No Onion-Garlic Matar Paneer recipe, in Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker without onions and garlic and any cream.

Easy No Onion-Garlic Matar Paneer recipe for festivals like Navratri or for those who avoid onion and garlic in food.

Here I bring you another version of the famous North Indian Matar Paneer curry without onion and garlic. Many think that Indian curries specially rich and creamy ones, need lot of cream, onion and garlic. But there are lot of curries, rich and creamy that can be made without the above mentioned ingredients.Many communities India avoid onion and garlic for everyday food and eat a satvik diet.here are days and festivals when people have dietary restrictions on consuming onion and garlic.

That doesn't mean they have plain and bland food. In fact food without can be made yummy healthy too without the use of cream.

Usual way of making Matar Paneer is with onion and tomato masala paste and cream.Since, it is a very popular dish in India, people have their own versions of making this dish. I too make it in 2-3 different ways . Check out the recipe here with onion-tomato masala .

For no onion no garlic Matar Paneer, I have used Melon seeds for the creamy texture. Melon seeds are used in traditional Indian cooking  to add creaminess to gravies. If you don't like cream in your gravies, and still want to have creamy texture, you can add melon seeds or nuts like in Paneer Makhani  or Shahi Paneer Kofta Curry

What Ingredients we need to make No Onion-Garlic Matar Paneer

Fresh or frozen peas can be used for the curry. In India during winters fresh peas are available in abundance in Northern states so peas based dishes are quite popular there. The taste of curry is definatley different when we add fresh peas. But all thru the year, fresh peas are not available so one can use frozen ones. I have used Frozen peas in recipe.

Paneer for curry can be store bought or homemade. Use firm but soft  paneer pieces. Store-bought Paneer is also available at Indian Grocery Stores . Vereka brand Paneer that is available at Costco is good quality and I use it when ,making gravies in bulk for such curries and  parties or get togethers.

A tip to keep the store bought paneer soft , never freeze paneer . Also, before adding to curry if you find it hard, soak in just lukewarm to touch water for 10 minutes. Paneer soaked in warm water or cooked for long become hard and chewy.

For No Onion-Garlic Tomato Puree

I use tomatoes, ginger, green chillies and melon seeds. Melon seeds(Muskmelon Seeds) are also known as Magaz in Hindi and are available at Indian Grocery stores or you can order these from Amazon.

In place of melon seeds you can substitute cashews or almonds(blanched and skinned).

To get the flavour in curry, use whole spices like bay leaf, cardamom., cloves and black pepper. Usually a mix of garam masala, coriander powder is used for the texture and flavour, but here I have used my secret ingredient to flavour it. And that is  my homemade Kadhai Masala that is used in curries like Kadhai Paneer. Kadhai Mushrooms or any type of dry veg. side dishes like Bhindi Masala, Aloo Gobhi. Many times, I also use in making fried rice or pulao for a different taste, like this No Onion No Garlic Kadhai Paneer Pulao.

You can make fresh kadhai masala and store it for other vegetables and curries or use store bought. In case it is not available at the store near you,  pls see notes in recipe card for the other spices to add in curry.

For curry paste, I have added  fresh green chillies  with tomatoes but you can also add red chilli in place of green ones, that gives a nice deep red color to gravy.

Method to Cook Matar Paneer

You can cook Matar Paneer in kadhai or pan or traditional stove-top  pressure cooker and  now in Instant Pot or Mealthy Pot too. Here in this post I have covered both Instant Pot and Stove pot methods.

I have Instant Pot Ultra 8 Quart 10-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker.

Using Instant Pot for No Onion-Garlic Matar Paneer

Matar Paneer can be easily cooked in Instant pot also.Delicious rich creamy Matar Paneer can be prepared within 30 minutes from start to finish. It is very useful to cook large batch of recipes

I use Ultra Model of Instant Pot, It is almost the same as the other popular models like Instant Pot Duo plus.

Benefits of Instant Pot

Instant Pot is definitely a convenient way of cooking  when it comes to one pot meal cooking like Vegetable Biryani or Pulao . We can also cook 2 dishes together that have he same cooking time like this Steamed Rice in Instant pot with PIP method.

With Instant cooking there is no watching over the no. of whistles as in the traditional pressure cooker.  We can set the cooking timings with delayed start. The food also goes on warm mode when set so that we get fresh hot food after a long hectic day.

Let's see now how I make this No Onion-Garlic Matar Paneer 

Prepare Tomato Puree for Masala.

Make a fine puree of tomato, green/dry red chillies, ginger and melon seeds/cashew nuts.

Soak frozen peas in warm water. When using fresh peas, wash peas and keep aside.

Cut Paneer pieces into cubes. I add paneer after the pressure release as Paneer sometimes becomes hard when cooked in pressure cooker.

Also, I have used my homemade Kadhai Masala mix for flavour. In case you don't have it or don't want to make it, use 1 tsp of coriander powder, 1/2 tsp of Cumin powder, 1/2 tsp of fennel powder(optional), 1/2-1 tsp of Garam masala.

I will suggest you make kadhai masala and store it. or make a small batch, refer my Kadhai Mushroom recipe.

Instant Pot Method

Plug -in Instant pot, switch on the SAUTE Mode, on HIGH for 10 minutes, whole dry spices and cumin seeds.

Add prepared tomato puree and cook till it starts it thickens.

Add and mix Kadhai Masala or spice powders, followed by peas. Drain water from peas before adding. Mix everything well. Add about 1/2 Cup water

Now, CANCEL the SAUTE Mode, close the lid, set the PRESSURE COOK Mode, on HIGH, for 4 mins.

Once , the time goes off, release the pressure using QRP(Quick Release Pressure) and open the lid.

Add Kasuri Methi or dried fenugreek leaves, cubed paneer pieces.

Set the saute mode on for 1-2 minutes. after that cancel the Saute Mode and close the lid again  for 5 minutes, and let the flavours infuse with paneer pieces .

Traditional Indian Pressure Cooker

Switch on the flame to medium and when oil is hot enough add whole spices and cumin seeds, with tomato puree.

When puree thickens, add masala and peas add 1/2 cup water and salt to taste, close the lid and cook till 2 whistles. Let the pressure go off naturally.

Add Kasuri Methi and paneer pieces, mix and cook again for another 102 minutes.Close the lid, till ready to serve.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves before serving.

You can lightly shallow fry Paneer pieces in a non-stick pan before adding to gravy.

What to have Matar Paneer

Matar Paneer / Mutter Paneer, goes well with Chapatis, Naan,Bread Kulchas, Ajwain Paranthas, Pooris. You can also pair with steamed or Jeera rice. Try the semi dry Matar Paneer curry in burger buns, with finely chopped onion and tomatoes and have it in a Matar Paneer Sloppy Joes way!!

For your parties and get together, make it with any lentil(Dal Makhani, Dal Tadka), biryani or pulao and any Indian bread.

Do make this creamy no onion no-garlic matar paneer /mutter paneer, and serve to your loved ones or to guests on festivals. I am sure everyone will love it as much as my family and friends like it.

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