Thu 6 May 2010
Note: If you want to skip the hype-splanation, and cut straight to the recipe, click here or go down to the “Click HERE for more” below…. Also note that I’ve included a plain text and a plain HTML version as well. I recommend checking back to this page before attempting to cook it, as I plan on updating the recipe from time to time.
It is done. I have done it. I have perfected my Mom’s Mattar Paneer recipe!
You don’t know what I’m talking about? You don’t know what mattar paneer is? You poor, unwashed, heathen. Wikipedia will tell you that mattar paneer is “is an Indian dish consisting of paneer (cheese) and peas in a sweet and spicy sauce.”
- “Mattar” = “Peas”, “Paneer” = “cheese”
- It’s perhaps the single best dish my Mom makes (& she’s quite a cook!)
- Paneer is home-made, light, mild, cheese – kinda like a firm cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese in taste (very subtle) and has a texture almost like tofu
- Arguments over who got the most paneer were the flashpoint for many battles at the dining room table between my brother and I. Eventually, my parents had to begin a strict equal apportionment scheme to reduce conflict.
- It is one of my three or four favorite foods.
So you might be thinking “Ok, so it is a recipe, and you can make it. Nice, but no big deal…” This suggests you don’t understand that I CAN NOT COOK. What little cooking skills I have, I have learned in order to make this dish (& a few others like it). Seriously: Can. Not. Cook. Googled-to-look-up-how-to-boil-eggs-earlier-this-year.
Get it? And now after years and years of learning and figuring it out, my Mattar Paneer recipe is as good as my mom, Swaran Jawa, makes it. It’s now officially, crazy + delicious. I have been attempting this for years… Many of you have tried it and thought “Oh this is good” – but it hasn’t been – you just didn’t know better. But now, finally it is legit. Soooo good.
I should add that to be able to cook something as good as my Mom is huge for me as I still have little common cooking sense. This means there are probably improvements, simplifications, and twists that you folks will come up that will take me years to figure out – so please put them in the comments and email them my way. Seriously – it took me literally 2 years of trying this recipe to realize that I could avoid burning the pot by using more oil. Yep. 2 years. (And actually, truth be told, I didn’t even realize it – my esteemed sous chef, Bob, figured it out. THANKS BOB) So feel free to help me learn faster.
Also, I’d like to ask that if you pass this recipe along, just make sure you give credit to my Mom 
she deserves it! (Happy Mother’s Day Mom! AND THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP!)
——
A few notes, before we jump into the recipe:
- The two most interesting parts of this recipe can be purchased from an Indian food store as my Mom likes to remind me. The gharam masala spice mixture and the paneer. I say “Mom, if I wanted to buy Indian food, I’d just go to an Indian restaurant!” But if you are looking to reduce the level of difficulty, those are real options. I’d say whatever you do, make your own paneer – it is EASY and SOOOO COOL.
- If you are expecting this to look and taste like mattar paneer you get in most Indian restaurants, you will be disappointed. And you will deserve a good flogging. I’ve come across very few Indian restaurants that don’t do a lame job of mattar paneer. They usually skimp on the cheese, and the cheese they do make is not very good. They also tend to make the base heavy with cream (bleagh) – even the wikipedia picture is this style. Bleagh. This is the best version of mattar paneer I know folks & it is not just because it is what I’m used too – most Indians I knew growing up loved my Mom’s version too.
- This is best served over basmati rice or with naan bread (lightly toasted pita bread is a good naan substitute – the fluffier the better). I also recommend putting some plain yogurt on it if you are serving it with rice. Yum!
- This recipe is in 3 parts, and two of these three parts are the key parts to two of my other favorite foods of all time, my Mom’s rajmah (red beans) and my Mom’s masala chicken! Once you get this down, those other recipes are pretty easy.
- If you can’t do dairy, or are vegan – replace the paneer with tofu. This is commonly done & quite yummy. Also if you can’t do tomato sauce* (too acidy for an ex-GF – thanks for all the help Celeste!) you can substitute yogurt – still yummy.
- I’ve uploaded a few random scattered pictures I’ve taken through the years - they will help you get a sense of what this all should look like. Hopefully I’ll get around to adding a definitive set someday.
- I’ll be updating the recipe from time to time, so check back before you attempt it – it may have been improved. And hopefully, people will leave improvements in the comments.
