CAPSICUM PANEER

Good Food is very often Simple Food....How true to it's nature. Simple food is always so soul satisfying. After a hard day's work, nothing satisfies like a bowl of hot steaming rice and a flavorful curry to go with.Many a times, I faced the question from most of my readers, that how do I manage to work and cook regularly and share at regular interval. This is simple, I do a lot of pre-planning, like menu planning one day in advance and makes sure my refrigerator has all the basic ingredients to whip up a quick satisfying meal. One such dish is Capsicum Paneer which is fairly easy and quick to make.

Paneer is the star ingredient in some of my most favorite Indian dishes — and probably yours too. Paneer is home-made, unsalted, white cheese which is fresh and has a dense, crumbly texture that goes beautifully with any spices.This paneer capsicum is a gravy recipe made with marinated yogurt . The addition of yogurt gives a good flavor to this recipe and overall it is a rich creamy recipe which goes best with rotis, parathas or even a simple jeera rice.Although the taste is tangy you could also make them more spicy if you wish. When you're looking at making something quickly for lunch or dinner — which is healthy too, here's a recipe which can be a quick solution.

RECIPE TYPE: Main Course

CUISINE: Indian

PREP TIME:  30 mins

COOK TIME:  20 mins

TOTAL TIME:  40 mins

SERVES: 4

Ingredients for Marinating Paneer:

• 200 gms Paneer cut into squares
• ½ cup hung yogurt 
• 2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder 
• 1 tsp dry mango powder 
• 1/4th tsp chat masala
• 1 tbsp gram flour 
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp oil

 Ingredients for the gravy:

• 3 tbsp oil 
• 1 tsp carom seed 
• 1 onion chopped into squares 
• 1 cup green, yellow and red bell pepper chopped into square 
• 2 tomatoes finely chopped 
• 1 tbsp grated ginger or chopped finely 
• 1 tsp chopped green chili 
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder 
• 1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder 
• 1 tsp coriander  powder 
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• ¼th tsp turmeric powder 
• Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

Let's Learn How to make this recipe:

• Combine all the ingredients for marination and whisk well. Add oil ,gram flour and combine nicely. The mixture should be smooth and lump free. 

• Add the paneer  pieces into it and coat them nicely with the mixture. Cover with a cling wrap and marinate the paneer for 30 mins in the fridge.

• Heat  a non stick tawa or pan. Add a little oil and shallow fry the marinated paneer on all sides till brown . Remove them from the pan and place aside.

• In the same pan heat rest of the oil . Add carrom seeds and once they crackle add the onion, ginger and bell peppers.

• Saute on high heat for 2 mins . Now add chopped tomatoes, cover and cook until tomatoes become tender.

• Mash with the back of the spoon and cook till oil comes out.Add coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder along with salt .

• Cook for 30 secs. Add little water if the mixture dries up.You can add the leftover marination from the paneer to the gravy.

• Add the fried paneer and cook for a minute.  Switch off the gas and sprinkle garam masala  , green chilies ad fresh coriander leaves.

• Serve this with hot roti, rice or naan.

The red, green and yellow bell peppers give a nice juicy, sweet and crunchy texture that compliments the softness of cottage cheese. This one is bound to impress and believe me your family will never know that this was a less than 20 mins job.

Creamy Paneer Kali Mirch -Welcoming New Year-2016

Black pepper is a spice that which evokes a sense of nostalgic feeling and when I have to make a dish I just find excuses to use this wonder spice immediately. A pinch of black pepper is added to almost every type of recipe imaginable. Once used as currency and presented to the gods as a sacred offering, it is fortunate that this most popular of spices is available throughout the year.Black pepper is used here for the heat instead of red chilli or green chilli. This one is very flavourful dish which goes well with any kind of Indian flatbread like roti, naan or paratha etc.

Paneer can be counted in one of the healthy dishes. Paneer is good for our healthy bones, teeth, hair, skin, during pregnancy, cancer prevention and lactation. It is a good source of calcium as it is a basic form of curdled milk. Veggies normally prefer paneer recipes during their visits to restaurants.

   

Paneer kalimirch is made using a combination of all spices, yogurt and fresh cream. This gravy is a typical north Indian recipe which is a lip smacking dish for all veggies as well as paneer/cottage cheese lovers. Paneer coated with all the masalas and cooked in fresh cream gives a rich and authentic texture to this side dish.  

Cuisine: North Indian

Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 4-6 people

Ingredients: 

• 200 gms  paneer cut into squares
• ¼ cup Fresh Cream
• 2 tbsp Oil
• Salt to taste

For the gravy:

• 1 large Onion sliced
• ¼ cup Almonds, soaked in hot water for 10 mins
• 1 inch Ginger 
• 4 cloves of Garlic 
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 green chilli chopped 
• 1 stick Cinnamon
• 3 tbsp thick yogurt
• 1½ teaspoon Kalimirch/Black Peppercorns, crushed to powder

For Garnishing:

• 1 no of green chilli sliced thinly and fried
• 1 inch ginger julienne and fried 

Now let's learn how to make this recipe:

• Soak the almonds in warm water for 10 minutes.
• Cut the paneer into cubes and keep aside. 
• Heat 1 tbsp of oil and  fry the green chillies and ginger julienne and keep aside for garnishing. In the same oil saute the sliced onions. When it is half done, add the cinnamon, chopped ginger , garlic,  green chilli and  saute  till the onions turn brown. 
• Add the grounded peppercorns and take off from the flame. Let it cool.
• Once cool, Grind to a smooth paste along with thick yogurt, soaked almonds and salt. 
• Heat a pan , add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the ground paste for 3-4 mins. Add 2 cups of water  and bring it to a boil.  
• Once the gravy comes to a boil, stir in paneer pieces and let it cook for 5-8 minutes on medium flame.
• Mix in cream and Adjust the seasoning and add little more water if you find the gravy too thick for your liking and let it simmer for another 5-6 minutes. 
• Turn off the flame and set the creamy Paneer Kalimirch aside for 5 minutes for all the flavors to infuse . Garnish with the fried ginger n chillies. 
• Enjoy with hot rotis, parathas.

