Matar Paneer

I made this for our picnic after picking blueberries on the fourth of July. We got to pet farm animals and we got porch furniture. Best day ever! The recipe is from the blog Show me the Curry. The paneer was homemade. Check out the post on homemade cheese to make it yourselves.

Ingredients:

plenty of oil
1 whole bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 tsp dried cardamom
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 knob ginger
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
1 handful mint, chopped
Paneer, cubed (I used 1/2 of what I made)
Salt – to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 package Frozen Green Peas (16 oz)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Whey, vegetable broth, or water as needed

Method:

1. Heat a medium size pan on medium heat.
2. Add in some oil and allow it to heat up.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves, and cardamom powder.
4. Add in the chopped onions and stir for 3-5 minutes.
5. Add in the ginger, garlic and jalapeno.
6. Cook until the onions are golden brown in color. Then use an immersion blender to roughly blend the majority of the onion in the pan.
7. Add the cumin and turmeric and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add in the frozen green peas. Add enough whey to just barely cover the peas.
9. Add in the cayenne powder and salt. Mix well.
10. Cover and cook until the Peas are tender for about 7 minutes.
11. Add the cubed paneer to the peas and mix in.
12. Lower heat and add in the yogurt and the chopped mint. Mix well.
13. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.

Serve over rice with fresh mint!