Paneer n Yellow Capsicum in Poppy seeds gravy

Couple of weeks back I tasted a Paneer recipe at a local restaurant that I felt was a little different from the usual ones. We all loved the recipe. I liked a specially different taste that it had. It was a little creamy, little sour, little spicy and something special which is beyond my guess. Guess what ??? I finished an extra portion of naan than I usually take which makes it clear that I was working on every mouthful a little extra to understand the recipe. 

Yes you are thinking right now....my mind started working on guessing the ingredients and about making an attempt to recreate the typical taste which I liked though not the exact recipe. The recipe had capsicum and onion and some more stuff but I have it a little different.  This recipe - my version calls for paneer and yellow capsicum as its main ingredients. For that extra creamy and silky gravy texture we would need poppy seeds and cashews. Hmmm ....  a rich recipe to give a simple dinner gravy a tasty twist which will sure satiate your taste buds. 

To my happiness, the first attempt to this recipe has been a real success. I got to share this with a couple of my friends and 'they + family' have liked it... nope I am sorry they have not like it but they have loved it. At my home all of us have enjoyed. My elder kid, a paneer lover gave me a thumbs  up and giant hug for my yummy trial and my little one loved it too. The recipe was perfect except that I want to change a few steps and try again this week. I am planning to alter the steps when making the gravy to make the cooking faster. I was thinking  to post both styles together but a friend of mine is planning to try this recipe over the weekend so couldnt wait. Anyways I will try that too and update again. Check out this recipe and let me know your comments. 

Serves... 2-3 ppl

Serve option... Roti , Naan or Pooris

This is what u'll need....

Paneer - 200 gms
Yellow Capsicum - 1 
Poppy seeds/khus khus - 2 tbspn
Cashews - 10 nos
Onion - 2
Green Chilli - 1
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
Jeera powder 1/2 tspn
Garam masala - 1/4 tspn
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
Jeera - 1 tspn
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbspn

Here is the stir....

• Heat a pan dry and roast poppy seeds, cashews on medium flame for a few minutes. Make sure you dont brown them. When roasted, remove them from flame and let it cool

• Toss it into a mixer jar when cooled and grind it to a fine powder. Now pour little water and turn on the mixer for a few more mins so that you get a creamy paste. This may take a few mins depending on your mixer

• Cut one onion and green chilli and toss it into the mixer. Run it on full speed till it turns smooth again

• Meanwhile heat a kadhai and pour oil to it. Add some cumin seeds and wait till they crack. Dice one onion and yellow capsicum and add to the pan. Fry for a few minutes till onion and pepper turns soft

• Pour the ground paste into the kadhai and give it all a good mix till they all blend together

• Add all the powder spices now - salt, red chilli powder, jeera powder, turmeric, garam masala

• Give one good stir to bring everything together. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium flame for 12- 15 mins or till oil starts separating and onions have turned soft. Stir the mixture once every 2-3 mins and close it again. This will avoid it sticking to the pan 

• Meanwhile cut paneer into small rectangular pieces and soak in hot water to make it soft. When soft, drain it and let dry

• Heat oil in a small pan and fry paneer cubes for a few secs till slightly golden

• Toss in fried paneer to the gravy and give it a toss. Add little water to it to get a little gravy consistency and cook for another minute till it comes to boil. This step is optional - you might want it dry, choice is yours

• The gravy is now ready to be served. Transfer it to a serving bowl and enjoy hot with yummy rotis or naan or pooris

Note:

• Soaking paneer and frying is optional. Some like to add paneer directly. I do it a couple of ways depending on time and want :)
• Make sure to stir the gravy once every few minutes as cashew tends to make the gravy stickier than usual
• Khuskhus should be powdered very well before adding water, else it takes a long time to grind when wet
• Cooking with lid on makes the process faster