Kadai Paneer

Kadai Paneer is a preparation of cheese, cream and tomato curry. It is thick, creamy and spicy, and is a mainstay of Indian cuisine.^[1]Kadai paneer is primarily a Punjabi dish, most popular in the northern part of India. The word Paneer is the Hindi term for Cottage Cheese

Serves: 4

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups paneer cubes/ 200 grams packet of paneer or homemade paneer
• ½ cup diced onions
• ¼ cup diced green bell peppers
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1 cup chopped red tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder or 1 badi elaichi
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 1 tablespoon Vegetable/Sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt to taste

Steps:

Heat oil in a frying pan; add onions, ginger,garlic and sauté until the onions are tender. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder,cumin powder, black pepper powder, red chilli powder and saute until the water from the tomatoes have evaporated and become a thick paste.

Add green bell peppers and cover the pan and simmer it for about 5 minutes until the pepper are half cooked.

Add butter, salt, cardamom powder or badi elaichi and and sauté for few more minutes. Add the paneer pieces and kasuri methi.

Goes Well with:

Mutter Paneer

Image by su-lin via Flickr

Mutter paneer is an Indian dish consisting of paneer (cheese) and peas in a sweet and spicy sauce. It is usually served with an Indian type of bread (Naan, paratha, poori, or roti depending on region). This is one of the best known dishes in Indian cuisine. It is quite nutritious and high in calories.

Valuable contributions from Shweta!!!

Cooking Time: 45 min

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

400g Paneer(fresh or fried and cut into small cubes)
2 onions chopped
3 tomatoes,
4 green chillies,
4 cloves,
2 tbsp Jeera
Garam masala,
Ginger garlic paste,
Cumin powder,
Cilantro,
Little Turmeric,
Red chilli powder,
Salt
2 tbsp of cream (optional)


Pre-steps(for frozen paneer and mutter)

1. Boil water in a bowl and then add the frozen paneer in it for 5 min. When you remove the paneer from the water rremeber to squeeze the water from it.
2. Defrost the frozen peas for 5 min in a bowl of water in a microwave.

Steps :

1. Put oil in a pan and let it heat for some time.
2. Put in Jeera and cloves and fry on medium for 2 mins.
3. Put in finely chopped onions and fry them till golden brown..
4. Add 1.5 table spoons of ginger garlic paste and
5. When the masala is light brown, add garam masala, coriander powder, salt and red chilli powder.
6. Add chopped tomatoes.
7. Fry them for 10 gud minutes, till the oil starts to separate from the masala.
8. Add the peas and the cubes of paneer to the masala and mix them properly.
9. Add 2 cups of water so that the paneer soaks the masala easily.
10. Cover the Kadai(vessel) with a lid and cook for 15 min on slow-med flame.
11. Check for the salt/mirchi in between and do the damage control.
12. You can add 1-2 tbsp of Cream and then cook for 5 min.
13. Add finely chopped cilantro or "Kothimir" to garnish.

Goes well with: Roti and Rice(Add more water and make the gravy thinner....balance the salt/spices..)