Paneer Jalfrezi recipe – Indian cottage cheese (paneer) with mixed vegetables and spices

 

I always liked the cottage cheese, capsicum, onion and tomatoes combination in salads. But, before coming in India, I would have never thought of a spicy, amazingly flavored curry dish with these ingredients!

There is a huge variety of Indian dishes using cottage cheese, from curries to snacks or desserts. Now I know and cook frequently more than ten dishes using cottage cheese. By the way, today I made for the first time rasgulla dessert (homemade cheese balls cooked and soaked in sugar syrup) and it turned out delicious, but more about this in other post.

Paneer is an Indian cottage cheese, it can be easily made at home or you can find it readymade in Indian grocery stores. Soon I will probably share with you my way of making paneer at home. I like more the home made paneer because is having a different texture, less rubbery than the store bought one.

Paneer doesn’t have much taste, but together with vegetables and spices, it becomes super delicious.

Ok now back to Paneer jalfrezi, for this recipe I have been inspired from the famous Chef Sanjeev Kapoor‘s Khazana of Indian Recipes cookbook. I played a bit with ingredients, added carrot and some other spices, gave up at vinegar, and changed the cooking directions.

Try it yourself, I am sure it won’t disappoint you.

Step by step how to make Paneer Jalfrezi

Heat oil into a pan. Add dry red chilli, cumin seeds and fresh ginger. Stir fry for one minute.

Add sliced onion and about 1/2 tsp salt. Fry on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until onion gets soft.

paneer jalfrezi step by step 1

paneer jalfrezi recipe step by step 1

Then add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and black pepper. Stir fry for 3 minutes.

It’s time to place the vegetables into the pan. Lower the flame to low medium, cover with a lid and let the vegetables cook, for 10 minutes.

paneer jalfrezi recipe step by step 2

paneer jalfrezi step by step 2

Add tomato, half a cup of water and a pinch of sugar (optional), mix well and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the paneer cubes and one teaspoon of garam masala, mix well and cook uncovered, 3-4 minutes more.

paneer jalfrezi step by step 3

paneer jalfrezi recipe step by step 3

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis, naan or even rice.

paneer jalfrezi step by step 4

 


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Paneer Jalfrezi recipe – Indian cottage cheese (paneer) with mixed vegetables and spices
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
What you need
  • 300 gm paneer, cut into cubes;
  • 1 onion, sliced;
  • 1 capsicum, cut into big pieces;
  • 1 carrot, cut into big pieces;
  • 1 tomato, pureed;
  • 1 inch of gresh ginger, chopped;
  • 1 dry red chilli;
  • ½ tsp or less black pepper (as per taste);
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds;
  • ¼ tsp red chilli powder;
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder;
  • 1 tsp garam masala;
  • ¼ tsp sugar (optional);
  • ½ cup of water;
  • salt;
  • 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped;
  • oil.
Method
  1. Heat oil into a pan. Add dry red chilli, cumin seeds and fresh ginger. Stir fry for one minute.
  2. Add sliced onion and about ½ tsp salt. Fry on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until onion gets soft.
  3. Then add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and black pepper. Stir fry for 3 minutes.
  4. Place the vegetables into the pan. Lower the flame to low medium, cover with a lid and let the vegetables cook, for 10 minutes.
  5. Add tomato, half a cup of water and a pinch of sugar (optional), mix well and simmer for about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the paneer cubes and one teaspoon of garam masala, mix well and cook uncovered, 3-4 minutes more.
  7. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis, naan or even rice.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 4

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