Please forgive the horrible photo – I was in too much of a rush to eat and took a very dark picture at the last second.
I’ve been craving Paneer since watching the Indian film The Lunchbox a few days ago. Paneer was something I had never had until I went to India last year, and I’ve loved it ever since. This is a simple and very rewarding recipe. It doesn’t need to be made in a slow cooker – you can have it ready in under 30 minutes if you use a regular pan on the stove. I think the slow cooker makes the flavour more deep and developed. If you have the time to make the sauce in the slow cooker, do so. You won’t regret it.


- 2 packages Paneer (around 225g each), cubed
- 1 cup frozen or boiled peas (Matar)
- 1 tin Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons Oil/Ghee
- 2 teaspoons Cumin Seeds
- 2 Medium Onions finely chopped or grated
- 2 tins/cartons Chopped Tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic paste
- 3 teaspoons Coriander powder (Dhania Powder)
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi Powder)
- 1 teaspoon of Chilli powder (Lal mirch Powder)
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 2 large handfuls washed baby spinach leaves
- Salt to taste
- Heat the oil/ghee in a pan and add the cumin seeds to it. Allow them to crackle.
- Add the onions to the oil and fry until they turn light brown. Add the Coriander powder and fry for one minute.
- Put the onion mixture in the slow cooker.
- Add the peas, chickpeas, tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala, ginger garlic paste and salt to the slow cooker. Mix well. Add about a cup of water to thin the mixture a bit.
- Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.
- Add the paneer cubes and spinach. Fold gently until the paneer is coated in the sauce. Cook on high for a further 30 minutes. Make some rice to serve during this final stage.
- If not using a slow cooker, add all of the ingredients to the onion mixture and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer with a lid on the pan for 5-10 minutes, to allow the paneer to soak up the flavours.
- I served this with brown rice and stir-fried broccoli.
One Response to “Slow Cooked Paneer Curry (Matar Paneer)”
Do you not need to fry the paneer before adding to the slow cooker?
Thanks