully. It will splatter. Fry onion mixture, stirring constantly, until it resembles a dry paste and has begun to brown. About 10 min.

Using a spoon or heat-proof spatula clear the paste from the center of the pan and add spices to the dry area. Let spices toast undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes, then stir into the onion mixture.

 Add tomato puree to the pan and stir until well combined. Fry, stirring constantly, until the mixture once again resembles a thick paste that has turned brick red and holds it’s shape in the pan when separated by a spoon or spatula.

 Add vegetable stock, stir, and reduce heat to simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

Taste and season sauce after vegetable stock has had some time to reduce. 

Place peas in sauce during the last ten minutes of simmering, and return paneer to the pan. Squeeze lemons, cut side up, into the sauce and stir.

Let everything cook an additional 5 minutes.

To finish, add crème fraiche, and the remaining teaspoon of garam masala. Check seasonings, and serve over cooked rice.