Paneer Jalfrezi / Stir fried Indian Cottage Cheese with colored peppers

I hope everyone is doing well and adjusting well to New Year!.. Come on it is the New Year after all. For me well everything is back to routine! School pick ups, swim classes, tennis classes...huh ah...back to routine!

Any new Resolutions you say?....none so far...I will make them as and when I wish and if I can keep up with them that is! Only new thing I have started so far is the new photo Blog or Project 365 - A Photo A Day, named My PicXels. I would really really love to hear your comments and would really appreciate it if you would follow and comment there too!

What I am scared of New year resolutions is that i won't be able to keep them up and see the end of them.

At least I hope to keep up with this and try to post a picture a day from my life! Its really fun and I hope to capture and seal all the beautiful and pretty things I see in my everyday life!

Coming to the recipe today...I think I have not posted many Paneer recipes on my blog. Not that I don't make it...I do...its just that they don't make it to celebrity state I guess! They just finish in the making stage itself.

I love paneer and will eat fried paneer right out the frying pan itself. Let alone it making to the curry stage and then to the photo stage.

Paneer jalfrezi is one of the most easiest paneer dish to make. It will be done in no time if you have all the right ingredients...well the ingredients are also common ones found in an Indian pantry.

I used different colored peppers but you are welcome to try it out with other veggie...I think broccoli and zucchini will also go very good in this dish. But the way I made is the most traditional way and tastes very very good when made with fresh paneer.

Ingredients:

400 gm paneer / Indian Cottage cheese, cut into small cubes
1 small onion, cut into small bite sized squares
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite sized squares
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into bite sized squares
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite sized squares
2 green chilies, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped

1/4 tsp whole cumin / jeera
pinch of hing, asfoetida, inguva
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder (add more if you like it spicy)
1/2 tsp dhaniya / coriander powder
1/4 tsp jeera / cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp kasuri methi, dried fenugreek leaves
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil + more for shallow frying the paneer cubes


Method:

Wash and cut all the veggies to bite sized pieces and keep aside.

Cut the paneer and shallow fry them in oil to brown on all sides. Remove onto a paper napkin and keep aside.

Remove the excess oil and add in the cumin seeds and hing. Let them splutter before adding in the tomatoes.

Let the tomatoes, cook down completely as to all the water becomes almost dry.

Add in the onion, green chillies and all the peppers. Saute them with some salt and let them cook till they are almost done.
I like to leave a little crisp in them and not cook them completely thru. If you like to cook them completely, please do.

Add the chili powder and turmeric. Mix it in well.

Add in the paneer pieces and saute to coat the paneer pieces well with the cooked veggies.

Lastly add the kasuri methi, lightly crushed in your palm to bring out the flavor.

Serve hot with Naan or chapathis, or even with some plain or jeera rice.

Enjoy!!!

Linking this to Sweet Heat Challenge # 4 - Let's Rock Indian hosted by Michelle, originally Sweet Heat Chilli Challenge started by Lyndsey.