Linking this recipes to Srivalli of http://cooking4allseasons.blogspot.in/2013/10/cooking-from-cookbook-challenge-for.html

Whole Wheat Paneer Capsicum Galette

A pie is homey. A tart is fancy. And a Galette splits the difference, but is easier than either one.

I didn’t even know what a Galette was until this past year or so and now I’m kind of obsessed with them. Galette is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat round or free form crusty cakes. They are pretty simple once you get the habit of making the crust, and you can pretty much bake any fruit or veggie in one of these free spirited pies.

            Galette which is also called a crostata if you’ve got an Italian connection is a free-form pastry, baked without the stability of a pie pan or tart ring. The dough is rolled out flat, then folded around the filling. The appeal of a galette lies in its rusticity. Its juices can leak, the pastry can tear, the filling can sink at the top; it doesn’t matter. As long as you’ve used good fruit or vegetables for the filling and real butter for the dough, it will bake up into something golden brown and utterly gorgeous, the kind of pastry you’re happy to whip up anytime, not just on special occasions.

 

  If you are trying your hand at baking , mastering a galette before trying pies and tarts will give you confidence. For the baking expert, galettes offer ample opportunity for personal expression. Once you have the basic formula for making the galette, you can change it up to suit your tastes, the fruit in season, the leftover vegetables in your fridge.

 

   

          

A savory galette is the easier and more streamlined cousin of a classic quiche. Quiche is a savoury, open-faced pastry crust with a filling of savoury custard with cheese, meat, seafood and vegetables. Quiche can be served hot or cold. It has a buttery pastry filled with any combination of vegetables, cheeses and meats, but without the need to make a custard to anchor it all. In this galette recipe, roasted paneer and green capsicum are combined with tomatoes and fresh herbs for a ratatouille-like mix with a bite, all nestled into a hearty whole-grain crust. Feel free to use any combination of cooked vegetables instead, even leftovers from the fridge.  Serve it as you would  with a salad for lunch or a light dinner. The outcome was delicious. Crusty, crispy and yummy, filling tasting like grilled paneer. Even typing it is creating a desire to eat it again :-)

Ingredients:

For the PASTRY Base

• Whole Wheat Flour - 1 ½ cup
• Chilled Butter – ¾ cup
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Ice cold water - 1/4 cup water

For the Filling:

• Paneer - 250 gms ( cubed)
• Green Capsicum- 1 (Cubed )
• Onion- 1 ( Cubed)
• Tomato-2 cut into circles
• Tomato puree- 2 to 3 tbsp 
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• I tbsp coarsely ground pepper
• 1 tsp red chilli flakes
• Salt
• Oil-1 tsp
• Melted  Butter - 2 tbsp and 
• Mixed Herbs-1tsp for brushing 

METHOD:

• Mix together flour and salt  Mix in the butter chunks and combine till the flour looks like bread crumbs. Sprinkle ice water little at a time to bring the dough together. Don’t knead. Add a more ice water little by little if you prefer pliable dough without cracks.

• Cover this dough with cling foil and keep it in fridge for an hour.

• Cut the paneer , onion and capsicum into cubes and keep aside.

• Rub the paneer with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and Italian seasoning and keep aside.

• In a pan put, 1 tsp of oil. Once hot, add the onion, capsicum and toss for 1 minute on high flame so that the capsicum becomes tender.

• Add the tomato puree, salt,coarse pepper powder and cook for a minute or so.

• Stir in the Paneer and toss well so that the masalas are well coated with the paneer.  Do not over cook.

• Check the seasoning and take off from the stove.

    

• Preheat the oven at 180C. Take out the dough. Divide into 4 equal portions and make round balls , roll each into a rough circle and place the filling in the centre for Galette.

• Line a baking tray with butter paper. Place the rolled out galette on the tray. Scoop out the capsicum paneer mixture and spread on each disk, leaving 1 and a quarter inches on the sides for folding.

 

• Place a slice of tomato covering the paneer .sprinkle salt and Italian seasoning over it and start to fold the side overlapping one fold over the other.

• Bake them at 180 degrees for approximately 30 to 35 minutes or till the pastry is crispy and golden . 

          

  

• Transfer to a cooling rack , leave for 10 minutes . Brush the Galette with warm butter and mixed herb. Serve warm along with a dip of your choice.

This recipe has been adopted from http://masterchefmom.blogspot.in/ which has some great collection of recipes from Traditional to Modern, Street food to Home Cooked, Tiffin Box to Party recipes, Breads, Cakes and many more. With step by step pictures for every recipe MASTERCHEFMOM will excite you to try!!!

Happy Cooking..........

Sending this Whole Wheat Paneer Capsicum Galette dish  to " FOODIE MONDAY BLOG HOP" event