Chilli Paneer

It all started out with the usual conversation  in my head- "wat do I make for dinner tonight?" and the usual response - "Anything"! And then "Anything" becomes Noodles and "Chilly Paneer" :)

I thought it would be a change from the usual - Dal chaval or Roti Subjii and turned out quite well, if I may say so myself ( I am modest, na .? :D)

I did make a few changes here and there as I did not have the required ingredients and was too lazy to go out and buy them at 8:00 in the evening .. So here goes -

Ingredients required :

A slab of Paneer ( readily available in the Super market) cubed - 200 gms should do fine
One medium Onion - Sliced
One medium capsicum - Either cut them into long slices or into squares
4-5 garlic pods - crushed
3-5 Green chillies - julienned (for the look)
Vegetable soup powder - 2 tablespoons - Mixed in half a cup of water (instead of veg stock)
Corn flour - 3 tablespoons
Soya Sauce - 2 tablespoons
Green Chilli Sauce - 1 tablespoon
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Oil - to shallow fry the paneer
Salt to taste
Spring onions - 1 tbsp to garnish/ 1 tbsp fry
1/4 tsp Ajino motto ( i didn have any, so didn use any but came out well all the same)

How I Made It :

1. After I cut the paneer , I dusted it in the cornflour and then shallow fried them till they were golden brown on all sides and put it aside on a tissue for the excess oil to drain.
2. In a pan, I heated about 2 tablespoons of oil and when warm , dumped the crushed garlic with a tablespoon of spring onions and waited for the garlic to brown a bit and then, in went the onions, capsicum and green chillies that were sauted for about a couple of minutes.
3. When the onions started turning a shade of pink, I added the fried paneer pieces, the vegetable soup powder mixed in water, soya sauce, chilli sauce, pepper powder, salt to taste and mixed it well.
4. In the meantime, I mixed the remaining cornflour with about one third cup of water and then when the mixture in the pan started boiling, I stirred in the blended cornflour and cooked it on high heat, stirring and tossing until the sauce thickened to coat the paneer and the vegetables.
5.Serve immediately., garnished with remaining spring onions.


P.s: Don't forget to thank me for the compliments you receive ;)

Red Bell Pepper and Paneer Sabji

INGREDIENTS :

• 2 Red bell pepper cubed into small pieces
• 2 cups paneer ( adjust accordingly)
• 1 red onion
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp kasoori methi
• 1 tbsp red chili paste ( substitute with red chili powder)
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup/tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup yogurt

METHOD:

1. In a pan heat 1 tbsp of oil, when hot add ginger garlic paste, kasoori methi, haldi
2. Add finely sliced onions and fry till translucent
3. A finely chopped red bell pepper and salt and cook covered
4. Once bell peppers are cooked and soft add paneer, garam masala, tomato ketchup, chili paste, yogurt and mix well
5. Cook for 5 minutes covered and then mix well. Serve hot with roti's/phulka or paratha's :)

Paneer butter masala

Ingredients:

Paneer-250 gms (cut into cubes, shallow fry, soak in hot water for 5 minutes, drain and keep aside)
Butter-1tbsp
Onion- 2 big (puree)
Ginger & Garlic paste-1 1/2 tsp
Tomato -3 big (blanch & puree)
Cashew nut paste-2tbsp
Chilli powder-3/4 tsp
Cumin powder-1/2 tsp
Corriander powder-1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder-1/2 tsp
Fresh cream-2 tbsp
Kasuri methi leaves-1/2 tsp (crush in your palm before adding)
Salt

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp oil and butter. Saute onion puree until golden brown. add ginger garlic paste. After 2 minutes add all the masala powders and saute for a few minutes. Then put cashew paste, tomato puree and salt. Pour 1 cup water and boil for 5 minutes. check for taste.Reduce heat and add paneer cubes. Let the gravy simmer to required consistency. Switch off the stove and add cream and methi leaves. combine well.
This curry goes well with fried rice, pulav and rotis.

Note: I did not add color to my gravy. If you desire a red color gravy , You can either use kashmiri chilli powder or a little red food coloring.