Paneer Simla Mirch Recipe – Fresh Cheese with Bell Peppers – 3 Mar 12

You need to start by making Paneer as I have already described. This time, you need it to be hard enough to be cut into pieces. In order to achieve this, you wrap the paneer in a fine cloth and put it under something heavy to take the water out of the cheese. With time, maybe fifteen minutes, it will get hard enough to cut it without risking it falling apart. Cut the fresh cheese into middle-sized cubes.

While you are waiting for the paneer to get hard, you can wash the bell peppers and start cutting them. Take out the seeds and cut the bell peppers into medium-sized pieces. Wash the tomatoes and cut them, too, into small pieces.

Heat up oil in a pan and when it is hot, add cumin, garam masala, coriander and turmeric into the pan. Roast the spices while stirring until they have developed their aroma. When they are nicely roasted but before they burn, you add the tomatoes into the pan. Stir and fry them for about one minute so that they are soft and warm and then you add the bell pepper pieces. This is also the right point to add salt into your dish.

Let the bell peppers cook for maybe three minutes with stirring. We suggest you not to make them too soft, as it will give a nice taste to your dish if they are not mashed. So before that happens, add the paneer pieces, mix them with the rest and let them get warm for another two or three minutes and then take your food off your stove.

You see, if you have paneer ready and prepared, it is really just a matter of some minutes to make this dish – and it tastes delicious!