Jannavi's Chili Paneer

Three days of making rasam had warmed me up. I was ready for some serious cardio. So my next question was what would Maalini like and her mother suggested Chili Paneer Curry and M loved the idea.

My general rules

• Wash all vegetables before use. 
• Cut fine; unless otherwise specified (when in doubt cut it finer). 
• Always add less salt, it is always easier to add more at the end. 
• Lastly I prefer having all my ingredients in place before cooking to avoid looking for things in a hurry.

Ingredients

• 6 tblsps of olive oil or canola oil (Jannavi prefers the former, I used the latter)
• 20-25 cm cubes of Nanak Paneer
• 4-5 strands of Coriander leaves, cut.
• 4-5 curry leaves.
• 1.5 tsps of Jira.
• 0.25 tsp of Hing (asafoetida).
• Two handful of Kasuri Methi.
• One large onion, cut long and slender *
• Two Capsicums, cut inch long and slender *
• 0.25 tsp of turmeric powder.
• 0.50 tsp of salt. **
• Two tblsps of soy sauce

Recipe

1. Heat oil preferably in a non-stick pan and add paneer. Separate the cubes if they stick to each other.
2. Using a fork, turn over each cube. Roast each side till they nicely brown. Do not over do as the paneer tends to feel tough to chew.
3. Once complete, set the paneer aside
4. Heat some more oil, add Jira, and roast it (if there is left over oil from cooking paneer, it is OK. Add a couple more spoonfuls of oil).
5. Add hing, curry leaves, kasuri methi, and coriander. Heat till you see incipient signs of charring.
6. Add Onions, salt, turmeric and cook on medium flame for 3-4 minutes 
7.  Add Capsicum and toss them
8. Add Paneer and Tandoori Masala
9. Cook (do not cover the dish) for 4-5 minutes, longer if you like your vegetables cooked more. If you cover the dish, then the Capsicum tends to lose its bright green color (presentation matters)
10. Add Soy sauce at the end and toss the entire dish.
11. Pour it in a serving dish.

* Do not cut onions and capsicum into small pieces.
** Taste to see if you need more salt.