"Vegetable Paneer Masala (Curry)" served with Jeera Rice ... A delicious medium spiced paneer curry with lots of veggies that tastes awesome when served with mildly spiced pulav / biryani / roti / parathas / panpolo / kori rotti or even appos ... an awesome combo meal ... Yumz ....
** Paneer / Cottage Cheese is rich in protein and have healthy nutrients as paneer is prepared from milk and milk as you all know is God’s gift to human race. We all know how a baby grows up in its first year depending entirely upon mother’s milk and that of cow’s milk or any other sources at times. Milk and milk products play an important role throughout our life. Be if for coffee/tea, milkshakes, curds, buttermilk, paneer, cheese, ghee etc. Paneer as you all know is prepared out of curdled milk by straining the same and can be easily prepared at home. You just need to boil milk and then add on either lemon juice or vinegar and curdle the milk. The milk breaks up immediately and gets curled, you just need to strain it through a muslin/cotton cloth and hang it or keep it under a heavy weight so that all the excess water drains off. And the paneer is ready to be used. However, it is also easily available in most of the stores and is excellent if you are able to get them through relied sources. In my vicinity we could not get fresh paneer from good source till a few months back, that was the very reason why paneer dishes lacked being posted in my blog. as I hardly prepared them. When a new diary outlet opened close by I was really happy to see that they sold fresh paneer and also the paneer was really good. Finally I now get to prepare them without worrying about its expiry date etc.
** Paneer curry is a delight and favorite amongst Vegetarians as many Non-Veg dishes are adapted into preparing the same with paneer. Children simply love paneer and it is a very good idea to include them into your daily diet as it is a good source of Protein, Vitamin B12, Potassium and Selenium, and a very good source of Vitamin D, Riboflavin, Calcium and Phosphorus. Exactly what is needed for growing children. You can prepare paneer out of skimmed milk too, which is also very used for those who are conscious of weight. Almost everybody knows the benefits of Paneer, so there is nothing much to write about them except insisting that you start using them. A little bit of paneer can build on calcium level which is very necessary for ageing people too. I have a huge list of dishes that I want to try out with paneer and now that it is easy access to me, you will see a lot more of paneer dishes in my Blog. For today, I prepared a simple paneer curry to which I added on veggies and served it with simple jeera rice which we all love at home as it compliments any curry well. A lovely combo meal that is sure to be a hit in your home and with your friends when you serve them the same along with some salad/raita and add on any dessert. You can serve this dish with roti/parathas too and they taste awesome. I had it with phulkas for dinner and it was superb. Do try this dish out and do send me a feed back if possible.
** Here is my method of preparing "Vegetable Paneer Masala (Curry)" … My Style …
** Ingredients :
Paneer / Cottage Cheese : 150 gms cut into 1 inch sized cubes.
Cauliflower Florets : 1 cup
Fresh Green Peas : ½ cup
Carrots : ½ cup of ½ inch sized cubes.
Onions / Piyavu / Kanda : 4 large sized.
Ginger / Alle’ / Adrak : ½ inch piece
Garlic / Losun / Lehsun : 6-8 skinned
Tomatoes : 2 large sized cut into pieces.
Cashew Nuts / Kajubhi : handful finely chopped ones slightly roasted on tava.
Curry Leaves / Kadipatta / Karbev : a few
Coconut Milk : 100 ml (I used store bought)
Coriander Leaves / Dhania / Kothimbir Leaves : handful finely chopped.
Butter / Loni : one small lemon sized
Oil : 2 tblsp
Ghee / Toop : 2 tblsp
Salt to taste
** Masala Powders :
Coriander / Dhania / Kothimbir Powder : 1 tsp
Cumin / Jeera Powder : ½ tsp
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 4 tblsp
Garam Masala Powder : ¼ tsp
Goda Masala Powder : ½ tsp
Fennel / Badisep / Saunf Powder : ¼ tsp
** Peel off the skin of onions, roughly chop them and grind them to a fine paste in mixer grinder, remove and keep this aside.
** In the same mixer add in the finely chopped ginger and garlic and grind them also to a fine consistency. Remove and keep this separately aside.
** In the same grinder add in the tomatoes and make into a very smooth puree, then add in all the powders and the cashew nuts to it and further grind till they are evenly made into a smooth paste. Remove and keep it aside.
** Wash well and put all three vegetables ie cauliflower, carrots and green peas in a thick bottomed vessel. Add in one cup of hot water and bring to a boil, cook till it 70% done. Add in water if necessary. Lower heat and simmer till you go about preparing the curry.
** Heat ghee + oil in a thick bottomed, when hot, lower the heat to medium and add in the ginger+garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes, then add in the onion paste and continue to fry till the raw smell is gone or the oil leaves the sides and turns slightly in color.
** Note : If you find that the above paste is getting burnt while frying you can add in a tablespoon or two of oil and continue frying or if for health reasons you do not want to do so, you can sprinkle some water and continue to do so. Best to cook on non-stick cookware to cut down on oil.
** Once the onion has been fried well and you get a lovely aroma add in the curry leaves fry for a minute and then add in the tomato+masala powders+cashew nut paste and continue frying for another 3-4 minutes.
** Now add in 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil add in the cooked vegetables along with the water, salt to taste and mix well. When the curry comes to a boil again, lower the heat and then simmer for 5 minutes.
** Finally add in the coconut milk and mix well, when you see bubbles coming on surface, add in the paneer cubes, butter and mix well. Remove from fire, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves, and keep it aside covered for 20-30 minutes to settle before you serve.
** "Vegetable Paneer Masala (Curry)" is done and ready to be served. Serve it hot with any side dish of your choice, though it goes well with mildly spiced pulav, jeera rice, ghee rice, roti, paratha, naan or bread. I served it with jeera rice and it tasted awesome.
** For "Jeera Rice" Recipe, Please follow the link given below ....
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