Paneer Pasta - Pasta with Indian Cottage Cheese and Mixed Vegetables

A nutritious delicious one pot meal. Its a Pasta dish with the goodness of the vegetables of your choice as well as leafy vegetable (Spinach) and Paneer (Indian Cottage cheese). The good news is, it is a ONE POT MEAL. Since I use ready to use store bought Pasta sauce, its a quick to make meal as well. This is a great meal for a lazy Sunday or a work day when you are too crunched for time.

 The idea for this recipe came along when my kids wanted 2 different things for dinner one night. One said Palak Paneer and one said Vegetable Pasta. It was one of those busy work days and I had very little time to prepare dinner. So I thought about a fusion of both those dishes into one and Voila Paneer Pasta was created. It was a big hit as my younger one who is 4 and a picky eater exclaimed, " I love this Paneer Pasta Mommy !!!". So there I got the name for this recipe from him.

Ingredients :    

• 12 oz Rotini and Rigatoni Pasta *
• 1 24 oz jar Ragu pasta sauce**
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno chopped
• 8oz Paneer / Cottage Cheese cut into cubes
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1/2 cup cut frozen Spinach
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• salt to taste
• 1/2 - 1 tsp red chili flakes
• grated Parmesan cheese 
• freshly chopped Basil leaves

* You could use either kind of pasta. Sometimes I find mixing two different kinds of pasta gives more texture to the dish. 12 oz is almost 3/4 of the 1 lb box.
** Also for this particular recipe I've used Chunky Ragu sauce with Garlic and onion.

Preparation:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. 
• In a pan over medium heat add olive oil. Once its heated add the minced garlic. Let it saute for a minute. Now add the chopped jalapeno followed by Ragu sauce. Add the vegetables (peas, carrots,corn,beans,spinach). Add the paneer cubes. Mix it well. Add the red chili flakes. Adjust the salt. Cover and let it cook on medium low for about 4-5 minutes.
• Next add the drained pasta and mix it well. Let it cook on medium flame for a minute. Remove from heat. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and freshly chopped Basil leaves. There your Paneer Pasta is ready to be served. This recipe serves 4.