Vegetable Jalfrezi - Restaurant Style

Re-Posting this For Pari's FLAVOURS OF PUNJAB Event originally hosted by Nayna at Nayna’s space.

I have been trying to incorporate all my favorite restaurant-style dishes into my cooking repertoire gradually. I love it when I manage to "nail" the taste of a restaurant dish, and I know that I use much less oil and much more vegetables than the "real thing". One of those dishes that I have never seen as part of any home cuisine, but is sure to be featured in restaurant menus, is Vegetable Jalfrezi. It is rather dry, with the vegetables crunchy and tender rather than over-cooked and drowning in a sauce. I had no paneer on hand, so I used more vegetables instead.
For this you need:-

Carrot 1  
Cauliflower florets 8 - 9
Green beans 7-8
Green pepper small 1
Green peas 1/4 cup
Tomato, small 1
Onions, medium 2
Almonds 4-5
Cashews 4-5
Ginger 1 inch
Garlic 2 flakes
Cumin seeds 1 tsp.
Red chilli powder 1 tbsp.
Coriander powder 1 tbsp.
Coriander leaves, chopped for garnishing
Salt to taste


1. Cut vegetables into 1 inch long strips.
2. Grate one onion and keep aside. Make thin slices of the second onion. Keep aside.
3. Make paste of almonds and cashews. Keep aside.
4. Make paste of ginger and garlic. Keep aside.
5. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. Wait till they sputter.
6. Add grated onions and stir till lightly cooked.
7. Reduce flame. Add ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder and coriander powder. Stir. After a minute, add almond-cashew paste. Stir the mixture till it is barely dry and starts separating from sides of the pan.
8. Add carrots, cauliflower and green beans. Mix well. Now add 1 cup water. Stir, cover and let boil for 4-5 minutes.
9. Add green peppers, tomato, green peas and sliced onions while continuously stirring.
10. Cook till vegetables are slightly tender. Now add salt.
11. Leave on heat for a minute more.
12. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.