Kadai Paneer

Paneer or Cottage cheese is something which i like to eat in any form, grilled, cooked in gravy, fried. Since it was a delicacy during my childhood days,(it was never commonly supplied in groceries till recently) me and my bro always look forward to "paneer" days with so much anticipation. My mom used to make home-made paneer which was a long slow process of curdling the milk and separating the curd from water and hanging it in a cloth so that what you get in remaining is a mushy mass that was kept under a heavy weight for 2-3 hours. Nowadays its readily available in groceries and since then I have had lots of paneer to my stomach's content. Kadai Paneer is essentially a Punjabi dish, but what I have made here is completely my version of the dish.


Ingredients:

Store bought paneer - 250 gm
Red Onion - 1 big
Green Bell Pepper - 1 big
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
Tomato Paste - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon
Garam Masala - 3/4 teaspoon
Pepper Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Kasoor Methi - 1 tablespoon
Salt - to taste

How to prepare:

• Cut Red Onion and Bell Peppers lengthwise.
• Heat oil in pan.Once its smoking hot,add paneer and fry till all the sides are evenly brown.
• Remove from pan and add it to hot water with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt.
• Heat oil in the same pan and add onion and saute until tender.
• Add green bell pepper and saute it until peppers are tender.
• Add ginger - garlic paste and saute it for a while.
• Add tomato paste, all the powders and salt and cook on medium high for 5-7 minutes constantly stirring.
• Squeeze the water out of paneer and add it to the mixture. Cook it for few more minutes.
• Turn off the heat and serve hot with roti or rice.