Jhatpat Shahi Paneer (Simple & Quick)

Very Quick and ultimately delicious recipe.

I prepared this dish just in a matter of 8-9 minutes and after tasting the final outcome, it was hard for me to wait for the chapati to be cooked and served.

The aroma of this sabji is so tempting and flavorful, that when my kiddo returned from school, she wanted to have the lunch right away, without wasting another moment!

This preparation tastes exactly like the restaurant style shahi paneer or I should say.. even better!!

Serves - 3-4

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 4
Cashew nuts (broken into small pieces) - 2 tbsp
Melon Seeds - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Green Elaichi Powder - 1/4 tsp
Shahi Paneer Masala - 1/2 tsp
Chana Masala - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Degi Mirch Powder - 1/2 tsp
Kasuri Methi - 1/2 tsp
Fresh Malai - 2 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Paneer (cut into cubes) - 150 gms

Procedure :

1. Make a very fine paste of tomatoes, cashew nuts and melon seeds.
2. Heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Add the prepared tomato-cashew mixture.
3. While the tomato-cashew mixture is being cooked, start adding all the spices - Elaichi powder, Shahi paneer masala, Chana Masala, Sugar, Degi Mirch Powder, Kasuri Methi, Salt.
4. Cook on medium-high flame till the mixture leaves oil on the sides of the pan.
5. Add water to bring the gravy to the desired consistency. Add paneer cubes. Cook for a minute on high flame. Switch off the flame.
5. Slightly whisk the fresh malai to dissolve any lumps. Add malai and milk to the prepared sabji. Mix and cover the wok with a lid till the serving time.


Best Accompaniment - Lacha Paratha, Butter Naan

Paneer Mushroom Curry (low calorie)

A very tasty and a healthy combo of paneer and mushroom.

Mushroom is the only source of Vitamin D for vegetarians and Vitamin D is the most significant nutrient for the proper absorption of calcium in our body. Here, I would like to highlight the fact that the body can not absorb calcium at all without some vitamin D. So, its good if we put some mushroom pieces in paneer (good source of calcium) sabji or paneer cubes in a mushroom prepartion.

Serves : 4
Preparation time : 12-15 min.
Cooking time : 12-15 min

Ingredients :

Onion  (cut into cubes) - 3 medium
Tomato (blended into puree) - 2 medium
Tomato (cut into cubes) - 1 medium
Capsicum  (cut into cubes) - 1 medium
Button Mushrooms (quartered) - 100 gm
Low Fat Paneer (cut into cubes) - 100 gm
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Ginger Paste - 1/2 tsp
Corriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp (optional)
Water - 1/2 cup

Procedure : 

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Saute onion cubes till translucent pink.
2. Add pureed tomato, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, coriander powder, ginger paste, sugar.
3. Cook for 2 minutes. Add water, capsicum, mushroom and paneer cubes. Mix.
4. Cook on high flame for 1 minute, then cover the pan with lid and lower down the flame to sim.
5. Cook till capsicum gets tender.
6. Switch off the flame and add tomato cubes.
7. Serve it hot with freshly made chapatis, parathas or naan.

Tip :
1. If you plan it for a party, you can add 2 tbsp fresh cream.
2. Sugar is added to balance the tanginess of tomato in sabji. If you dont like, you can skip it.

Tomato and Basil Paneer Bhurji (low fat & quick)

Tomato basil paneer bhurji

Preparation time - 10 min
Cooking time - 10 min
Serves - 2

Ingredients :

Oil - 1 tsp
Onion (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
Tomato (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Paneer (crumbled) - 1 cup  (I used the homemade low fat paneer!)
Dry basil - 1/4 tsp
Fresh basil leaves (finely chopped) - 1 tbsp

Procedure :

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Saute onions till golden-brown.
2. Add tomatoes, salt and red chilli powder. Mix. Cook till tomatoes get soft.
3. Add crumbled paneer and dry basil. Mix. Slower down the flame.Cook covered for 3-4 minutes, till paneer absorbs the flavour of basil and tomato.
4. Transfer the preparation in a serving bowl and garnish with basil leaves.

Rasedar Aloo Tamatar (Pressure Cooker)

This sabji is usually children's favourite.

At my home, its like my last-minute saviour. when i dont want to spend much time in kitchen, i opt for this sabji.

Usually people don't use kasoori methi in this sabji but adding it gives this sabji a feeling and taste of 'poori wali aloo ki sabji'.

Serves - 4
Cooking time - 13 min
Preparation time - 5 min

Ingredients :

Potatoes (peeled, diced and washed) - 4 cups
Tomato - 4 (it should yield 1 1/2 cup puree)
Water - 3 cups
Oil- 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) - a pinch
Turmeric Powder (Haldi) - 3/4 tsp
Coriander Powder (dhaniya powder) - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Procedure - 

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker.
2. Crackle the cumon seeds and asafoetida.
3. Add all the spices.
4. Add fresh tomato puree.
5. Let it cook for 3-4 min on medium flame.
6. Add potatoes and water.
7. Close the lid properly.
8. Wait for first whistle and slow down the heat to lowest.
9. After 8 min, turn off the flame.
10. Open the pressure cooker and mash some of the potato pieces with the back of a spoon. (This makes the gravy thick) 
11. Garnish with coriander (optional)
12. Rasedar aloo tamatar is ready to serve. 

