Kadai Paneer ~ Indian Cottage Cheese Curry ~ With Stepwise pictures.

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Kadai paneer is a very popular Indian curry that is served at a lot of Indian restaurants and definitely falls under the category of "crowd pleaser". I have posted another version of  kadai paneer earlier, which is the way I usually make this curry. But the other day I was browsing through a book of different Indian gravies that are used for different curries by Tarla Dalal and was intrigued by her kadai gravy.



I decided to try a vastly adapted variation of her gravy with paneer and see how it worked out. Since the first time, I have tried a few more variations of the same gravy and this version is the one I have loved the most. This curry turned out amazingly well, the coriander seeds adds a very interesting dimension and flavor to this curry.  Its also very easy to make and great for entertaining/parties or even for a nice weekend lunch/dinner.



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Kadai Paneer
14 oz paneer ( approx 400 gms) cut into cubes
3 medium tomatoes cut fine
1 large onion  cut fine
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp + 1/4 tsp kasuri methi  ( dried fenugreek leaves)
1 tsp Garam masala  (can be substituted with any other curry powder)
To make your own Garam masala check out this post
2 tbsp clarified butter / ghee / nei

Salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chili powder ( or to taste)

Dry roast and grind to a fine powder
2 tsp coriander seeds (dhania/ kothamalli virai )
2 whole dry red chilies (or to taste)

Dry roast coriander seeds and whole dry red chilies  for a minute or so until it turns aromatic. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature and grind to a fine powder. Keep this powder aside.

Heat clarified butter in a heavy bottomed pan, add onions and sauté until onions are transparent. Add minced ginger and garlic and stir a few times.

Add tomatoes and 1/4 tsp salt and stir until tomatoes are cooked , soft and mushy. Adding a pinch of salt helps to cook tomatoes faster. When the tomatoes are cooked, add 1 tsp kasuri methi ( reserve the 1/4 tsp for adding at the end), Garam masala and the powdered coriander chili powder and stir a few times.
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Remove from heat, cool and purée this mixture until smooth. Add the purée back to the pan, add turmeric powder, chili powder, kasuri methi and salt to taste, water as required to get required consistency and paneer cubes. Simmer this mixture for a few minutes, until the favors mingle and the paneer is softer.

Remove from heat and serve hot with any kind of flat bread like phulka/ naan/ roti or with jeera rice/ plain steamed rice and dhal on the side.

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Paneer Bhurji ~ Crumbled Indian cottage cheese curry

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Paneer or Indian cottage cheese is one of those items that is almost always well liked, and is usually a crowd pleaser making it a good choice for when family/ friends get together. But a lot of paneer curries usually tend to be ones with gravy like this paneer masala ,  and tend to be a little more time consuming to make. Perfect for weekends but not really a great choice for a quick weeknight meals or when you are short on time :)

My favorite choice in paneer curries that can be made really fast is definitely paneer bhurji. Paneer Bhurji is a curry made with crumbled paneer. It is a very versatile, flavorful curry that can be made in jiffy, and requires no exotic masalas or spices. No elaborate steps either, just stir, mix,  cook and you are done. This curry can be served with some phulkas/ rotis (Indian flat bread) or in a wrap / grilled sandwich. My personal favorite thing to make with this curry is definitely grilled sandwiches, it tastes so good , just place a little curry between two slices of bread, apply a little oil/ butter on the outside and grill. Yum :)  If you are looking for a quick curry and have some paneer on hand, give this one a try and tell me what you think :)

 


Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Paneer Bhurji
1 medium sized  red onion (pyaaz/ vengayam)
1 green bell pepper (capsicum/koda molagai) deseeded and cut fine
3 cups of crumbled paneer (Indian cottage cheese) (400 gms of paneer)
For step by step directions to make your own paneer, check out this post
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
3 Thai or Indian variety of green chilies cut very fine (or to taste)
1/2 tbsp finely grated ginger (adrak/ inji)
1/4 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (optional) (lal mirch)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional) (haldi / manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)

for garnish
1 tsp lemon juice (or to taste)
4 tbsp finely cut cilantro (coriander leaves/ dhania/ kothamalli)

Crumble paneer, prep the vegetables and keep aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan on medium heat, add cumin seeds, when the seeds sizzle add onions and saute until the onions are transparent/ translucent. Add turmeric powder (if using), ginger and green chilies and stir a few times.

