Paneer Jalfrezi (Paneer With Green Peppers, Onions and Tomatoes)

Jalfrezi refers to a dish cooked with peppers and onions. Monisha Bharadwaj suggests to serve this with roti (bread) and nothing else. However, I served this with plain basmati rice which was lovely. The recipe has been adapted from Monisha Bharadwaj's beautiful book India's Vegetarian Cooking - A Regional Guide. It serves 2 as a main dish together with Indian bread or rice or 4 as a side dish accompanied by another Indian dish.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  sunflower oil
• 1  teaspoon cumin seed
• 1  large onion, halved and finely sliced
• 1⁄2 tablespoon ginger paste
• 1⁄2 tablespoon garlic paste
• 1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon coriander powder
•  salt
• 1  small green pepper, quartered, deseeded and sliced (150g)
• 2  ripe tomatoes, quartered and sliced
• 150  g panir, cubed
• 3  tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped (=cilantro)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a skillet and fry cumin seeds for one minute.
2. Add onion and fry on low heat until soft. Add more oil if necessary.
3. Add ginger and garlic paste and fry for a few seconds until well blended.
4. Sprinkle in the spice powders and some salt and cook on low heat until the oil begins to separate in about 3 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.
5. Add the sliced pepper pieces, stir and simmer gently until they are nearly done but still hold their shape, for about 8 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and paneer and cook for about 2 minutes until soft but not mushy; the tomatoes will begin to soften at once because of the salt that has already been added.
7. Check the seasoning (you may need to add a little bit more salt, take off the heat and serve hot, sprinkled with fresh coriander.
8. Serve with Indian bread as suggested by Monisha Bharadway or with basmati rice and another Indian dish/other Indian dishes.