Mattar paneer: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:01, 14 August 2014

Mattar paneer

Servings:	4 to 6 people
Ready in:	15 minutes (without cheesemaking)
Prep. time:	5 minutes
Cook time:	10 minutes
Difficulty:

Mattar paneer - Indian cheesey peas.

This recipe gives you the option to make your own authentic paneer too if you wish.

Ingredients

For making yor own paneer

• 1.2 litres (2 pints) full cream milk
• 1 lemon
• Ghee

or

• 250 g (1/2 lb) cubed paneer or pressed cottage cheese (queso blanco)
• Ghee (start from point 7 in the method with the latter ingredients)

Mise en place

• Sterilise all equipment

Method

Making your own paneer

1. Boil the milk, twice, leaving it to cool for 10 minutes in between boils, stirring well to prevent burning.
2. Squeeze in lemon juice to split the milk.
3. Cover a separate pan with a muslin cloth or a clean tea-towel and pour the milk through it to separate the curds and whey.
4. Reserve the whey, as it's useful to cook rice in.
5. Hang the curds in the cloth for a whole day to allow the remaining whey to drip out.
6. After this time, place the curds in the cloth under a weight to flatten into a cake.
7. Cut the paneer into cubes and fry in hot ghee until coloured a little, and place on one side

Ingredients

For Peas and spices

• 450 g (1 lb) peas
• 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon chilli powder
• 1.5 teaspoons ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 2.5 cm (1") piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• Ghee
• Sea salt to taste

Method

Peas and spices

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a pan or wok and fry the ginger and onions for 4 minutes
2. Add all of the spices and salt and stir fry for a minute.
3. Add the peas, a few tablespoons of water and cook the peas until done and a little spicy gravy is left
4. Add the paneer cubes and boil for 5 minutes

Serving suggestions

Serve hot with chapattis