Add bell pepper and stir until the bell pepper is cooked, yet firm. Lower heat, add  crumbled paneer, salt to taste, red chili powder (if using) and mix well. Stir and allow the mixture to heat for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle and for the paneer to heat through.
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Remove from heat, garnish with lemon juice and cilantro and serve hot with some phulkas/ plain rotis (Indian flat bread) or use this mixture in a wrap or a grilled sandwich.

If you are looking for paneer/ Indian cottage cheese recipes, here are a few more

Paneer Masala

Easy Kadai Paneer

Tandoori Paneer Pizza

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Paneer Masala- Indian cottage cheese curry

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When visiting Indian restaurants, especially ones that serve north Indian cuisine, one item is almost invariably found in their menu................Paneer masala ! Whether it is named paneer masala, paneer butter masala, or shahi paneer,  some version of this popular curry is offered in most Indian restaurants. There seem to be many, many versions of this curry, it seems like every one has their own version of making this curry. My version omits one item that I commonly find used in this curry....cream, and honestly I never miss it. The cashews give this curry such a creamy texture that I do not feel the need to add cream at all.



I know the ingredients for this curry look long and daunting, but most of the items used in this curry are common spices that are stocked in the pantry. This is a very easy peasy recipe, nothing complicated about it and the taste is awesome. Ideally this curry tastes fantastic with served with Indian flat bread like naan or tandoori roti, but it can just as easily be served with plain roti, or phulkas/ chapathis or even plain steamed rice. I was hoping to get better pictures for this curry, but I was having not a great day picture wise :-(  So for now I am posting this recipe with my current set of pictures and hope to update the pics at a later date. If your weekend menu includes paneer, give this recipe a try and as always, let me know what you think about it :)



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Ingredients and Method to make Paneer Masala 
2 1/2 cups of cubed paneer
(To make your own paneer check out this post with step by step pictures)
1 to 2 tbsp oil to shallow fry the paneer
1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (can be substituted with cayenne powder)
1/4 cup whole milk

For the masala/ gravy
1 large red onion cut fine
2 medium tomatoes cut fine
a thin sliver of ginger chopped into small pieces
1 clove garlic peeled and cut into small pieces
2 tbsp oil/ butter/ clarified butter(ghee/nei)
2 whole dry red chilies
2 cloves
3 small green cardamoms (elaichi)
1 small (1 inch) piece cinnamon
10 whole black peppercorns (miri/milagu)
1/2 tsp coriander seeds (dhania/ kothamalli virai)
1/4 cup cashewnuts broken into small pieces

Shallow fry the paneer cubes in 1 to 2 tbsp of oil until it is slightly golden/ creamy golden and keep aside.

For the masala/ gravy
Heat oil/ butter/ clarified butter in a large heavy bottomed pan, add onions and saute until onions turn transparent. Add ginger and garlic and stir a few times.

Add whole dry red chilies, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, whole black peppercorns and coriander seeds (that is all the whole spices) and stir a few times.

Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes turn soft and mushy. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool a little.

Puree this entire mixture along with 1/4 cup of cashews until smooth, adding a little water if required.
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Transfer this gravy back to the pan and place on heat. Add shallow fried paneer pieces to the gravy, add salt to taste, sugar, kasuri methi, chili powder (if using), water if required to achieve desired consistency and simmer on low heat for the flavors to mingle. 

Finally add milk, mix well, allow the curry to simmer for another minute or so on low heat, then remove.

Serve hot with any kind of Indian flat bread like naan/ tandoori roti/ roti or even phulkas/ chapathis. Or this curry could be served with some plain steamed rice/ or jeera rice

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Tandoori Paneer Pizza

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Thanks all of you for your responses to the two questions that I had asked in my last post. I enjoyed reading  all your comments and descriptions on both the tandoori sauce guessing game and how puffed rice is made.Amy shared a youtube link in the previous post on how the Chinese make puffed rice. It was a very interesting video, thanks Amy for sharing it with me. I have uploaded the video here if any of you are interested in seeing this video. 

For those of you who played along on the guessing game, the title of this post has already given away the answer on what I did with the tandoori sauce. My blog friends Deepa, Harini-Jaya and Sowmya, you can all take a bow because you all guessed the answer correctly. When I visited India last year, I tasted a tandoori pizza at a local Pizza hut that I really liked. I have been wanting to recreate that pizza since I got back. This is my take on that pizza. This pizza turned out fabulously, the tandoori sauce and the paneer added a very unique and interesting flavor to the pizza . Since I made the sauce ahead, it also took very little time to assemble this pizza. So if your weekend plans include pizza, do give this pizza a try and let me know what you think about it :-)



Click here for a printable view of the Tandoori Paneer Pizza

Ingredients and Method to make Tandoori Pizza
1 red onion cut lengthwise
1 green bell pepper (capsicum) deseeded and cut into thin long strips
2 cups of paneer cubes (Indian cottage cheese)  (Here is how you can make your own paneer)
2 cups of other vegetables like peas and corn (optional)
Shredded cheese as required
Tandoori sauce as required ( I used approx half the quantity of sauce made as per this recipe)
Pizza base as required ( I used approximately 3- 8 inch oat wheat pizza base made as per this recipe )
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 deg F

Apply tandoori sauce on the pizza base, followed by the shredded cheese, toppings and paneer cubes.

Place in the oven for approximately 20 mins or until the paneer and cheese have light brown spots on top of it.
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Remove, slice into wedges and serve hot with some red pepper flakes if you want.

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Paneer- Indian Cottage Cheese with step by step pictures

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When I wrote about making paneer at home in an earlier post a lot of you wanted to know how it is done. Since I had not taken pictures that time, I had to wait until I made paneer again, to take some pictures and do this post. Finally, as promised here is the post on homemade paneer with the step by step pictures. Because  the lighting in my kitchen is not too great, the pictures are not great either, but I hope it gives you all an idea of the process and the steps.

Before moving on to the paneer, there is one other development that I would like to share with my readers. Some of you may have already heard of the Tried and Tasted event started by Zlamushka    This month the event is being hosted by Janet and she has chosen this site for this months theme. Thanks Janet for thinking of this site as a theme for your event. Ever since I have heard this news I have been alternating between excitement and nervousness.  Excited for obvious reasons and nervous that all the recipes that the participants try should work out well :-)

For those of you unfamiliar with this event, the whole premise of Tried and Tasted is that each month a blog is chosen and participants try something from that blog. Hop on over to Janet's announcement for more details on this event.



Ingredients and Method to make Paneer
7 cups whole milk
3 tbsp white vinegar ( I used a combination of both vinegar and lemon since I did not want the vinegar to overwhelm the flavor of paneer, you can use only lemon juice if you want too )
3 tbsp lemon juice

The first step is to prep your colander. Place a colander such as this one, on a large heat safe container. The container should be large enough to hold all the whey when the cheese is strained. Line the colander with a thin cloth, something like a muslin cloth or cheesecloth.

In a large heavy bottomed pan, bring whole milk to a boil. The milk may rise a little before you add the vinegar/ lemon juice so make sure that the container has some room for that.
I have heard that you can flavor the cheese by adding spices/ herbs to the milk at this stage so that the cheese will have some flavor. I have not tried it, mostly because I like my paneer plain and I find that  unflavored whey is more versatile as compared to flavored whey.

 

Once the milk begins to boil and rise, add vinegar or lemon juice one tablespoon at a time. You can use a combination of the two and keep stirring with a spatula. As soon as the vinegar/ lemon juice is added the milk will begin to curdle and will look something like this.....

Continue to keep on heat, adding more  vinegar or lemon juice if required until the mixture looks like this.... I used a total of 6 tbsp of  vinegar+lemon juice for this quantity of milk. If the whey turns slightly greenish, then it means it is ready and can be removed from heat, if it is still milky then you need to keep on heat for a few more minutes.








Pour the curdled milk through the lined colander to strain the cheese

Twist the cloth gently to make sure that the cheese strains entirely












Place a small plat or flat object on top of the cloth and place a heavy object on top of it. I placed my marble mortar on top as it seemed to be the heaviest object in my kitchen.Let the paneer/ cheese drain for about an hour or so. If it is strained too long then it will lose its moisture and become rubbery, about an hour works out well for me.

In an hours time, remove the paneer and place in a ziploc bag and refrigerate, or cut into cubes and use in any recipe of choice. You can store the whey in a glass jar/ bottle in the refrigerator and use it in making the dough for Indian flat breads/rotis/ phulkas, the rotis and phulkas end up becoming very very soft this way. I even use the whey in my chutneys instead of water when I am grinding the chutneys.


