If Shahi Paneer is the celebration paneer and Palak Paneer is the restaurant paneer, then Matar Paneer is the everyday paneer — the one Indian mothers make on a Tuesday night with whatever's in the kitchen. It's one of the top-5 most searched paneer recipes globally, and the reason is its beautiful simplicity: paneer cubes, frozen peas, onion, tomato, and a handful of everyday spices. No cashew paste, no spinach, no cream, no frying the paneer first (unless you want to). It's a 20-minute, one-pan, budget-friendly curry that produces maximum comfort with minimum effort.
The magic of Matar Paneer is the contrast: soft, mild, creamy paneer against sweet, bright, slightly firm green peas, all held together by a thin but flavourful tomato-onion gravy. It's the curry that children grow up eating, that students survive on, and that working parents default to when there's no time to cook anything elaborate. At Pick N Save, we stock nine different paneer options (any of which works perfectly for this recipe — even the softer, less expensive blocks) and frozen peas are always in stock. The spice list is nothing more than the basics you already have from making any of our other recipes: cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli, and garam masala. This is comfort food at its most efficient.
Heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (KTC Pure Sunflower Oil 5 Litres) in a wide pan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds (Fudco Cumin Seeds 300g) and let them crackle for 5 seconds. Add 1 large onion, finely diced (White Onions Prepack 4Kg), and cook for 4–5 minutes until soft and light golden. Add 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste (Fudco Ginger Garlic Paste 300g) and 1 green chilli, finely chopped (Indian Chilli 400g). Cook for 1 minute.
Add 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped (Fresh Vine Tomato 500g), or 200g of KTC Chopped Tomatoes. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down completely into a thick paste and the oil separates at the edges. This is the standard North Indian onion-tomato masala base — the same foundation used in hundreds of Indian curries, and one you'll make instinctively once you've cooked a few of our recipes.
Add 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (TFS Dhana Coriander Powder 100g), ½ teaspoon of turmeric (TFS Haldi Powder Rajapuri 100g), ½ teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder (TFS Kashmiri Mild Chilli Powder 100g), ½ teaspoon of garam masala (TFS Garam Masala 100g), and salt to taste. Stir for 1 minute until the spices are fragrant and fully incorporated into the tomato base. The simplicity of the spice list is deliberate — Matar Paneer is meant to taste clean and comforting, not complex and overwhelming.
Cut 300g of paneer (Homeville Paneer Block 1kg — use just under a third) into 2cm cubes. If you want slightly firmer paneer with golden edges, pan-fry the cubes in 1 tablespoon of oil for 1 minute per side before adding — but this is entirely optional. For everyday Matar Paneer, adding raw paneer cubes directly to the sauce is the traditional home-cooking approach and saves time and washing-up.
Add the paneer cubes and 1 cup of frozen peas (no need to thaw — they cook perfectly from frozen in the hot sauce) to the pan. Add 200ml of warm water and stir gently — be careful not to break the paneer cubes. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook on medium-low heat for 5–7 minutes. The peas will turn bright green and tender, the paneer will warm through and absorb the sauce flavour, and the gravy will thicken to a consistency that coats the paneer and peas without pooling on the plate.
The sauce should be thin enough to flow but thick enough to cling — thinner than Butter Chicken gravy but thicker than Dal Tadka. If too thick, add a splash of water. If too thin, simmer uncovered for 2 more minutes to reduce.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter (Anchor Butter Salted 500g) — optional but traditional. The butter stirred through at the end adds a gloss and richness that rounds out the everyday spices. Add 1 teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves / kasuri methi (TFS Dried Fenugreek Leaves 100g) crushed between your palms — the same finishing touch from our Butter Chicken, Palak Paneer, and Shahi Paneer recipes. Scatter chopped fresh coriander (Fresh Coriander Bunch) on top.
Serve with basmati rice (Tilda Basmati Rice 5kg) for the classic Matar Paneer Chawal, or with roti (Shana Chapatti Multi Pack 20s) or Garlic Naan. A side of Dal Tadka and Cucumber Raita completes the most common North Indian vegetarian thali. Matar Paneer also pairs beautifully with Aloo Paratha as a side for a Punjabi weekend brunch.
Every single ingredient for this recipe is available at picknsave.co.uk with home delivery across London and the UK, or click and collect from our store in Harrow. Here's your shopping list:
*RI = Reference Intake. Values are approximate. No cream version — the restaurant version with cream adds approximately 60 extra calories.
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