Paneer and peas upma

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg fresh paneer ( paneer = fresh milk curd cheese)
• 1 cup boiled peas ( I boiled the peas with 1/2 tsp of salt added to the water )
• 1 large chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp mirchi powder ( mirchi powder = chilli powder )
• 1/4 tsp haldi powder ( haldi powder = turmeric powder )
• 1/2 tsp jeera (jeera = cumin seeds )
• pinch of hing powder ( hing powder = Asafoetida powder ) optional
• chopped dhaniya leaves ( dhaniya leaves = fresh coriander )
• 1/4 tsp kaali mirchi powder ( kaali mirchi powder = black pepper powder )
• salt as per your taste ( I used around 1 and 1/2 tsp )
• 3 tbsp pure desi ghee

Process:

1. Heat the pan or wok you are cooking on high heat and add ghee to it. Once the ghee is hot add the cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds start popping add the chopped onion. Cook the onion till it becomes light pink in color.

2. Lower the heat of the pan and add chilli powder, turmeric powder, black pepper powder, asafoetida powder, salt and mix well so that all the spices are infused into the ghee and onion.

3. Crumble the paneer blocks and then dunk the crumbled paneer in the pan along with the boiled peas. Add a few coriander leaves and keep some for garnishing in the end.

4. Add salt as per your taste buds :) mix well and let it cook on low heat for 5 - 10 mins, depending on how much water the paneer releases while cooking. Keep stirring in between so that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Once the water has evaporated take the pan of the heat and serve the paneer with peas hot and garnished with coriander leaves and a lemon slice :)

I was out of lemons the day I cooked it :)

Drizzle some lemon juice on the paneer and I’m sure you will enjoy it :)

Being on LCHF in India is difficult, as to find the right meat cut at a decent value is nearly impossible. And having NON-LCHF, VEGETARIAN in-laws sometimes calls for a vegetarian dish. Hence the Paneer and Peas Upma :)

You can try different variations with this particular dish as anything and everything goes well with paneer.

Alternative for peas: Bacon bits, Chopped sausages, carrots, crushed pork rind etc.

Alternative for ghee: butter, pork fat, beef fat etc

Alternative for paneer: Alternative for paneer, all I can think of is tofu which I hate so I don’t eat. I am going to try this recipe with scrambled eggs and see if it works. Let me know if you have better options.

I hope you guys give this recipe a try and let me know. :)