Paneer cut into cubes and ready to be used in cooking :-)

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Cilantro Mint Chutney, Paneer Curry and Paneer stuffed Sandwiches

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Recently I mentioned how much I admire people who plan  their menus well in advance and how easy it must make their lives in terms of shopping for groceries etc. I still think that, but I learned recently that sometimes spontaneity in the kitchen  is not really that bad. Yes we sometimes find ourselves without some essential ingredient required in our menu, but sometimes that is what causes us to come up with solutions that turn out well right ? Wondering what I am talking about ?

This is what happened this past week, I wanted to make sandwiches, initially the plan was to make Bombay sandwich with cucumber, tomato, potato etc etc. But suddenly I thought it might be a better idea to make a paneer curry to stuff in the sandwich. The only problem I had no paneer on hand and I did not want to make a trip all the way to the Indian grocery just to pick up this one item.



So I decided to make paneer at home, this was my first try making paneer at home. I relied essentially on my cousin S's tips on making paneer and it turned out fabulously. In less time then it would have taken me to go to the store, I was able to make it at home itself, that too without very much effort. R and I could not get over just how fresh and tasty the paneer turned out, I think I might never go back to store bought paneer after this..... I would have never tried making paneer had I not found myself without it in the nth hour, so this one time my lack of menu planning turned out well for me :-)

Updated to add: Since a lot of you asked for it, I have posted about how to make paneer with stepwise pictures here.

Cilantro Mint Chutney

 

Click here for a printable view of the chutney

Ingredients and Method to make Cilantro Mint Chutney

1 handful mint leaves (about 15 large mint leaves)
1 bunch cilantro (coriander leaves/ hara dhania/ kothamalli) cut fine (yielded 2 packed cups of leaves)
1 thin sliver of ginger (adrak/inji) cut fine
3 thumb sized pieces of tamarind (imli/puli) (optional but recommended, see notes)
3 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or according to taste) cut fine
salt to taste (I used approximately 3/4 tsp)
1/2 tsp cumin seed powder (jeera powder) (optional)
2 and 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plain yogurt (curds/dahi/thayir)

Assemble all the ingredients except salt and lemon, place in a blender and grind until it turns to smooth paste consistency.

Add salt to taste, give it another turn in the blender. Taste test and add lemon juice and give it another turn in the blender
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Remove, keep in a dry airtight container and store in the refrigerator and use in a sandwich or serve with samosas or any other snack or serve as a dip with vegetables. This chutney tastes best within a few days of making it.

Notes:
If you use tart variety of yogurt, you can skip the tamarind. Also if you are avoiding tamarind for any reason and your yogurt is not of the tart kind you can add a little more lemon juice if needed to add a touch of tartness to this chutney

Paneer Curry




Click here for a printable view of the curry

Paneer Curry
Ingredients and Method to make Paneer curry
2 cups of crumbled paneer
1 large onion cut fine
1 large tomato cut fine (optional, see notes)
1 large bell pepper (capsicum) de seeded and into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Tbsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
salt to taste
2 pinches kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala (or any other curry powder)
a Tbsp of water or milk if required

Heat oil in a medium heavy bottomed pan, add cumin seeds when it sizzles add onions and saute until transparent. Add tomatoes (if using) and saute until soft and mushy. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, kasuri methi if using and garam masala, stir a couple of times.
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Then add bell pepper , stir until it is cooked yet crisp. Add paneer, salt to taste and stir a little until it mixes well and absorbs some of the spices. If you need some moisture add a few tbsp of water or milk ( I did not require any but if you use store bought paneer you might need just a little for a little moisture, especially if you do not use tomatoes)

Remove from heat and use as stuffing in a sandwich or as a side dish for rotis/ phulkas

Notes:
The tomatoes are not necessary in this curry, I have made it with and without and both versions taste good. 

Sandwich




To assemble the sandwiches
Whole wheat bread as many slices as required
Cilantro mint chutney as required
Paneer curry as required
a little butter/  oil/ ghee to apply to the top of the bread

Apply chutney as required to two slices of wheat bread. Place a tbsp or two of the above curry on one slice and close with the other. Eat as is or if using a sandwich maker, apply a little oil/ butter/ ghee to the top sides of the bread and place in sandwich maker/ panini maker until it turns golden. Serve with ketchup or tomato sauce.

This entire quantity of curry yielded about 7 to 8 full sandwiches.

