Are you a big fan of paneer recipes? Then I am sure you love Kadhai Paneer. Kadhai paneer is a North India staple cottage cheese recipe. Kadhai stands for wok and paneer is cottage cheese, which means this is a cottage cheese recipe made in a wok. This always has capsicum in it. It is usually had with naan, chapattis or any flatbread. I make several versions of the same recipe depending on the hurry I am or if I am expecting guests Vs eating it myself. Since I made this for my husband and myself, this recipe makes enough serving for two. Feel free to change proportions based on how many you are cooking for.

PREPARATION TIME: 10-12 minutes
COOKING TIME: 20-25 minutes
SERVINGS: 2
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Medium

INGREDIENTS: 

  1. Cottage cheese – 200 gms
  2. Onion – 2 medium
  3. Capsicum – 1
  4. Tomatoes – 3 medium, pureed
  5. Ginger – a small piece
  6. Garlic – 2 cloves
  7. Cumin seeds – 2 teaspoons
  8. Coriander seeds – 2 tablespoons
  9. Red Chilli – 2
  10. Kasuri Methi – 1 teaspoon
  11. Oil – 2 tablespoons
  12. Salt – to taste
Kadhai_Paneer
Kadhai_Paneer

RECIPE:

  1. Take a frying pan and add cumin seeds, coriander seeds and red chili to it and dry roast these spices.
  2. Once the spices start leaving their aromatic oils, take them off the flame and grind them to a fine paste.
  3. Chop an onion into long thin slices.
  4. Add a small amount of oil in the same pan and add the onion slices. Take them off the flame once they start to brown and keep them aside.
  5. Add oil to a kadhai/wok and add 1 ½ tablespoon of oil.
  6. Once the oil is heated up, add few cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
  7. Finely chop an onion and add it to the cumin seeds.
  8. Finely grind tomatoes, ginger, and garlic in the mixer grinder.
  9. Add this paste to the onions once they are nicely caramelized and turned brown.
  10. Cook the paste on low heat until it starts to leave the walls of the kadhai and leaves the oil aside.
  11. Dice the capsicum into long and thin slices and add them to the paste.
  12. Add ½ cup of water to quicken the cooking process and prevent the mix from burning.
  13. Add the ground spice mix and salt too. Add the Kasuri methi as well.
  14. Dice the cottage cheese slices into small cubes of 1-2 inches each and add them to the wok once the capsicum is thoroughly cooked.
  15. Turn off the flame and put a lid on top to allow the cottage cheese/paneer slices to soak all the spices.
  16. Add the fried roughly chopped onion pieces on top.
  17. Serve hot with naans or any other flatbread.

Kadhai-Paneer