Red Pepper- Pistachio Paneer/ Shrimp

Here in Houston, there are only a handful of restaurants that serve vegetarian dishes that are just as good as their non-vegetarian dishes (Surprise!). So every time we go out for dinner, one of us has to 'settle'. 

At home, I try to make both, but often struggle. I wanted a recipe that would be great for strictly non-vegetarian him and vegetarian me!Thats when I stumbled upon this original Vikas Khanna recipe that called for a pound of shrimp. I swapped that with 1/2 pound of shrimp and 1/2 pound of paneer, so I could make us both happy :) This recipe with only paneer would surely taste just as good. Here it goes-

Serves: 4 persons

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Chopped pepper and onion

• 
  
• Ingredients:

• 1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

• 1 red onion, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted, shelled pistachios

• 2 green chillies

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (optional)

Raw shelled pistachios

• 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic

• 1/2 pound paneer, cubed
• 1/2 pound deveined shrimp

• Salt to taste

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• Water

Method:

Golden brown paneer

• Paneer: In a small skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and 1/2 tbsp garlic, saute till edges turn brown, (~1 minute). Add paneer and salt and cook until golden brown on all sides (~ 5-7 minutes). Transfer paneer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Sauteed shrimp 

• Shrimp:In another small skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and garlic and cook until edges turn brown, about 1 minute. Add the deveined shrimp and salt and cook until the shrimp turn pinkish opaque (~2 to 3 minutes). Drain on a paper towel.

Red Pepper-Pistachio Sauce

Sauce: Blend bell pepper, onion, 1/2 cup pistachios, green chilies and 1/2 cup water to a smooth puree. Add remaining tablespoon oil to medium skillet. Add red pepper mixture and cream and bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp red chilli powder. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes - till the sauce is creamy good! :) Divide sauce into two. I used the same skillets I used to fry the paneer and shrimp, respectively.

Add paneer and shrimp into the respective skillets and simmer for 4-5 minutes; stir in chopped mint. Season with salt, and garnish with mint/ chopped pistachios. 

Serve hot with roti or naan.

Red pepper- Pistachio Paneer

Red pepper Pistachio Shrimp

Bon Apetit!
Hetal from Houston