Kadai Paneer

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Kadai paneer is an excellent side dish for butter naan, garlic naan, lachcha parathas, chapatis and special rice. Paneer is one of my favorite dish and I love preparing and trying out different recipes with it. Bored of having rice on a daily basis, I planned to have chapati last night. But was confused about the best combination vegetarian curry to make along with chapatis. That is when the paneer came to my mind and I ordered a paneer packet from my nearby store.

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So, today I will be sharing the recipe of kadai paneer. Kadai paneer is very easy to prepare. We are preparing the ground masala powder by dry roasting coriander seeds, dry red chilli and other ingredients. Dry roasting is the process of heating all the mentioned ingredients in a kadai without using oil. Once the ingredients are roasted, they are then kept for cooling. Once cooled, we can blend them using a blender.

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We need to saute the onion, tomatoes snd cashewnuts in oil. They are then blended in mixer to form a fine puree. This puree forms the base of our kadai paneer. They are added to the fried onion and capsicum along with ground masala powder. Cook the curry for 5 to 6 minutes and after sometime the colour of curry changes.

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Paneer is basically Indian cottage cheese. In this recipe, paneer is cooked with bell peppers along with freshly prepared spicy ground masala. Kadai paneer can be found in almost all the menu cards of Indian restaurants. It is better to soak the store bought paneer in warm water for 20 minutes before the cooking.

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Adding fresh cream and kasuri methi to this curry provides an additional flavour, which makes us to clean up the plate within minutes. Honestly saying, it is one of the best paneer recipe which you can easily try at your home.

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Ingredients

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1. To prepare ground masala powder

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1. Whole coriander seeds – 3 tsp

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2. Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

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3. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

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4. Cloves – 2

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5. Cardamom – 2

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6. Black pepper – 1 tsp

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7. Kashmiri chilli – 3

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2. To prepare gravy for Kadai paneer

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1. Oil – 2 tablespoon

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2. Butter – 1 tablespoon

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3. Chopped onions – 2 + 1

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4. Chopped tomatoes – 2

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5. Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

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6. Cashew nut – 10

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7. Paneer – 200 g

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8. Capsicum, chopped in cubes – 1

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9. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

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10. Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tsp

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11. Fresh cream – 3 tbsp

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12. Coriander leaves, chopped – 1 tsp

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13. Green chilli – 1

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14. Kasuri methi – 1 tsp

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15. Sugar – 1/2 tsp

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16. Salt – to taste

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Method of preparation

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1. Heat a pan or kadai and dry roast all the ingredients mentioned under (1) for 2 to 3 minutes in low flame

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2. Transfer the dry roasted ingredients to a bowl and allow it to cool

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3. Now heat oil in the same kadai and add 2 chopped onions

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4. Saute for 3 minutes and then add ginger garlic paste to it

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5. Now add chopped tomatoes and salt and cook till the tomatoes becomes soft

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6. Add cashew nuts and saute everything well

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7. Switch off the flame

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8. Blend the dry roasted ingredients to fine powder and keep it aside

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9. Blend the onion tomato mix, such that it forms a puree

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10. Heat butter in a kadai and add green chilli and kasuri methi

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11. Add onion and capsicum and saute for 2 minutes

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12. Then add turmeric powder and Kashmiri chilli powder

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13. Add tomato- onion puree and mix well

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14. Now add the prepared ground masala powder and sufficient salt

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15. Cook for 5 minutes till the oil gets released from all sides

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16. Add 1/4 cup of water as per your required consistency

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17. Add paneer cubes followed by fresh cream and sugar

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18. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes

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19. Mix well and garnish the curry with coriander leaves

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20. Serve hot with naan, parathas, chapatis, etc.

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