Capsicum Paneer

I started with the an image of 'restaurant style kadahi paneer' in my head for this dish - Red, thick gravy, chunky pieces of paneer, oily and spicy. 

However, it ended up being a very homely, not too unhealthy, sufficiently spiced capsicum paneer :) So instead of calling the final dish with any standard paneer dish names like kadhai paneer, paneer makkhani, chili paneer etc. I called it 'Capsicum Paneer'. 

Here is how I made it - 

Ingredients:

Gravy base - 

1. Ginger - 30 gms

2. Garlic - 2 cloves

3. Onions - 4

4. Green/red chillies - 2 

Vegetables - 

1. 2 green capsicums (as these are the least sweet variety)

2. Ginger - 20 gms - cut into sticks

3. Red onions - 1 big or 2 small

4. Fresh Tomatoes - 2 cut into wedges

5. Tomato puree - 400 gms

6. Paneer - I made the paneer at home too - for serving 15 people - I used 2 litres of full cream milk

Home Made Paneer

Fresh ingredients

Spices - 

1. Jeera - 1 heaped tea spoon

2. Cloves - 6-7

3. Haldi - 1 tea spoon

4. Red chili powder - 1 tea spoon 

5. Dhaniya powder - 1 tea spoon

6. Garam Masala powder - 1 tea spoon

Method - 

1. Make paneer at least a couple of hours ahead of using it in the dish and refrigerate It gives time for the paneer to firm up making it easier to cut into cubes. 

2. For the gravy base - either finely dice all the ingredients or use a food processor to get a almost paste consistency by putting everything together. 

3. Cut the capsicum and red onions into thin long slices. Cut the tomatoes as long slices as well. Slice the ginger into thin long sticks.

4. Cut the paneer into any shape you fancy - triangular, squares or rectangular. If the paneer is crumbly then better to keep the shape simple. Don't throw away any crumbs as they can be used in the gravy base.

5. Take enough oil in a deep pan to cover its base. Now shallow fry the paneer - till it is a golden colour and keep for draining the oil. Then in the same oil fry the capsicum till they are half cooked and slightly scoured. Add red onions and ginger without taking out the capsicum. Let the onions go translucent and slightly golden. 

6. When the capsicum and onions are cooked, push them to a side in the pan so that some oil is visible. In this oil, add all the dry spices. Once the spices are roasted, add the fresh tomatoes. 

7. When this is cooked, add the tomato puree and cook on medium heat until the gravy is dark red in colour and starts to leave the sides of the pan. Add salt to taste. Add any other spices like chili powder or garam masala to taste at this stage. If you want to give it a milder flavour then you can also add curd at this stage to the gravy.

8. Lastly, stir in the fried paneer gently so as to not to break the pieces and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. 

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with any flat bread or rice!

Ready to dive in!