Capsicum Stir-fry (Quick recipe)

This sabji is prepared using very little spices. Everytime i make this dish, i get amazed by its taste and texture. I get delighted by the feeling that how can so simple ingredients result in such a relishing dish. Aloo-simla mirch is common in indian cuisine, this time when you buy capsicum, try this recipe and trust me you wont be disappointed.

Preparation time - 5 min
Cooking time - 10 min

Ingredients -

Capsicum (diced into 1" cubes) - 1 1/2  cups
Onion  (diced into 1" cubes) -  1 cup
Tomatoes (pureed) - 1/2 cup [2 tomatoes pureed in a mixer]
Tomatoes (cut into 1" cubes) - 1/2 cup
Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Procedure - 

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan.
2. Saute onions till translucent pink.
3. Add capsicum, pureed tomatoes, salt, red chilli powder and sugar. Cook till capsicum is tender but should not loose its crunch.
4. Add tomato ketchup. Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if required.
5. Turn off the flame then add tomato cubes.
6. Leave the pan uncovered for 10 min, as covering it with a lid will further soften the capsicum to spoil its crunchiness.
7. Capsicum stir-fry is ready to serve!

Tips -

• If you like spicy food, you can add 1 tsp chilli sauce in addition to tomato ketchup.
• Paneer cubes, if added, gives an exotic appeal to this recipe.

       

Chinese style Cabbage Stir-fry

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A very quick recipe. Just takes about 7-8 minutes to get cooked and preparation time is as much as you spend in shredding your cabbage. I never opt for cutting the cabbage, rather I prefer to use a slicer to get fine and equal shreds and the job is done in barely 2 minutes.

This sabji can be served as a side dish with whole wheat parathas. I use the left-over sabji to make paneer wraps for a healthy breakfast.

Preparation Time : 2 min
Cooking Time : 2 min
Serves : 2

Ingredients -

Cabbage (shredded) - 4 cups
Oil - 1 tsp
Soy Sauce - 1 tsp
Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp
Chilli Sauce/red chilli powder/green chilies (finely chopped)- to taste
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Fresh Coriander (finely chopped) - 1 tbsp (for the garnish)

Procedure -

1. Heat oil in a non-stick deep pan.
2. Add cabbage and salt. Saute for 5 min on medium-high flame. Keep stirring continuously.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix and Saute for 2 minutes more.
4. Taste the veggie and adjust the seasoning.
5. Garnish with coriander and serve.

Tip - The end result should not be completely cooked cabbage, rather it should be crunchy (semi-cooked) and spicy.

Kadai Mushroom

This is a very simple and quick dish, prepared in tangy tomato gravy with button mushrooms and capsicum. The process of cooking mushrooms in fresh tomatoe puree brings a pleasent savory taste to the dish. No wonder, if you get reminded of this dish whenever you see a pack of clean n fresh white button mushrooms in the supermarket. This sabji gives a long lasting aftertaste and can be relished with roti or paratha, though tastes best with butter naan.

kadai mushroom

I dint add any cream to the sabji to keep it low calorie, but if you are preparing it for the guests/party, you must add fresh cream to finish the sabji to impart a rich and thick texture to the gravy. 

kadai mushroom

Serves : 4

Ingredients : 

Onion (cut into 1" cubes) - 2

Capsicum (cut into 1" cubes) - 2

Tomatoes (cut into 1" cubes) - 2

Fresh tomato puree of 2 medium-size tomatoes

Button Mushrooms (quartered) - 100 gm

Dabur Hommade Tomato Puree - 1 tbsp

Green Chili (finely chopped) - 1

Water - 1/2 cup

Salt - to taste

Corriander Powder (dhania powder) - 1/2 tsp

Shahi Paneer Masala - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp

Fresh Cream - 2 tbsp (optional)

Kasoori Methi - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure :

1. Heat oil in a wok and saute onions till they turn transluscent pink.

2. Add fresh tomato puree, chopped green chili, salt, corriander powder, shahi paneer masala, chat masala. Cook till the mixture becomes dry and leaves oil on the sides of the wok.

cooked masala mixture

3. Add water. Let it boil, then add capsicum and mushrooms.

add capsicums and mushrooms to the boiling water

4. Add sugar, dabur hommade tomato puree. mix. cook till the capsicums get tender and the desired consistency of the gravy has been attained, meanwhile mushrooms will also absorb the flavors of the gravy.

5.In the last, just after turning off the flame, add chopped tomatoes and kasoori methi and cover the wok with a lid for 2 min and your kadai mushroom is ready to serve!

Tip : If you want to add fresh cream, add 2 tbsp of fresh cream(malai) after step 4, cook for 2 min on medium flame, then add kasoori methi and chopped tomatoes i.e. step 5.

Easy Paneer Sabji

Its a low calorie preparation.
Doesn't take much time to prepare.

Ingredients :

Onions (sliced vertically)- 3 (medium size)
Capsicum (cut into long thin strips) - 2 (medium size)
Fresh Tomato puree - 4 tbsp
Paneer (cut into long thin strips) - 100 gms
Salt to taste
Corriander Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Chat Masala - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure :

1. Heat oil in a pan/kadai.
2. Add sliced onions and saute till translucent pink.
3. Add capsicums and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add fresh tomato puree and  all the seasoning. Mix thoroughly on high flame.
5. Add 1 cup water. Mix. Simmer the flame for 5 minutes after a boil.
6. Add paneer and cook for 1 more minute.
7. Dish is ready to serve!

Serve it hot with chapati or paratha.