Peas Paneer Masala

I love the creamy rich paneer masala that you get in the restaurants and I tried to make them at home and it was always a flop. Finally after many attempts I figured out to make the yummy paneer peas masala.

Serves : 2
Approximate Total Cost : $4.00
Approximate Cost per person : $2.00

Ingredients

Onion - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Ginger - 1 teaspoon (minced)
Garlic - 1 teaspoon (minced)
Tomato - 2 (blended into a puree)
Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Paneer - a handful of cubes
Milk - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Canola Oil - 3 tablespoons
Cilantro - to garnish

Spices

Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon
Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Fennel Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Dried Fenugreek - 1 teaspoon

For Tempering

Dry Red Chilli - 1
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tablespoon
Cumin seeds -1/4 tablespoon
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tablespoon
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tablespoon  
Bay Leaf - 1

Method

To Cook the panner -  Boil some water and take it away from the stove. Drop the paneer cubes in this hot water and keep it aside until you finish making the creamy sauce. This helps the paneer to become super soft. This is what my mom does always when she cooks paneer so I follow the same trick.
1.  In a hot pan add 2 tablespoons of canola Oil and add the ingredients for tempering.
2. Now add the onions, ginger and garlic and saute well for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add the tomato puree and cook for 40 minutes (note : its in my electric stove, gas stoves may cooks much faster) until the tomato puree is cooked into a paste as shown in the figure below.

4. Now add the spices,salt and cook for a minute and add 1/2 a cup of water and bring it to a boil.
5. Now add the peas and cook them.
6. Once the peas are cooked, add some milk(increase or decrease the amount of milk based on your required consistency) and stir and cook for 3 minutes and switch off the flame and add the paneer. Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot.