Paneer Stuffed Bell Peppers & Coconut-Cashew Rice

I just came back from a nice mini vacation to Carmel. It's a couple hours away from where I live so this vacation felt easy to organize. I had some amazing food on the trip, but I still craved Indian food by the end. So after coming back home, I prepared this rich and indulgent dish to feel like the vacation is still going on ;)

This coconut cashew pulao is nutty and fragrant from the curry leaves and cinnamon. It offers a nice complement to other rich dishes on the table. It would be perfect for hosting when you want to cook something more festive than plain rice.

The paneer stuffed bell peppers are very easy to cook and can feed a crowd. The dish tastes sweet from the peppers and tart from the tomatoes and is balanced nicely with buttery paneer cheese that cuts the tartness of the tomatoes well but complements the sweetness of the pepper. It is lightly spiced with cumin seeds but could be taken in another direction by using other spices like mustard seeds and curry leaves. Either way, it's a crown pleaser if you love bell peppers. Enjoy!

Paneer Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe adapted from Fresh India, Meera Sodha
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 yellow onion, diced
1.5 inch ginger, grated
2 jalapeños, finely chopped
12 oz paneer cheese, grated
1 lb ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro as garnish
4 large yellow bell peppers

Procedure:
Heat oil in a large sauce pan on medium high heat. Add cumin seeds once hot and fry fr 30 seconds. Add onions and cook stirring constantly for 8 minutes until nicely browned all over. Add ginger and green chilis and cook for another minute. Add paneer cheese, tomatoes, salt and red chili powder and cook scraping the bottom until it comes to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes or until the tomato sauce is thick-is. Set it aside too cool. In the meantime, heat the oven to 400 F. Halve the bell peppers lengthwise (from stem to bottom) and de-seed and de-stem them carefully without puncturing the pepper half. Line a half sheet pan with foil and spray oil on it. Fill the peppers with the paneer-tomato mixture and place them on the prepared pan leaving a few inches in between. Bake for about 30-35 minutes till tender and the stuffing is brown on top. Serve hot garnished with cilantro.

Coconut Cashew Rice recipe adapted from Fresh India, Meera Sodha
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup/113 gm cashews, toasted

1 cup/100 gm dried coconut flakes, soaked in warm water

1.5 cups basmati rice
3 cups water
1.5 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 sprig curry leaves
3 large banana shallots, thinly sliced
1 large jalapeno, quartered and thinly sliced

Procedure:
Wash the ice in several changes of water till it runs clear. Soak rice with the water for 30 minutes in the pot you're cooking. Add salt and butter and bring it a boil on high. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes till the water is all absorbed and there are steam holes. Lower the heat to its lowest setting and put double layer of paper towels on the pot and enclose in a tight fitting lid. Steam for 5 minutes and then take it off the heat and let it sit undisturbed for another 10-15 minutes.
Heat the oil in the same non stick pan again on medium high. Once hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and cinnamon stick. Once the seeds start popping, add the shallots and cook, stirring constant for 8-10 minutes till they caramelize, a nice dark brown. Add drained coconut, sliced jalapeños and cook till dry-ish. Add cashews and mix it in thoroughly. Add this topping to the rice and using a gentle hand, mix the rice so this flavoring is  evenly distributed.