Kadai Paneer / Stir fried Cottage Cheese Indian Style Vegetarian Recipe

Kadai Paneer is a dish I prefer cooking when some guest suddenly arrive or when I have spicy cravings . This is a hot and spicy stir fried Panner (Cottage Cheese) which is one of the quickest cooking Paneer dishes. The dish is named Kadai Paneer because in this recipe the Paneer is cooked and served in an Indian wok called Kadai. This dish is very famous and generally served in all the Dhabas of North India. The dish goes well with Phulka, Chapati, Naan or any other Indian bread of your choice.

This restaurant style dish is very tasty combination of Tomato , Green Bell Peppers and Onion chunks stir fried in ghee or butter with the Paneer and aromatic spice powder on high flame to get the incredible smoky flavor. The important ingredient which brings about delectable flavors in this dish is the Kadai Masala. Kadai Masala is generally made fresh by first roasting the whole spices like Red chilies , Coriander Seeds, Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds and Black pepper corns and then coarsely grinding them. Roasting of the whole spices on low heat releases the aromatic and flavorful essential oils from them.

Ingredients for Kadai Masala:

• 2 Dried Red Chileies
• 2 tbsp Coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp Cumin seeeds
• 1 tbsp Fennel seeds
• 8-10 Black Pepper corns

Other Ingredients:

• 250 grams Paneer/ Cottage Cheese
• 3 Tomatoes
• 1 big Capsicum diced into cubes
• 1 large Onion chopped roughly into big squarechunks
• 2 tbsp Ghee or Butter
• 1 tsp Red Chili powder
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• Coriander for garnishing
• Salt to taste

Method:

1.   Dry roast all the spices under the ingredients of Kadai Masala on low heat in a kadai and then grind them coarsely using a grinder.

 

  2.  In a sauce pan heat up 2 cups of water . To it add the Tomatoes and cook them for about 1-2 minutes in boiling water. This is called blanching of Tomatoes. This loosens up the skin of tomatoes and makes them soft. Now remove the skin and roughly chop the tomatoes.

 

   3.  Heat up a Kadai on low heat and add the butter or ghee to it.  Now add 2-3 tbsp of Kadhai Masala to it and fry until aromatic. Do not burn it. Now add Turmeric powder and Red chili powder and mix.

  4.  Add the blanched and chopped tomatoes and salt to this masala and stir well and cook for about a minute.

 5 . Add the capsicum and Onion chunks and stir fry the veggies on medium to high flame for 1-2 minutes. Generally Capsicum cooks fast and uniform chopping of veggies helps in quick and even cooking. You may add little water and cover with lid if you feel the gravy is dry and veggies have not yet cooked. 

  6.  Now add the Paneer chunks and mix well with the veggies and masala. I have used home made Paneer. Cook for a minute or so . Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and put off the flame. 

 7.  Serve this Kadai Paneer hot with Naan or Chapati and enjoy !!!

If you are looking for some more Paneer recipes do check my Paneer Makhanwala ,  Stuffed Paneer Paratha , Paneer Tikka , Paneer Lolipop .