This palak matar, a spinach and green pea curry, is super nutritious and tasty combination of green leafy spinach and green peas in the form of a wonderful Pakistani/Indian curry. Typically, this curry can also incorporate paneer – a popular South Asian cheese. However, I’ve been bold enough to experiment with an alternative cheese that I had lying in the fridge that needed using up. You’ll never guess what type of cheese I used…..goats cheese! My goodness, this combo was even better than the paneer version and that’s saying something, as I love paneer. If you’re vegan, do omit this as the cheese-less version does taste delicious. However, if you can, do grab some goats cheese and include it in this recipe. It’ll go down a treat with you and your family!
This recipe requires the spinach to be ground into a thick paste which is combined with sweet peas, spices and a rich tomato gravy curry base.
This recipe is loaded with iron and other nutrients, with green peas being a rich source of protein. If you add the goats cheese, this adds more to the protein content.
Serve this dish with chapatti, naan or rice.
How do you make palak mattar?
To make palak matar follow the detailed steps with photos below along with the detailed recipe below.
Step 1
In a pan, sauté 1 finely chopped medium brown onion in olive oil until its browned. Add a dash of water to prevent the onion from burning.
STEP 2
Add in 3 green chillies, minced ginger and minced garlic (fresh or pre-made), turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt. Add in a dash of water.
Step 3
Add in 2 small tomatoes, chopped and sauté these until they’re mushy. Remove the skins of the tomatoes.
Step 4
In another pot, boil your spinach until it’s wilted. Then remove and drain the majority of the water/moisture from the spinach and pulse it in a blender until it becomes smooth and thick consistency – like a paste.
Step 5
Add the cooked spinach paste, water and peas to the curry base and continue to simmer until the peas have fully cooked.
Step 6
Continue to cook the curry to evaporate the water to achieve the consistency of the curry based on your preference. The longer you cook it for, the thicker the consistency will be, and vice versa. At this point, add in goats cheese, as an optional ingredient and cook this for an additional 3-5 mins until the cheese has fully integrated in the curry. Serve and enjoy!
Palak Matar Recipe – Spinach and Green Pea Curry
Materials
- 250 grams Spinach (Palak)
- 1 medium Brown onion
- 1½ tbsp Olive oil
- 2 small Tomatoes
- 1 cup Green Peas (Matar)
- 3 small Green chillies
- 1 tbsp Minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Minced ginger
- 2 tsp Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder (Haldi)
- 1½ tsp Red chilli powder
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Salt, or to taste
- 1 cup Water
- 50 grams Goats cheese (optional)
Instructions
- In a pan, sauté 1 finely chopped medium brown onion in olive oil until its browned. Add a dash of water to prevent the onion from burning.
- Add in 3 green chillies, minced ginger and minced garlic (fresh or pre-made), turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt. Add in a dash of water.
- Add in 2 small tomatoes, chopped and sauté these until they're mushy. Remove the skins of the tomatoes.
- In another pot, boil your spinach until it's wilted. Then remove and drain the majority of the water/moisture from the spinach and pulse it in a blender until it becomes smooth and thick consistency – like a paste.
- Add the cooked spinach paste, water and peas to the curry base and continue to simmer until the peas have fully cooked.
- Continue to cook the curry to evaporate the water to achieve the consistency of the curry based on your preference. The longer you cook it for, the thicker the consistency will be, and vice versa. At this point, add in goats cheese, as an optional ingredient and cook this for an additional 3-5 mins until the cheese has fully integrated in the curry. Serve and enjoy!
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