By: redchilliesPosted on

On our recent trip to the Farmer’s market, I went nuts over the varieties of the bell peppers they had on sale. The colors were vibrant and the prices were pretty decent too. Usually the ones in the regular grocery are pretty expensive but also not as fresh and vibrant as these. Suffice to say I went overboard and ended up with load full of those gorgeous beauties.

 

 

These are referred to as Capsicum in India and at least while I was growing up, I had not seen any other color other than green. The shapes and sizes are different too. I enjoy bell pepper in most of the dishes. The trick that I have learnt is to fry the chopped bell peppers separately and then add them to dishes like Poha, Upma, Pulao etc. This way the taste is retained and the texture is not lost.

 

 

Coming back to this recipe, this refers to Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cooked with tomatoes, onion, and simmered with special spices in a Kadai (wok in Punjabi). Quite frankly I was not at all familiar with this curry. Even though I had seen this many times on the menu of different Indian restaurants I had not tried it, mainly because of my dislike for Paneer. But after reading about this in many blogs it finally dawned on me that onions and bell peppers are equally the start ingredients along with Paneer.

 

This is very easy to prepare, healthy and is not rich and creamy as the other North Indian curries. In fact, little bit of butter and oil go a long way in making this delicious side dish. This goes well with Rotis/ Naans or rice.

 

Kadai Paneer Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 big bell pepper (any color cut into thin strips)
  • 2 big tomatoes (chopped)
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 1 cup paneer cut into cubes
  • 1 tsp Garam masala
  • 1 tsp cumin coriander powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 2 tsp kasuri methi
  • butter
  • salt
  • little cardamom powder
  • Oil

Method:

  • Take a heavy bottom kadai (wok) and heat oil in it.  Add ginger, garlic and stir for a while.
  • Add the onions and sauté for a while making sure it is cooked yet crispy Now add the tomatoes, salt, all powders and mix well.
  •  Once it has cooked a bit add the bell pepper, butter and mix well. Cover this for a while and let the flavors blend together. It is important that the bell pepper retains its crunchiness, so add this at the end.
  • Add little oil, add the paneer cubes and mix again. Check for taste and adjust.
  • Finally rub the kasuri methi, add this and cardamom powder. Cover again for a minute or so. Serve hot with rotis/naans or rice!

 

  

 

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Categories: Easy Vegetarian Recipes, Indian Vegetarian Side Dishes

20 Replies to “Kadai Paneer Recipe”

  1. This gravy looks great RC. Those vibrant bell peppers are hard to resist.thought I was the only one around who did not like paneer 🙂 I have learnt to like them since the kids like them a lot.

  4. Another paneer favourite. My daughter loves paneer so much she will fight for it (but only with us, thankfully).:)
    NOwadays, we get the red and yellow varieties too, but they’re more expensive that the green ones.

  7. Kadai Paneer looks awesome.. I agree with you that this is quite healthy and retains all the natural taste. Love crunchy capsicums 🙂 Love the addition of Kasuri methi. I am a die hard fan of this 😉

  9. What!! You dislike paneer? I guess exception to the rule case, haan? This dish looks delicious! I too like my capsicum crunchy! These days you find all kinds of peppers here too:)

  10. Yeah i know what u mean, when ever i go to thelocal market i buy too much and hubby is like why u do this come back next week also.
    I love paneer, but have not made them recently as ifi want paneer i have to make them at home. Bit lazy

  16. I love paneer. My friend, from India, was told that she needed to stop eating paneer due to her high cholesterol level. So, she switched to tofu. If you don’t like paneer, you can try the tofu. I’ve tried it; just saute it until golden, then use as paneer.

  18. Love Kadai paneer. I do the same thingy with the capsicum. frying it first & adding it later retains the flavor & the texture.

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  20. Pingback: RedChillies - Easy Side Dishes for Rotis/Chapathi/Poori

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