Paneer with Peppers and Sweetcorn in a Spicy Tomato Sauce

Well, its finally over! - Christmas I mean... we had an absolutely fabulous time celebrating with the family, the kids loved their presents from 'Father Christmas' and their faces were an absolute joy to watch as they ripped them open on Christmas morning.

I most definitely have eaten way more than I should, as you normally and rightly should do so over the festive period!

Own body weight in Chocolates  ü

Mince Pies  ü

Double my own body weight in cheese ü

A few vegetables! ü

I think now is the time and probably the perfect time to start to get fit and eat healthier (eating the kids leftovers most definitely is not helping!)

So, while I wait for Big Ben to strike 12 and watch the fireworks on TV, with my massive mug of hot, sweet masala tea, I thought, what should I do?! brainwave, write a new post!

Today, I made an amazing paneer curry today, with hot buttery naan, so that hubby can party tonight on a full stomach!

For those that may not know what paneer is, its a fantastic Indian cheese, which is like halloumi as it retains its shape when cooked.

Paneer is prepared by souring milk, you can usually add lemon juice to hot milk to separate the milk, the curds which are left are drained in a muslin and the excess water is drained out, the paneer (still in the muslin) is then dipped into cold water, which gives it its unique texture.  The cheese then hardens after 12-14 hours and can then be cut and used in curries, such as saag paneer (spinach and paneer).  Personally, due to lack of time I buy paneer from specialist Indian grocery shops, or larger supermarkets do also stock it.

The paneer recipe I make isn't what you would normally get in Indian restaurants and its a great way to use up some vegetables from the fridge.

Here is the recipe:

Paneer with peppers and sweetcorn in a spicy tomato sauce.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

3 tbsp Sunflower oil

1/2 red pepper diced

1/2 Green Pepper diced

1 small can of sweetcorn or you can use frozen if you have this instead

2 Fresh tomatoes

1/2 can of chopped tomatoes

3 Green Chillies, chopped

Bunch of Coriander, finely chopped

1.5 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Sugar

2 tsp Garam masala

1 tbsp tomato puree

500g Paneer

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 240°, adjust the temperature accordingly if you have a fan-assisted oven
• Chop the paneer into cubes and put in the oven on the middle shelf for approx 6-8 minutes.
• In a saucepan, add the oil, once heated add the chopped chillies until they sizzle then add the fresh and tinned tomatoes and add the salt and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy.
• Add the coriander and garam masala and mix the sauce

  

  Paneer just out of the oven

• Next add the peppers and sweetcorn and simmer this for a further 6-8 minutes allowing the peppers and sweetcorn to cook.
• By this time the paneer should be a golden brown, remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes.
• Add the paneer to the saucepan and the tomato puree and cook for a further 5 minutes

Enjoy with hot buttery naan or flatbread

TIP: 

• Some people prefer to deep fat fry the paneer, which you can do, but I prefer to pop them in the oven
• Garam Masala can make the tomato sauce go quite brown in colour and therefore its always best to add this towards the middle of cooking a curry.