Badami Matar Paneer was one of the few dishes I liked at an all-vegan dinner party a few months ago. A friend of mine who co-hosted this party along with me prepared this dish & I took the recipe from her and made a few tweaks. She had used soft Tofu & I subbed it with Paneer as we don't like Tofu at home. It was so creamy and delicious that we absolutely loved it !
Almonds and Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) leaves were given by Sasmita - my paired blogger - for this edition of Sshhhh Secret Cooking Challenge and it seemed the right time to share this recipe here. Sasmita has some great food pictures on her blog, and I particularly love how she captures the beverages !! Check out here what she cooked with the ingredients I gave her.
In the above dish, you could sub the paneer with Tofu / Tempeh for a 100% Vegan dish, but the kids loved this paneer dish a lot with Wholewheat Kalonji Naan and a salad.
Prep time - 15 mins, Cook time - 20 mins, Serves - 4
If like my kids, you are a Paneer-loving family, do check out the following paneer-based dishes on the blog:
Nargisi Kofta Curry (Mock-Egg Gravy)
Shahi Paneer Masala (Side dish for Roti)
Paneer Pudinawale (Paneer in Mint gravy)
Matar - Paneer (Peas - Paneer gravy)
Paneer Potato Curry ~ Cottage cheese and Potato curry
Paneer Kulcha (stuffed flatbread)
Paneer Kebab (appetiser)
Paneer Chilli Bites (Appetiser)
Pista Rasabali (a delicious sweet from orissa)
Mini Paneer & Spinach Tarts (Appetiser)
Paneer Manchurian (indo Chinese starter)
Paneer Bharwa Shimla Mirch (Bell peppers stuffed with scrambled and spiced Paneer)
Paneer Gulab Jamun (Indian Dessert with a twist)
Palak Paneer Parathas (Flat bread stuffed with spinach and Paneer)
Ingredients:
Paneer - 200 grams (sub with tofu if vegan)
Matar /Fresh or frozen peas - 3 handfuls
Frozen / fresh mixed veggies- ¼ cup (I used baby corn, carrot, beans)
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2.5 TBSP
Onions - 1 small - sliced thin
Spice powders : Coriander powder 2 tsp, Cumin powder 1 tsp, Kashmiri Red chilli powder 1 tsp, Garam Masala 1.5 tsp
coriander leaves for garnish
PIN FOR LATER
To grind:
Badam / Almonds - ⅓ cup - soaked in hot water for an hour
Pistachio - 2 tsp
Paneer / tofu grated - 3 TBSP
Kasuri Methi - 1 tsp
Khus khus / poppy seeds - 1 teaspoon (soaked in hot water for 30 mins)
Onions - 1 large
Tomato - 2 large
Dalchini / Cinnamon - ½ inch
garlic pods - 2 large
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chillies - 2 (adjust spice) - I used the really spicy variety
How to:
Saute the paneer cubes in a teaspoon of oil till slightly crisp , drain and soak in slightly salted warm water for 3-4 mins. Blanch all veggies with a pinch of salt, drain and reserve.
In a pan, add 1 tablespoon oil, saute all the ingredients under "to grind" one by one except the first 5 ingredients. Let the onions and tomatoes saute well and shrink a bit. Cool this and grind with the rest of the ingredients to a smooth paste
In the same pan, add the remaining oil, add sliced onions and let them brown a bit, now add the ground paste and saute on low flame for 5-7 mins continuously till the oil separates. Now add the salt and spice powders and mix well. Next add the veggies and mix gently. Finally add the peas and sautéed paneer and adding 3-4 teaspoon of water to get to a gravy consistency if required, simmer it gently for 2-3 mins. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Roti / Naan / Plain Pulav too
Mayuri Patel says
A delicious looking matar paneer. Love how creamy the gravy looks and almonds must have added a distinct flavor. I've got to try it making the curry with almonds and a bit of blended paneer.
Rafeeda AR says
I am just wondering how this would have tasted... literally salivating over the thought... what an amazing dish!
Sujata Roy says
Badami matar paneer looks so inviting. Loved this rich creamy and delicious gravy. Awesome share.
Archana says
Badami mattar paneer looks absolutely delicious I am nuts about the nuts you have used. Never thought of pista. Looks delicious n you certainly are a paneer loving family. 🙂
Poonam Bachhav says
Blending little paneer along with soaked almonds and poppy seeds sounds interesting ! The gravy looks absolutely creamy and I am definitely going to give this recipe a try. Thanks for the share.
Vasusvegkitchen says
Badami matar paneer looks very delectable with rich gravy.Ingredients used for preparing gravy is very intresting which I never tried.Bookmarking to try it soon.????
jayashree says
Badami matar paneer looks so creamy and delicious. The almonds give a nice taste to the dishes, tried couple of times.
Sasmita says
Paneer curry looks really so tempting ! use of badam here is a lovely idea along with pistachio 🙂 Love to have with some naan ....
cookwithrenu says
I love the name of this dish. I do make a gravy by combining almonds and cashew, but never tried with only almonds. The gravy looks very rich and perfectly done
Pavani says
Badami matar paneer looks so inviting ,creamy and delicious.Love to have with roti or with steamed rice.
mildly indian says
The cfeaminess of the almonds is sure evident in the gravy. So happy to see this slightly different recipe. tempted to try it soon.
veena says
This badami mutter paneer looks so creamy Kalyani. The badam in that must be added a distinct flavour and taste to the dish
Chef Mireille says
this simple curry has all of my fave ingredients and love the creamy consistency of the curry