Kadai Paneer

How to Make Kadai Paneer

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Toast the coriander seeds and dried chillies in a dry pan for 90 seconds, until they smell nutty.

   Mark done Start 90 sec timer

2. Pound them in a mortar to a coarse powder with visible pieces. Set aside.

   Mark done

3. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a wide pan over a high heat and fry the peppers and onion for 4 minutes, until blistered but still firm. Lift out.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

4. Add the remaining oil, the garlic and the grated ginger, and cook 1 minute.

   Mark done

5. Stir in two thirds of the pounded masala and cook 30 seconds.

   Mark done

6. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook 8 minutes, until thick and the oil shows at the edge.

   Mark done

7. Pour in the water and simmer 2 minutes.

   Mark done

8. Return the peppers and onion, add the paneer, and toss for 3 minutes over a high heat.

   Mark done Start 3 min timer

9. Stir in the garam masala, the remaining pounded masala and the crushed fenugreek leaves.

   Mark done

10. Scatter the ginger julienne and coriander over and serve straight from the pan.

    Mark done

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

Small Things That Help

• Pound the masala coarse. Powder tastes like a different dish.
• Blister the peppers separately and add them back at the end.
• Keep a third of the masala for the finish so it stays fragrant.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

What to Serve with Kadai Paneer

• Tandoori roti
• Onion salad with lemon
• Cucumber raita

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Gluten-Free Naan, Idiyappam, Kerala Appam.

Keeping and Reheating

Best the day it is made. Keeps 2 days refrigerated; the peppers soften.

Kadai Paneer Nutrition

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (most of the energy comes from foods with no recorded source). Why some recipes have none.

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Your own rating out of 5

5 stars★ 4 stars★ 3 stars★ 2 stars★ 1 star★

Your note

Save note

Private to you: notes and ratings are saved in this browser only, are never sent anywhere, and other readers cannot see them.