Paneer Masala

Paneer is a fresh Indian cheese that can be homemade in very little time. In even less time, you can buy it from your local Indian store, and that's what I usually do, since with a baby who doesn't sleep, I don't want to spend my 15 extra minutes making paneer from scratch. I'd rather be sleeping. Or playing with my baby. Or having an actual conversation with my husband. You get the idea. :)

Anyhow, paneer masala is one of my favorite Indian dishes because it's quick, easy to make, and extremely tasty. For a healthier version of the dish, you could even make it with tofu. Here's what you will need:

1 block paneer (or tofu if desired)
1 large yellow or red onion
1 large bell pepper
2 cups frozen peas
2 large tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger or ginger paste
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp tandoori powder
red chili powder to taste
salt to taste
chopped cilantro for garnish

Steps:
1. Heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil (I use smart balance) in a wok or large frying pan.
2. Chop the paneer cubes into 1 inch blocks
3. When the oil is hot, add the tandoori powder. Once the tandoori powder starts sizzling, add the paneer cubes, turning over occasionally for even cooking.
4. While the paneer is frying, chop the onion, garlic, and tomato.
5. Once the paneer cubes are browned, remove from the pan, and place onto a plate or bowl. Then add the cumin seeds, and once they start sizzling, add the onion, garlic, turmeric and chili powder.
6. When the onions are slightly cooked (partially transparent), add the tomato and grated ginger.
7. Once the tomatoes start to cook down, you'll see the mixture has formed a paste/gravy-like consistency. This is the time to add the chopped bell pepper, thawed peas, and paneer cubes.
8. Let cook for about 10 minutes, then add salt and garam masala.
9. Cover with lid and reduce heat to medium for about 5-7 minutes (or until ingredients are completely cooked).
10. Turn off heat, garnish with cilantro, and serve with rice or chapatis!

Total prep time: 20-30 minutes (depending on how fast you work!)

About Me

I'm a DC-ite by way of Miami of Indian origin who now lives in Rockville, Md. I'm a public health analyst, vegetarian, a yoga-phile, a relatively new wife, and a new mom. How do all of these things tie together? They don't really. Or maybe they do, I'm not really sure. But between working, taking care of a new baby, attempts at spending some time with my wonderful husband, and trying to keep the house somewhat clean, I know that this doesn't leave me with a whole lot of time to cook nutritious meals every night. Yet, I manage to. And so can you. I thought I'd start this blog because, really, it is very easy to make a fresh, nutritious meal every night- almost the same amount of time it would take you to make dinner out of a box anyway. It just takes a little bit of thought and some planning.

In this blog you'll find everything is completely vegetarian and many are Indian or Indian-inspired- because this is the food I grew up with and still love. It is a misconception that Indian food is always really spicy or extremely time consuming to make. It just requires a little practice is all. But not everything in here is Indian. Because though my roots are in India, I was born and raised in the good old U.S., which means every 3rd night or so I get a hankering for pizza, pasta, and anything BUT Indian food.

In other words, there really is no central theme to this blog except that I wholeheartedly believe that cooking does not have to be hard. It can be easy, fast, nutritious, and delicious- which is something I'd like to pass on to my kids, the way my mom passed it on to me. So, Enjoy- or at least have a good laugh at another working mom just trying to make it through the day:)