Skinny Shahi Paneer – Indian cottage cheese in gravy

Happy Independence Day to all the Indians !This time, i am celebrating India’s freedom, DFT style. What is better than enjoying your favorite dish made Skinny and Diabetic friendly? Freedom from guilt … Yes please ! Presenting Skinny Shahi Paneer. This time the theme was “free style cooking”, completely in line with the spirit of Independence day 🙂 Living out of India, i miss the Independence day get together with friends and wanted to bring some memories back. We usually had a potluck at home every 15th August and try create food with the same color scheme of the Indian flag.

Amongst many dishes, my favorite was always the Shahi Paneer.

I miss celebrating Indian festivals/ important days and always feel nostalgic, so i end up cooking some of my comfort Indian meals and keep the spirit alive. For this week’s DFT, i thought this would be perfect ! My take for DFT is making it healthier and skinner 🙂 So, lets hop on the recipe !

Skinny Shahi Paneer

Skinny Shahi Paneer

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: medium
• Print

Ingredients

Ingredients

• Paneer/Cottage Cheese, cut into cubes – 100 gms
• Bell peppers, cut into cubes- 1 cup
• onion- 1 medium , cut into big cubes and the slices separated
• water- 1/2 cup
• 4-5 cashews, dry roasted
• handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

Curry base (Grind all the ingredients below together)

• tomato- 2 medium , roughly chopped
• tomato paste- 1 tablespoon
• onion-1 small , roughly chopped
• ginger-1 inch, grated
• garlic-2 cloves, minced
• Salt to taste
• red chili powder- 1/2 tsp
• turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
• chili- 1 medium , finely chopped
• dry fenugreek/ methi leaves- 1 tablespoon
• cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 2 cloves
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 small stick cinnamon (you can also use the whole dry spices as is in the tempering, if u like a milder flavor)

Method

1. We begin with grinding all the ingredients for the base curry together into a thick paste. Keep aside.
2. heat a pan and let it get hot. Add in the grounded tomato mixture and cook on high till it boil. Next, place a lid on top and simmer the heat. Let this cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, take another pan and dry roast the bell peppers and onion shells till translucent, approximately 5-7 minutes. Keep aside.
4. Grind cashews with water. Add this to the cooked tomato mixture and mix well. Next, add in the roasted bell peppers, onion shells and paneer. Cook on medium heat for another 5-7 minutes. The Skinny Shahi Paneer is done. Sprinkle chopped coriander on top and serve with Roti.

Serving size : 1 small bowl with 2-3 cubes of paneer/tofu. If you need a bigger serving, load up on the tomato gravy instead

Just look at that gorgeous color of the curry ! No Oil.. seriously?

This plate of Skinny Shahi Paneer is the perfect amount of indulgence i like to start a nice weekend. The best part was it took me just under half an hour to prepare this and it looks divine. So, lets read some benefits shall we :

• Paneer/ Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is a great source of calcium,Vitamin D,vitamin B complex and protein. Intake of cheese prevents osteoporosis that is caused due to the deficiency of calcium. The presence of conjugated linoleic acid and sphingolipids in cottage cheese makes it effective in preventing cancer. Cottage cheese is also known to enhance blood formation, strengthen the liver and facilitate absorption of nutrients. Low fat paneer is ideal for diabetic patients.

• Cashews

Cashews are lower in fat than most other nuts. About 75 percent of the fat in cashews is oleic acid, or heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, which is the same type of fat found in olive oil. When added to a low-fat diet, monounsaturated fat helps reduce high triglyceride, or blood fat, levels. Individuals with type 2 diabetes

• Tomatoes

Tomatoes contain lycopene, a potent antioxidant known to help fight disease. They are also rich in potassium, phosphorus, calcium, vitamin A, C and K, folate and dietary fiber. A ½ cup serving of tomatoes is equivalent to 4 g of carbohydrates. Eat them raw, pureed, stewed, juiced or in a sauce; all tomato-based products are low in carbohydrates. When purchasing tomato-based products, be sure to choose “no sugar added” or “low sodium” varieties.

• Bell Peppers

Most peppers contain about 5 to 7 grams of carbohydrates per cup of raw vegetable, although some, such as hot chili peppers, can contain as much as 9 to 10 grams of carbohydrates per cup. Peppers are also packed with vitamins A and C — just 1 cup of chopped red, yellow or orange peppers provide more than 100 percent of the recommended daily value for both vitamins. All shades of peppers provide plenty of fiber, folate, vitamin K, beta carotene and an array of minerals.

Doesn’t all this sound exciting !! Try this super healthy recipe soon and let me know how was your experience 🙂 Hop onto this page for more exciting DFT recipes from Divine Spice Box !

Disclaimer

I am not a nutritionist or dietician. My knowledge and information is based on my research and reading from different resources. Please consult your doctor or dietician before making any changes to your diet.

Other terrific recipes for this week’s DFT :