Recipe - Mateer Paneer-Green Peas And Cheese In Fragrant Tomato Sauce

1 Recipe Paneer (Indian
cheese) made with 8 cups
milk & cut into One half by 1/2
by 1&One half inch pieces (see
recipe)
9 tablespoon Usli ghee or clarified
butter
2 cup Finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon Finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoon Finely chopped ginger root
2 teaspoon Ground coriander
1 teaspoon Turmeric
One half teaspoon Ground cumin
One fourth teaspoon Methi; see note in text
One fourth teaspoon EACH red (cayenne) & black
pepper, (One fourth to 1/2)
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 cup Finely chopped or pureed
fresh ripe tomato, or
1 One half cup Canned tomatoes with their
juice, chopped
1 Jalepeno; finely chopped
1 One half cup Shelled fresh green peas; or
1 Tenounce package frozen
peas, defrosted but not
cooked (I don't bother to
defrost)
2 teaspoon Kosher salt
One fourth cup Cream (scant)
2 teaspoon Garam masala; or more to
taste
4 tablespoon Finely chopped fresh
corianger leaves,
(cilantro)

1. Spread paneer pieces on a piece of waxed paper & allow to dry slightly
for One half hour.

2. Heat 3 T. of the ghee or clarified butter over medium heat in a large
heavybottomed pan, preferably one with a nonstick interior. When the ghee
is hot, add cheese pieces. Keep a lid or splatter screen handy as the
moisture in the cheese may be released explosively, causing tiny particles
of cheese to fly all over. Dusting the pieces with a little flour prevents
splattering. Fry the cheese, turning & tossing often to prevent sticking &
burning, until lightly seared (about 5 minutes). Transfer pieces to a bowl.
Fry in batches so that there is ample room for turning them without fear of
breaking.

3. Add the remaining 6 T. ghee or clarified butter to the pan & increase
heat to high. Add onions to pan & fry until they turn light brown, about 5
minutes. Stir constantly so that they do not burn. Add garlic & ginger &
fry for an additional 2 minutes. Add ground coriander, turmeric, cumin,
methi (methi = dried fenugreek leaves, available at any Indian market, you
can easily omit if not available Holly) red & black pepper & paprika, all
at once. Stir rapidly for a moment & immediately add tomatoes & jalapeno.
Cook until the mixture thickens to a pulpy sauce & the fat begins to
separate (about 10 minutes), stirring often.

4. Add 2 One fourth cups hot water and bring sauce to boil. Reduce heat to medium
and cook the sauce, covered, for 20 minutes. Cool sauce briefly. Then puree
it in a blender or food processor, leaving the sauce a little coarse so it
has a certain texture.

5. Return sauce to pan. Add peas, salt, and fried cheese and bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until peas are cooked through
(about 15 minutes for fresh and 5 (or less) for frozen). Turn off heat &
add the scant One fourth C. cream and let the dish rest, covered, for an hour
before serving. When ready to serve, heat thoroughly. Fold in garam masala
& chooped coriander leaves. Check for salt, & serve. ( I usually add the
listed amount of garam masala with the cream & then add more when
reheating....and I've found I do generally need to add more salt).

Julie's Note: This dish tastes best if made a couple of hours before
serving...and may be refrigerated for up to 3 days without loss of flavor.
To reheat, simmer gently until heated through. Holly thinks best if made a
full day ahead, if possible. Just don't add the garam masala (or extra
garam masala, using my method) and cilantro until right before serving.

Serve with basmati rice.

Recipe by Julie Sahni (Classic Indian Cooking), somewhat modifed by Holly
Butman.

Serves 6 per Julie, I say serves 4 at best, people tend to go wild for
this. If you add other entrees/sides, _then_ you can easily serve 68
hungry people.

NOTES : Formatted by Holly Butman

Recipe by: Julie Sahni/Holly Butman

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #811 by Holly Butman
butma001@acpub.duke.edu on Sep 27, 1997