Paneer Jalfrezi... Indian Spiced Cottage Cheese Stir Fry
Author: 
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 servings
 
Ingredients
  • Paneer / cottage cheese – 350 gms
  • Green bell pepper – 1, medium (you can use a mix of 2 bell peppers of different colors like I used half of a green and half of a red)
  • Onion – 2, large
  • Tomato – 1, large
  • Ginger paste – 2 tsp
  • Garlic paste – 1 tsp
  • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
  • Dry red chilli – 2
  • Vegetable oil – 4 tbsp
  • Garam masala – 1 & ½ tsp
  • Cumin powder – 1 tsp
  • Green chilli – 2
  • Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
  • Coriander powder – 1 tsp
  • Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • Tomato sauce/ketchup – 2 tbsp
  • White vinegar – 2 tbsp
  • Freshly chopped coriander leaves – 1 cup
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Cut the paneer into long pieces. Soak them in lightly salted boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes to keep them soft.
  2. Cut one onion into thin slices and chop the other one finely. Cut the tomato into long strips. Cut the bell peppers into thin long strips.
  3. Heat oil in a skillet and add the cumin seeds and dry red chillies to the hot oil. Saute them for a minute and then add the chopped onion.
  4. Saute the onion until golden brown for about 2 to 3 minutes. Then add ginger and garlic paste and stir them in.
  5. Then add the sliced onion and continue stirring. Add the bell pepper and continue sautéing them on medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes. I like my bell peppers a little soft which is why I cover and cook them on low for 5 minutes until they soften.
  6. Next add the spices – turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and Kashmiri red chilli powder. Add a splash of water and saute the masala on medium high heat for 2 minutes.
  7. Add sliced tomato and green chillies and stir for a minute until the tomato soften. Season with salt to taste at this point.
  8. After about a minute, add vinegar, tomato ketch up and black pepper powder. Stir well to mix everything together. If the spices tend to stick to the bottom of the pan, add couple of splashes of water and keep stirring.
  9. Finally add the drained paneer cubes and garam masala. Stir carefully so that the soft paneer cubes don’t break but gets coated with the spices. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes so that the paneer is infused with the aroma of all the spices.
  10. Uncover after 5 minutes and sprinkle some freshly chopped coriander leaves. Give a final stir and serve hot with roti or naan.
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at http://www.flavorquotient.com/2016/01/paneer-jalfrezi/