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Science-backed recipe

Mattar Paneer: Peas and Paneer, Instant Pot Easy

Also called Matar Paneer · Mutter Paneer · मटर पनीर · مٹر پنیر

Lunch & dinnerVegetarianInstant Pot

Soft cubes of paneer and sweet green peas in a spiced onion-tomato gravy, finished with a splash of cream and kasuri methi.

From the MedRise Food Science kitchenPublished
Active
40 min
Prep
15 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4
Jump to recipeStovetop methodRead the science
Mattar paneer with soft paneer cubes and green peas in an onion-tomato gravy

Why this recipe works

  • ✓
    Soft paneerSoaked in hot water and added at the end.
  • ✓
    Instant Pot gravyBuilt on the classic Indian base.
  • ✓
    Weeknight fastAbout 40 minutes.
  • ✓
    Vegetarian proteinPaneer plus peas.

What is mattar paneer?

Mattar paneer is a North Indian curry of paneer (fresh cheese) and green peas in an onion-tomato gravy, a dinner-party and dhaba favorite. Use store-bought paneer or make your own (see paneer bhurji).

Fresh cheese curds hanging in a cheesecloth bundle, dripping whey into a glass jug

Meet the ingredients

The main ingredients, with their English, Hindi and Urdu names.

Fresh cheese curds hanging in a cheesecloth bundle, dripping whey into a glass jug

Paneer

पनीरپنیر
panīr

Store-bought or homemade.

Its job: Protein and creaminess.

Green peas

मटरمٹر
maṭar

Frozen peas work perfectly.

Its job: Sweetness and color.
Illustration of crumbled dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

Kasuri methi

कसूरी मेथीقصوری میتھی
kasūrī methī

Dried fenugreek leaves.

Its job: Restaurant aroma.

Grow it yourself: Tomatoes, Cilantro (dhania), Methi (fenugreek), Garlic, Ginger

The lab notes

The science behind every step

Restaurant cooks do these things by habit. Here’s what each step is actually doing to the food, so you can cook by understanding instead of guesswork.

Lab note01

Soak the paneer

Soak the paneer cubes in hot salted water for 10 minutes.

Store-bought paneer is often firm and dry from refrigeration. Warm water rehydrates the protein network so it turns soft and spongy, and seasons it.

Lab note02

Paneer goes in last

Add paneer after pressure cooking and simmer only 2–3 minutes.

Long, hard cooking squeezes water out of paneer’s tightly packed milk proteins and turns it rubbery.

Lab note03

Peas stay bright

Add frozen peas at the end.

Chlorophyll turns olive-drab with long cooking in acidic gravy; a short simmer keeps peas green and sweet.

Technique, step by step

How to peel tomatoes, the food-science way

Score, blanch for 30–60 seconds, chill in ice water, and the skins slip right off. Peeled tomatoes cook into a smoother, silkier masala with no chewy flecks of skin.

  1. Scoring a shallow X on the bottom of a ripe tomato with a paring knife
    1. ScoreCut a shallow X through the skin on the bottom of each tomato.
  2. Scored tomatoes in boiling water with the skins starting to split at the X
    2. BlanchLower the tomatoes into rolling boiling water (a saucepan, or the Instant Pot on Sauté, More/High) for 30–60 seconds, just until the skin at the X starts to split.
  3. Blanched tomatoes going into an ice-water bath with their skins loosened
    3. ChillLift them straight into a bowl of ice water for about 1 minute.
  4. Slipping the loosened skin off a blanched tomato
    4. PeelStarting at the X, slip the skins off with your fingers. Cut out the core, then chop or blend.

Why peel at all?

Tomato skin is a tough, waxy layer that doesn’t break down with cooking; in a long-cooked masala it curls into chewy flecks. The skin is also where almost all of a tomato’s flavonoids sit, mainly naringenin chalcone and rutin, the kind of plant compounds that can taste faintly bitter or astringent. Texture is the bigger, better-proven reason, but peeled tomatoes give the smoothest, cleanest-tasting gravy.

Why the boiling water works

A short plunge heats only the outer layer. The heat weakens the pectin that glues the skin to the flesh, and steam forming underneath pushes the skin away, so it splits and curls back at the X while the flesh inside stays raw and firm.

Why the ice bath

Ice water stops the cooking at once, so the flesh doesn’t turn soft and mushy, and makes the tomatoes cool enough to peel right away. More than about a minute in the boiling water starts to cook the flesh.

Sources: National Center for Home Food Preservation: Put It Up! Boiling Water Canning · Muir et al., Nature Biotechnology (2001): flavonoids in tomato peel

How to make it, at a glance

  1. Soak the paneerSoak the paneer cubes in hot salted water for 10 minutes while you cook.
  2. Bloom the cuminSelect Sauté (More/High) and heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds for 20–30 seconds.
  3. Brown the onionsAdd the onions and cook until golden, 7–8 minutes.
  4. Ginger-garlic, then spicesAdd the ginger-garlic paste for 1 minute, then the salt, chili powder, turmeric and coriander for 30 seconds.
  5. TomatoesAdd the tomatoes and cook until thick and the oil separates, 5–6 minutes.
  6. Pressure cook the gravyAdd the water, scrape the bottom well, lock the lid and pressure cook on High for 3 minutes. Quick release. Blend with an immersion blender if you want a smooth gravy.
  7. Peas and paneerSelect Sauté. Add the peas and drained paneer and simmer 2–3 minutes. Stir in the garam masala, cream and kasuri methi, and top with cilantro.

Exact amounts and timings are in the recipe card below.

Questions, answered

Why is my paneer rubbery?

It was cooked too long. Add it at the end and simmer only briefly.

Can I use frozen paneer?

Yes; thaw it and soak in hot water first.

About MedRise Food Science

Desi restaurant favorites, recreated at home and explained with food science: every recipe is tested in a home kitchen and comes with the why behind each step.

A brass bowl of mattar paneer
Recipe card

Mattar Paneer

Restaurant-style mattar paneer in the Instant Pot: soft paneer and sweet peas in the classic Indian onion-tomato base. With the food science of keeping paneer soft.

Prep15 minCook25 minTotal40 minServes4 servings

Ingredients

Indian base

Curry

Instructions (Instant Pot)

  1. Soak the paneerSoak the paneer cubes in hot salted water for 10 minutes while you cook.
  2. Bloom the cuminSelect Sauté (More/High) and heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds for 20–30 seconds.
  3. Brown the onionsAdd the onions and cook until golden, 7–8 minutes.
  4. Ginger-garlic, then spicesAdd the ginger-garlic paste for 1 minute, then the salt, chili powder, turmeric and coriander for 30 seconds.
  5. TomatoesAdd the tomatoes and cook until thick and the oil separates, 5–6 minutes.
  6. Pressure cook the gravyAdd the water, scrape the bottom well, lock the lid and pressure cook on High for 3 minutes. Quick release. Blend with an immersion blender if you want a smooth gravy.
  7. Peas and paneerSelect Sauté. Add the peas and drained paneer and simmer 2–3 minutes. Stir in the garam masala, cream and kasuri methi, and top with cilantro.

Stovetop method

Use a heavy pan.

  1. SimmerMake the base, add the water and simmer 10 minutes covered, then add the peas and paneer as above.

Notes

Lighter
Skip the cream; the gravy is rich enough from the onions.
Storage
Refrigerate up to 4 days.

Equipment

  • Instant Pot (6 qt)
  • Immersion blender (optional)

Course: Main Course · Cuisine: Punjabi, North Indian
MedRise Food Science

Sources & further reading