Matar Paneer/ Peas And Cottage Cheese Curry

          Matar Paneer, Green Peas with Indian Cottage Cheese, is a very popular side dish for naans and rotis and a very common dish on restaurant menus and parties. It's liked very much by kids as the main ingredients in this curry are peas and paneer, which is liked by most of them. I have used home made paneer and I didn't follow any particular recipe, just added what I felt would be right for this dish, it turned out very delicious and paired perfectly well with the rotis that we had with it..

Need to Have

• Fresh Or Frozen Green Peas - 11/2 cups
• Paneer Cubes - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 medium chopped
• Cinnamon - 2" thin stick
• Kasuri Methi - 1 tablespoon
• Salt - to taste 

To Grind

• Onion - 1 small
• Tomatoes - 2 medium
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• Ginger - 1 tablespoon, chopped
• Cashews - 5
• Golden Raisins - 6
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Cardamom - 1
• Cloves - 2
• Javentri - very small piece

Method

          Grind together all the ingredients given under 'to grind' and keep. Cook the green peas and keep, I usually microwave it with some water and salt.

          Heat some oil, add the cinnamon, when it starts sizzling add the chopped onions and saute till it turns pink.

          Now add the ground paste and saute it for at least 5 to 7 minutes until the raw smell goes away.

          Then add about 2 cups of water and salt, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat. Now add the cooked peas and the paneer cubes, mix and cook for another 2 minutes. Finally add the kasuri methi (slightly crush it with your hands), mix, cook for a minute more, remove and serve it warm with any bread or pilaf.

Note
While sauteing the paste, if it sticks to the pan, add a little water and continue sauteing.
Kasuri Methi is dried fenugreek leaves available in Indian groceries.
Javentri is a dried, orange flower like spice, found in Indian groceries, if you don't find it add one more cardamom while grinding the paste.