Kadai Paneer : The Good Kind

I call this one the good kind as this recipe was built to perfection after about 20-25 iterations and the funny part is that it all came together on the last day of my stay in the US.

Most of my cooking is based on tasting as I go and intuition. Any quantities mentioned can be adjusted based on your personal taste.

Cooking time and serving size

Detail	Time or Amount
Prep Time	20 minutes
Cook Time	25 minutes
Resting or Cooling Time	10 minutes
Total Time	55 minutes
Servings	4 servings

Kitchen Equipment Needed

• Measuring spoons

• Cutting board

• Chef’s knife

• Large Saucepan

• Spatula or a Mixing Spoon

• Blender

  
  

Main ingredients

• 4-5 medium onions

• 2 green capsicum

• 4-5 tomatoes or 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 300-400g paneer

• 3-4 green chillies

• 4-5 medium garlic cloves

• Whole spices - 1 cinnamon stick, 3 star anise, 2 tbsp jeera, seeds inside 3 cardamom

• Sabji masala

• Garam masala

• A handful coriander/cilantro

• 4-5 tbsp of Mustard oil

• Salt, to taste

  
  

Prep

1. Cut paneer to desired size. 1-2 inch squares is preferred for better taste absorption

2. Dice 1 onion and 2 green capsicum into medium squares/rectangles

3. Add 1 tbsp of mustard oil to a small saucepan and saute the diced onions and capsicum with some salt for 4-5 minutes until they slightly soften

4. Set aside the prepped vegetables

   
   

Main Preparation

1. Grind 4 onions, garlic and green chillies to paste

2. Grind the tomatoes to a paste (skip this if you are using a tomato paste)

3. Add mustard oil to the saucepan and heat it on low-medium

4. Add full spices to the saucepan - cinnamon sticks, cumin seeds, star anise, cardamom seeds and let it splutter once

5. Now, turn the heat to low and add the onion paste mixture, and turn the heat up to low medium and then stir.

   1. Caution: The paste might splutter a little out of the saucepan, so be careful. Using a lid to cover the saucepan is good idea, but make sure to not cover it fully.

6. Add salt and saute for about 7 minutes or until the mixture starts turning light brown

7. Add tomato mixture and saute for another 5 minutes or until it loses moisture and thickens

8. Add 2 tsp of garam masala and 4 tsp of Sabji masala and saute it for 2 minutes

9. Add the prepped vegetables and paneer and gently stir for 2 minutes

10. Add enough water to cover the vegetables and paneer. Stir, cover and cook it for about 10 minutes on medium high heat

    1. You might need to uncover every 5 minutes to gently stir to avoid anything sticking to the bottom of the pan

    2. Quantity of water needed is dependent on how watery you want the gravy to be.

11. After 10 minutes, taste for salt and masala. Add either if required. Again cover and cook it on low-medium for 3 minutes

    1. If you feel like there is too much water left, uncover and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. It usually thickens after it cools down

12. Add freshly chopped coriander and let it cool

13. Give it 10 minutes to cool and then it is ready to serve.