Kadai Paneer
Kadai paneer is a rustic dish, with big chunks of vegetables and paneer, cooked al dente, coated in a freshly blended spice mix incorporated into a semi dry gravy. Most restaurants serve it floating in a ton of sauce, everything cooked to death, with all the flavors overpowered by the ubiquitous tomato onion gravy. My husband and I have been looking for a semi dry dish, with the vegetables retaining a lot of the texture and fresh flavor, and the paneer just soft enough to chew. I finally found this recipe online, tried it once,and its a winner. Recipe Source: (with very minor modificaitons) http://www.chefandherkitchen.com/2012/12/kadai-paneer-recipe-paneer-recipes.html
Servings Prep Time
4servings 30mins
Cook Time
30mins
Servings Prep Time
4servings 30mins
Cook Time
30mins
Ingredients
  • 1/2block paneer, cut into cubesHomemade or store bought, I used store bought
  • 1big TomatoRoma tomato works best, as it retains the shape when cooked
  • 1/2big onionpreferably red, white works also
  • 1small green pepperoptional: all colored peppers, one in each color
  • 1tsp Salt
  • 2tbsp oil
Spices For Fresh Spice Mix
  • 1tbsp Coriander seeds
  • 1tbsp Cumin seeds
  • 2red chilies
  • A fewblack peppercorns – about 6-7
  • 1small piece of cinnamon
Ingredients For The Gravy
  • 2small Tomatoes
  • 1tsp chili powderoptional: I also used 1 small green chili
  • 1tsp Salt
  • 1small piece ginger
  • 2cloves garlic
  • 1/2tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1tbsp oil
  • 2tbsp yogurtI used Greek yogurt
Garnish Ingredients
  • 1/2cup kasuri/dry methi leavesAvailable in Indian grocery stores
  • 1/2cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
  1. Gather the spices for roasting/powdering
  2. Gather the vegetables for the gravy, and chop roughly – onions, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic
  3. Gather the vegetables for the dish, and chop roughly into the same size – peppers, onions, tomatoes
  4. Cube the paneer, roughly the same size as the vegetables
  5. Heat a kadai, and dry roast the spices until aromatic. The recipe calls for roasting them separately. I started with the coriander, and after a minute or so, added the cinnamon, cloves, chilies, and finally the cumin. Roast without burning, and until you can smell the fragrance released by the spices; transfer to a plate to cool
  6. While the spices are cooling, heat 1 tbsp of oil in the same pan, and start with the onions. When translucent, add the tomatoes, followed by the ginger, garlic, and finally chili powder and turmeric. Add 1/2 tsp of salt. Transfer to a plate and cool.
  7. Powder the dry roasted spices coarsely and keep ready
  8. Blend the gravy ingredients when cool enough and keep ready
  9. Add the tablespoon of oil to the kadai, and toast the paneer pieces until they start to brown. Do this quickly, and remove to a plate, saving the oil in the pan. Overcooking the paneer will make them tough
  10. In the same pan, add the green pepper pieces, and cook on high heat for a couple of minutes
  11. Add the onion pieces, and cook for a couple of minutes
  12. Finally add the tomato pieces, and stir for a couple of minutes. Make sure they don’t turn mushy
  13. Add the paneer, and the powdered spices, and toss them around gently until the spice mix coats all the vegetables
  14. Remove to a plate
  15. Now in the same kadai, add the remaining tbsp of oil, and a bay leaf (optional)
  16. When heated, add the prepared gravy, and cook until it reduces and thickens slighlty
  17. Beat the yogurt and add to the gravy, and cook until the gravy is quite thick
  19. Now, add the vegetable + paneer mix and gently toss everything together to evenly coat the veggies/paneer mix
  20. Cook for just a few minutes, since everything has been cooked and just need to meld together; turn off the heat, add the garnish.
  21. Serve with phulkas and sliced onions and lime wedges
Recipe Notes

Recipe Courtesy/Source:

http://www.chefandherkitchen.com/2012/12/kadai-paneer-recipe-paneer-recipes.html

Notes:

I have been looking for a semi dry, rustic paneer dish and finally hit gold with this one. The freshly ground spices make a big difference, and I wouldn’t change that.

The other trick is also to use a chinese wok so I could use high heat and almost stir fry the vegetables so they retained their shape, color, and flavor wonderfully and didn’t turn into unrecognizable mush.

My husband, who loves kadai paneer, was very happy with this one!