Paneer(Indian Cheese) with Red and Green Bell Pepper in Whey Gravy

It is official!

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I'm hooked to blogging!
I hereby induct myself into the Food Bloggers Hall of Obsession & Addiction :)

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I knew blogging had become an integral part of my daily routine, but did not realise how ahem! obsessed I was about it, until recently. I had house guests last few days and it took immense will power to keep away from blogging. I hardly got any time to blog, though I did steal a few moments to quickly browse thru for a little while. It sure is fun blog hopping, commenting and enjoying new recipes and I missed all that ;)

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Do you have these kinds of separation pangs as well? Do lemme' know :)
Here's to Blogging...............

Look at those beautiful Red, Yellow & Green Bell Peppers from my garden. You can enjoy the rest of my garden here.

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Cooking a meal in 30 minutes can definitely be accomplished, but it needs planning. I usually go for the flavored rice, raita and a gravy dish (rasewali subzi). Roasting papad depends on the time and adding a pickle is always an option. The first thing I do is setup the timer, this way I know if I'm on track or if I need to hurry up the process. I also like to switch on some music or TV even, this way I peep over to catch a glimpse going about my chores. It is a good idea to check for spices and herbs beforehand, there's nothing like getting ready to cook a dish and finding out you are out of coriander leaves!

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My best friends in the kitchen are the pressure cooker, hand/immersion blender and a good knife. . Lets start the timer now: 30:00 click click click

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The Longitudinal Paneer & Pepper Subzi (Longitudinal 'coz all the vegetables are cut longitudinally :) ) Fancy name eh?

You can prepare the paneer at home a day earlier and reserve the whey(drained liquid), store bought paneer is fine too. I like to use the whey as it has a lot of nutrients and to avoid wastage. Also it gives a unique flavor to the dish.

1 cup paneer, sliced lengthwise
1 onion chopped, sliced lengthwise
1 red bell papper sliced.....
1 green bell pepper sliced .....
1 tomato sliced ......
1 tsp ginger paste

1tsp garlic paste
2 green chili finely chopped
1 cup whey drained from the paneer making process
(This gives a distinc taste to the subzi. In case you are using store bought paneer, just add water and add some grated paneer towards the end)
1.5 tbsp oil
Tadka: cumin seeds, hing(asafoetida), a piece of cinnamon(dalchini)
A word of caution here. Cinnamon stick brings out a strong flavor in this dish, if you are not used to it or not too fond of cinnamon it is totally OK to leave it out)
turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
chili powder as per taste
1/4 tsp garam masala
salt

1. Heat oil, add tadka ingredients.
2. Add sliced onion and fry a couple of minutes only, till translucent. We are not going to use the onion for the gravy, rather it is used as an additional veg in this dish, for once lets give the onion it's due in the kitchen :)
While the onion is getting fried, slice the bell peppers.

3. Add bell peppers, ginger/garlic paste & green chili. Fry for few minutes.
4. Add all the masala powders and mix well.
5. Add whey or water, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
In that time chop tomatoes and wash 1 cup of rice.

6. When bell peppers are almost done, add tomato and paneer, mix well.
7. Cook a few minutes more till done and the gravy is of required consistency.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves.
You can check out one more version of Paneer/Veg dish in a creamy gravy in my July post.

In the mean while, add washed rice, 2 cups water, 1 tsp cumin seeds, salt & 1tsp ghee to the pressure cooker. Cook for 3 whistles & jeera rice is done. (Please adjust pressure cooker timings as per your cooker instructions).

Whisk curds with salt, red chili powder, chat masala, jeera powder. You can add chopped tomato/onion/cucumber whatever you have at hand or can have it plain as well.

The Longitudinal Paneer Bell Pepper subzi, Jeera rice & flavored curds is ready to be served.

Paneer for the protein, curds for the calcium, rice for the carbs & vegatables for vitamins/minerals, makes a complete meal.

Timer shows 2:00
Yoohoo, I still have two minutes to catch the ending of that show :)
Enjoy....

This is my contribution to Mallugirl's Express cooking Event.

This is also my contribution to GBP-Summer 2007 hosted by Deepz.