Paneer Jhalfraizee

Paneer Jhalfraizee

A couple of weeks ago, a friend, gifted me an Indian cookbook; written by Sanjeev Kapoor, whom I’ve come to understand is a celebrity-chef in his country, very liked and respected for his culinary undertaking.

I’ve been crazy about Indian-cuisine ever since I tried home-made samosas, butter-chicken (which is not precisely that much Indian); I was just hooked. It is always a special treat as it is full of spicy-flavors, the vegetarian dishes really makes up in depth and warmth and any Biryani rice are to die for.

In this occasion and because I want to go on a lighter tone, I decided to venture on this vegetarian dish. I must admit I did not literary follow Sanjeev’s recipe, I made some modification to better suit my taste. Spoiler- Alert: a trip to the local Indian-Grocery-Shop is necessary.

This recipe yields 4 individual portions as a side dish, 2 individual portions as a main dish.

Ingredients:

200 gr. of Paneer (cut into finger strips)

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of celery seeds

1 big yellow onion (julienned)

3 tomatoes (cut in wedges)

1 yellow bell pepper (julienned)

1 red bell pepper (julienned)

1 green bell pepper (julienned)

¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder

½ cup of ginger (julienned)

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon of Garam Masala powder

Salt and black pepper to taste

½ cup of cilantro (washed and chopped)

Directions:

1. In a non-stick pan heat the coconut oil and fry the paneer sticks.

2. In another non-stick pan toast the cumin seeds for about 5 minutes, and then add: onion, tomatoes and bell peppers.

3. Add balsamic vinegar, the turmeric and Garam Masala toss and mix.

4. Add the pan seared paneer and toss, serve warm or cold and dress with chopped cilantro.

Tips:

1. Beat 2 eggs and baithe the paneer into it and pan fry.

2. Steamed basmati rice wold be a great side dish.

Enjoy!