Description
This vegan matar paneer features a rich and spiced-up tomato gravy with tofu and peas. Serve with rice or vegan naan, you won’t regret it!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil (I used rice bran)
- ⅓ cup / 50g raw cashews
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, diced
- ½ inch fresh ginger, grated or minced
- 1 medium green chilli, chopped (deseeded if you like)
- 3 medium / 500g tomatoes, diced
- 1–1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ¾ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder (or more for extra heat)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1¼ cup / 310ml vegetable stock, or water (keep in mind if using stock that you adjust the salt levels accordingly)
- 250g / 8.82 ounces firm tofu, cubed (any excess water pressed out using a paper towel)
- 1¼ cup / 160g frozen peas
- Fresh coriander/cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- In a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat, add two tablespoons of the oil and the cashews.
- Once the cashews start to colour, add the onion and saute until it starts to caramelise. This will take a couple of minutes.
- Add in the garlic, ginger, and green chilli and saute for a further couple of minutes until they start to soften and release their aroma.
- Add in the fresh tomatoes and salt to taste and cook for 4-5 minutes, then remove from stove.
- Carefully transfer to your blender (be careful, it will be hot!) and blend until nice and smooth. If you would prefer to wait for it to cool a little before blending the ingredients, do so. Alternatively use an immersion blender, you’ll just have to take the gravy out of the skillet if using this method once done.
- Place the same skillet back on medium heat, wipe it out clean then add the other 2 tbsp of oil to the pan.
- Add in the cumin, garam masala, chilli, cinnamon and saute for 30 seconds to a minute to release all the aromas in the spices.
- Add in the tomato paste and stir well to combine.
- Pour in the tomato base from the blender and add the water/stock. Stir well and simmer for 15 minutes. It will spit a little as it thickens so be careful when stirring. If you’d like a thicker gravy, cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the tofu and peas and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and garnish with coriander. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve with your choice of sides as recommended above. I like mine with basmati rice and naan.
- Diet: Vegan
