Low Fat Restaurant style Matar Paneer
Recipe for a low fat restaurant style matar paneer, made healthier, so it is no longer an indulgence, but transformed into a simple everyday curry.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tbsp cashewnuts broken
- 2 medium onions finely sliced
- 3 medium tomatoes coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 6 cloves garlic sliced
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup green peas frozen or fresh boiled
- 200 g skimmed milk paneer cut into 1 cm cubes
- 1 tsp kasuri methi dried fenugreek leaves
Instructions
- To prepare low fat restaurant style matar paneer, start by dry roasting cashews in a pan, until very lightly golden. Remove and allow to cool.
- Heat oil in the same pan. Add the grated ginger, sliced garlic and onions, cooking on a low-medium flame with a pinch of salt for 8-10 minutes until onions are soft.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes with the turmeric powder. Allow to cook for 7-8 minutes until the tomatoes collapse and turn into a mush.
- Transfer the contents of the pan into a small mixer / blender. Combine all the spice powders- turmeric, coriander, cumin and red chilli powder and blend to a fine puree using up to 1/2 cup water to aid the blending process.
- Pour this puree into the same pan. Season with salt and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the frozen / boiled green peas to this gravy, along with the paneer cubes and simmer for 5 minutes, so that the spices infuse into the peas and paneer.
- Sprinkle garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Give it one last stir and remove into a serving bowl.
Notes
Notes:
Serve hot with rotis, parathas, naan or plain steamed rice seasoned with cumin seeds.
I personally prefer to have this with a plain tandoori roti or a phulka as the dish is quite heavy, it is better balanced by a lighter bread. A raita on the side would be nice too, or a simple cucumber salad.
Health tips:
It's perfectly okay to use store bought paneer.Using paneer made from skimmed milk at home will further reduce the calories from fat keeping the protein content intact. In restaurants, this dish is made with plenty of ghee /butter, a large chunk of nut paste (almond or cashew) plus a dollop of fresh cream added towards the end to make it even richer.
This version uses just one teaspoon of vegetable oil and the small quantity of cashewnuts are enough to provide the rich creamy restaurant taste without the added calories from fat. The key to a delicious gravy is to not skimp on the onion sauteeing and make a really fine puree using a good quality blender. The pinch of kasoori methi in the end makes all the difference in giving that 'restauranty' flavour.
Vegans can substitute the paneer with tofu or boiled-drained soya chunks (sold in Indian stores under the brand Nutrela).