Paneer Stuffed Peppers

As I was thinking of what to stuff for the "Stuffed dishes" theme for BM, I decided I didn't want to make stuffed peppers since that was something I had made earlier and wanted to try something new. But when time came to cook, all I had in the fridge were some peppers and that prompted me to look for new variations of stuffed peppers. I finally ended up on this yummy looking paneer stuffed peppers recipe by Anjum Anand. I've never stuffed any veggie with paneer before and wanted to give this a try. The dish turned out amazing.

Luckily I made this dish when the weather was not too hot and I didn't mind the oven turned on. I made a few changes to the original recipe due to lack of ingredients and personal taste. Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:

Peppers - 4 large, cut in half and seeds & membrane scooped out (I used green peppers, but any color peppers would be good too)

Paneer - ½ of 14oz. block grated (about 2-3cups grated)
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Ginger+garlic paste - ½tsp
Tomatoes - 3 medium, chopped
Green peas - ½cup
Mixed vegetables - ½cup (I used frozen chopped carrots & corn)
Ground Coriander - 2tsp
Red chili powder -  ½ tsp (or more to taste)
Garam masala - 1½tsp
Turmeric - ½tsp
Cumin seeds - 1½tsp
Cream - ¼cup
Salt - to taste
Cilantro - chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Smear 1tbsp oil on the peppers and bake them in the oven on a foil covered baking sheet, cut sides up until almost tender, about 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, heat 2tbsp oil in a saute pan and add cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter add the onions and cook on medium flame until lightly browned around the edges.
• Add ginger + garlic paste and cook for another minute.
• Next add the tomatoes, peas, veggies, red chili powder, garam masala, ground coriander and salt. Cover and cook on medium-low flame until tomatoes get mushy, about 10-12 minutes.
• Next add the grated paneer. Add water if the mixture looks too dry, simmer the mixture for 2-3 minutes.
• Next add cream and simmer until heated through. 
• Once the peppers are cooked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little bit. 
• Increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
• Stuff the peppers with the paneer mixture and bake them until the paneer is lightly golden and the peppers are browned around the edges.
• Serve along with basmati rice for a simple, yet sophisticated meal. 

We had our stuffed peppers with some corn rice.

Sending these Paneer stuffed Peppers over to this month's edition of Dish it out - Tofu~Paneer & Peppers, being hosted by Usha @ My Spicy Kitchen.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up for BM# 18.