The man doesn’t like dals. He doesn’t protest much, but that disappointed look in his face is enough to stop me from buying Mung dal ever again! The other day when I made Luchis and Cholar dal, I had made Kadai Paneer as a back up – in case he has that “What!!!! Dal today???” question with a wounded look on his face. 

Luckily, he liked the dal that day, but he liked the Kadai Paneer even better! Simple and easy to make, this one is a sure winner. You can substitute paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) with cooked potatoes, cauliflower or brinjal. But then, of course, you cannot refer it to as kadai Paneer :D. 

I have adapted the recipe from Sandeepa’s Bong Mom’s CookBook. 

Ingredients: 

• Onion : 1 big, chopped fine
• Capsicum (Bell Pepper) : 1 medium, cubed
• Tomato : 2 medium, pureed
• Paneer : 200 gms, cut into cubes
• Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 teaspoon
• Kasoori Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves) : 1 teaspoon
• Garam Masala : 1 teaspoon
• Chilli Powder : 1 teaspoon
• Ground coriander: 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder : 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt : to taste
• Oil : 1 tablespoon
• coriander leaves to decorate

The recipe serves 2 people

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and once its hot, add the onions and ginger-garlic paste. 
2. When the onions turn transparent, add the capsicum cubes and cook for 5 minutes or till it turns soft. 
3. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, ground coriander salt and garam masala. 
4. Mix and coat the onions and capsicum nicely with the masalas. 
5. Add the pureed tomato and kasoori methi leaves. Add about 1/2 cup water, if you need the curry to be gravy. You can increase this by another half cup, if you feel the gravy is too thick. Sometimes people add milk or cream as well instead of water for the gravy.
6. Add paneer and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Take care not to break the paneer pieces. 
7. Check and adjust the seasonings, if required.
8. Switch off the stove, sprinkle coriander leaves on top and serve hot with any of  the Indian flat breads. 

Note: 

I have got a new Chef’s knife, so I chop everything fine. No dicing, no cutting into cubes- only chopping :D. 

I accidentally poured more oil into the pan when I started making this. So the curry turned out to be a bit more oily that I would have liked.  

Recipe serves two.