November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving Recipe: Mattar Paneer!

I have no idea how authentic this recipe is at this point, it’s been heavily modified by yours truly and probably wasn’t that authentic to begin with. And it’s obviously not traditional Thanksgiving fare – but let’s be honest, Thanksgiving food sucks.

Matar Paneer ala Walt

Cottage cheese : 2 cups (if you can find dry curds, those are nice, but normal large wet curds work fine)
Frozen Green Peas : One bag (2 cups-ish)
Vegetable Oil
Cumin seeds : 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick
Red chili powder : 1 tsp
Turmeric powder : 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder : 2 tsp
Heavy cream : 3/4 cup
Garam masala powder : 1 tsp
One large onion, diced
One can of diced tomato
2 cups diced hot green chile
Some fresh ginger, shredded
1 tsp salt

Heat up some oil and toss in onion, green chile, and ginger. Fry for about 5 minutes until the onion is transparent.

Add chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder fry them for 3-4 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, salt and garam masala powder sautee them for another 4-5 minutes.

Take the resulting mixture and process to a smooth paste in a blender or food processor.

Heat up the pan with remaining oil and add cumin seeds and cinnamon stick, fry for maybe a minute or two until things are sizzling.

Add the paste bring to a boil, then add peas and cottage cheese and cook for another 5 minutes (simmering).

Finally, add the cream and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and serve over quinoa or rice.