Today’s dish is one of my favorites, Kadai Paneer – a most popular dish often ordered at a restaurant. It’s a flavorful dish where paneer cubes are sauteed with vibrantly fresh bell peppers and seasoned with aromatic spices. A flavor packed dish where Paneer, capsicum & spices all comes together and create a perfect combination of veggies and spices where -all suited for one another! Tomato puree can be substituted with 1 small sized chopped tomato. I prefer to use homemade tomato puree because it blends very well with spices giving paneer a rich taste. In this recipe I have used both red and green capsicum but if you have just green capsicum on hand that’s fine. It will add the same flavor and will smell wonderful while it is cooking. This dish calls for coarsely pounded spices – whole coriander seeds and whole red chilies are coarsely pounded in mortar and pestle – which adds the right amount of heat and flavor to this dish. To give this dish that restaurant touch – cream is added but as per your preference you may pass on it. A nice blend of flavors that tastes earthy (because of cumin and coriander powder) and spicy all at the same time. So let’s begin with this Restaurant style Kadai Paneer recipe. Enjoy this dish with Dal Tadka and Homemade kulchas. 
Kadai Paneer Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups Homemade Cubed Paneer (Appx. 150 Grams)
- 1.5 cup Cubed Capsicum (1 small Red and 1 small Green Capsicum)
- 1.5 cup Cubed Onions
- 1 teaspoon Garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon Ginger paste
- 2 tablespoon Homemade tomato puree (1 small tomato chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Cream (optional)
- 3-4 nos. Whole red Chilies
- 1/2- 3/4 teaspoon Coarsely pounded coriander seeds (adjust according to taste)
- 1/2- 3/4 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes (adjust according to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon Haldi
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1.5 - 2 tablespoon Kastoori Methi
- Salt to taste
- 2-3 tablespoon Oil
- 1 tablespoon Chopped cilantro leaves - to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Assemble: all the ingredients - cubed onions, tomato puree and cubed paneer.
- Wash and cut capsicum in cubes.
- Secret ingredient in this recipe - Kastoori Methi.
- Assemble: all the spices. Using a mortar and pestle coarsely pound the whole coriander seeds.
- Heat oil in a kadai, add whole chilies, cumin seeds and cubed capsicum.
- Stir in salt and mix it well. On a medium flame saute capsicum for 2 minutes. Add cubed onions, ginger and garlic paste and saute it for another 2 minutes.
- Add tomato puree and mix. Stir in all of the remaining spices one by one.
- Add 2 tablespoon cream to the veggies and give it a good stir.
- Add paneer to veggies and mix them gently.
- Kadai Paneer is ready.
- Garnish with thinly sliced ginger and chopped cilantro leaves.
- Serve it hot with roti.
Loved it! loved it!loved it! You rock Ruchi. What a recipe.Everyone loved it in my kitty party. everything is finished, I couldn’t even save it for my hubby 🙁 It tasted just like restaurant dish. Please update your picture like the latest ones. It’s kind of hazy but recipe is to die for. Thanks, thanks, thanks.
Charu, I can’t stop laughing after reading you comment. You are too cute. First of all you are welcome and glad you and all your buddies loved the dish. Will try to update my recipe pic. pretty soon. Thanks for stopping by and will see you around on the site 🙂
As soon as I saw the recipe I was so tempted to make it and finally I made it today. It has come out so well. Can’t wait for dinner time to have it with my family. Your recipes look effortless and the steps are very easy to follow. Everyone will be a master chef soon. Well Done!
Thanks for sharing your experience with me Nidhi! Glad you liked the recipe, thanks for stopping by and will see you around on the blog! 🙂
Had it for lunch today and still licking my fingers. Needless to say it was again a great hit and successful recipe for me. Simply delicious and very well explained. Thanks.
Thanks Alpana, for your kind words. Glad to hear that you liked the recipe. Keep checking back for more. 🙂