Paneer Pepper(Capsicum) Curry Recipe for Blog Anniversary | How to Make Simple Paneer Curry

Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry

With one hectic and busy work and family life, I almost missed the blog milestone! Yes… Today Monsoon Spice turns 6 years old or young :) It’s been exactly SIX years since this blog was born on a lazy afternoon! Wohoo… SIX YEARS!!! I know I need to stop repeating the same thing again and again, but I find it difficult to believe that my love and passion for food blogging is still going strong after all these years!

For someone who believes 'change is the only constant in life', sticking to the food blog scene for this long is nothing short of achievement! The journey so far has been exciting, educating and humbling experience. There have been a lot of ups with very few downs but all in all it has been really delightful experience. I have made many friends whom I have never met in real world. They continue to support, encourage and inspiring me, and I am grateful to have them in my life!

A bowl of delight ~ Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry

Then there are you, my dear reader friends, who motivate me to continue this adventure of cooking, clicking and blogging with your kind and positive comments and feedbacks. The love, friendship and happiness that your shower on me not only makes it worth to blog but also enrich my life! Thank YOU one and all who have made this virtual place a really happy place to come and share my thoughts, experiences and recipes. You have been too kind to listen to all my rants and ramblings and still continue to support me and this blog.

This post will be just a half cooked cookie if I leave out mentioning my family :) My two men army with my dear and near ones continue to inspire me everyday! They deserve the major chunk of success that Monsoon Spice has achieved all these years! They happily let me share the snippets of our life and also the recipes that are churned in our kitchen to be shared with everyone in this virtual world.

And a special thank you to all the silent and anonymous readers of this blog! If possible, do come out and say ‘Hello’ and it will make my day :)

Mildly spiced Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry

The food blog Monsoon Spice has become a place where people with passion of food, spice and life come together and share their success stories peppered with some kitchen disasters :) Thank you one and all for walking with me in this adventurous, yet delightful, food journey all these 6 years.

Lil Dumpling’s favourite ~ Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry

To celebrate these 6 years of food journey, I don’t have any sweet delights! What I have today is a simple yet delightful Paneer recipe. This Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry is one of the easy Paneer recipes that uses easily available ingredients and very little spices. The base for this Paneer Pepper Curry is tangy tomato puree which is mildly spiced with handful of selected aromatic Indian spices. Tired of cooking same onion-tomato based rich Paneer dishes spiced with over powering spices, I wanted to make something simple and mildly spiced for Lil Dumpling who has soft corner for curries that has Paneer pieces. That’s when I simplified the complex Paneer recipe and used tomatoes as the main ingredient for gravy. The spices used as minimal and subtle to lend aroma to the tangy and sweet tomato gravy. The bell peppers add earthy flavour to this Paneer Pepper Curry and you can leave it out if you are not fond of them. Whenever I make this Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry, I can be sure that Lil Dumpling will lick clean his bowl of rice or chapatti! I hope you cook this delicious Paneer Pepper Curry for your Lil Dumpling or loved ones and enjoy it as much as we do :)

Ingredients for Paneer Pepper Curry

Paneer Pepper Curry

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Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry (Bell peppers and paneer cooked in sweet, spicy and sour tomato gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serves: 6-8 people
Shelf Life: 3-4 days when refrigerated and up to a month when frozen
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads (Whole Wheat Naan or Butter Naan or with any stuffed parathas) or plain/flavoured Basmati rice

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Ingredients:

1½ Cups/200 gms Paneer, cut into 1 inch long squares/triangles of 1 cm thickness
2 medium Bell Peppers/Capsicums, deseeded and cut into 1 inch long squares/triangles
1 medium Onion, very finely chopped
5-6 large Tomato, cored and pureed
1-2 tbsp Oil/Ghee (for shallow frying the paneer)
Salt to taste

Spices Used:
¼ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Dhania/Coriander Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
¼ tsp Garam Masala (Adjust acc to taste)
¼ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Oil

Simple yet delightful ~ Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry

Method:

1. Heat ghee/oil in a pan and arrange paneer pieces in a single layer. Fry these paneer pieces on low flame till the sides turn golden and gently flip them over. Let the other side too turn to golden colour and then place these fried paneer in a bowl of hot water. this helps keeping the paneer pieces soft.
2. Next heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When cumin seeds start to sizzle and change colour, add finely chopped onions. Sauté the onions till they turn golden, about 2-3 mins, on medium flame.
3. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and kitchen king masala, if using, and mix them well.
4. Add tomato puree and mix them all well. Let it cook for 5-6 mins, mixing in between, till the raw taste of tomato disappears.
5. Mix in 2-2½ cups of water and salt to taste and cover the pan with a lid. Let the gravy come to gentle boil, about 6-8 mins.
6. Add paneer pieces and the bell peppers and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes for all the flavours to blend well.
7. Serve this delicious Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry with any Indian flat breads (Whole Wheat Naan or Butter Naan or with any stuffed parathas) or plain/flavoured Basmati rice. Heaven!

Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry

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Sia’s Notes:

• You can replace Paneer with tofu, potato or cauliflower for Vegan version. Just make sure that the potato and Cauliflower are cooked before adding to the gravy.
• We like our bell peppers crunchy and hence I don’t tend to cook it for long when used in any curries.
• If using home made paneer, simply skip the first step.