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Easy Kadai Paneer ~Indian Cottage Cheese curry ~ With Stepwise pictures

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Few people can seem to resist the taste of paneer (Indian cottage Cheese). Frankly I have yet to come across anyone who dislikes or hates paneer. In addition to be universally well liked, paneer also tends to be very versatile and can be used in a variety of savory and sweet dishes.

 


Kadai paneer is a classic North Indian curry that can be seen on the menu of most Indian restaurants around the world. The taste of this curry defies the simplicity of its preparation. This curry is quick to make, uses mostly regular pantry items and tastes fantastic. You could just as easily use this curry as a filling for a sandwich or a wrap as use it as a side dish with Indian flat breads like naan or chappathis.

If you are looking for recipes with paneer, you can also check out ~
Paneer Masala
Paneer Bhurji
Another version of kadai paneer



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Kadhai Paneer
2 medium onions or 1 very large onion preferably red onions cut fine
2 medium bell peppers (capsicum/ koda molagai) deseeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 medium tomatoes blanched and cut fine
400 gms (14 oz) paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cut into 1/2 inch long pieces or cubes
My post on making paneer at home with stepwise pics can be found here 

1 tbsp oil/butter/ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
3/4 tsp garam masala (or to taste)
4 pinches kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
salt to taste
1/2 cup milk ( see notes)
handful cilantro (coriander leaves) for garnish

Blanch tomatoes, cut them into little pieces and keep aside. My post on blanching tomatoes with stepwise pictures can be found here

Heat oil in a medium to large heavy bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds to it.

When cumin seeds splutter, add onions and saute until onions turn transparent.

Add blanched and cut tomatoes and saute until they start to become soft and mushy.

Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala and kasuri methi in quick succession and stir for a few seconds.

Add bell pepper, stir well and place the lid on the pan to allow bell pepper to soften a little (about a couple of minutes)

Turn down the heat to low to medium low. Add cubed paneer, salt to taste and milk.

Cover the pan with a lid and allow the paneer to cook on low heat until it softens. Remove lid and allow the paneer to cook until most of the milk is absorbed. Stir gently so that paneer holds its shape.

Remove from heat, garnish with finely cut cilantro and serve hot with Indian flat bread or naan or use in sandwiches or in wraps as a filling.

Serves approximately 2-3

Notes:
Its not absolutely essential to add milk, I've seen many versions without milk. Have even made it a few times myself without milk :) , but I find that adding a little milk makes the paneer a little more softer with a better texture that I enjoy, especially when I use store bought paneer.

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Matar Paneer ( Indian curry with Peas and Cottage Cheese)

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I just woke up this morning realizing that we are already into the first week of December, can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday when we rang in the new year and had the whole year ahead of us and already we are seeing the end of the year. Of course I feel that way most years, as if the time just flew away. But this year especially it just seemed to zoom by, almost as if each hour of each day consisted of just five minutes instead of the usual sixty. I feel like I could use at least a couple more months in this year to complete some of the things I planned to before the year comes to an end. Sigh ! talk about wishing for the impossible....

Anyway moving on, here is a classic dish from nothern India called matar paneer which is a curry made out of green peas and Indian cottage cheese. This very popular curry is served in most Indian restaurants around the world. This curry is always a sure winner when included in party menus and is reasonably simple and quick to make too. Usually the paneer (cottage cheese) is deep fried before being added to the curry but I shallow fry these to reduce the oil content and find that it does not impact the taste in any manner.



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and method to make Matar Paneer

3 medium tomatoes blanched and cut fine (see notes)
2 medium onions cut fine
1 12 oz (340gms) pkt paneer cut into cubes
3 cups green peas (either fresh or frozen) ( I used frozen thawed to room temperature)
6 tsp broken cashew pieces
3/4 cup plain yogurt (curds/dahi)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 tsp chilli powder (or according to taste)
3/4 tsp cumin powder (jeera powder)
3/4 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
4 pinches of kasuri methi (optional but recommended)
2 tbsp oil + a little extra for shallow frying the paneer
water as required to cook and achieve required consistency

Powder cashew pieces in a spice grinder or blender until it turns to fine powder. Add the yogurt to the powdered cashews and give it another spin in the blender so that the yogurt and cashews blend together. Keep this mixture aside

Heat a flat pan/ tawa/ griddle, add a few tsp of oil to it and place the cubed pieces of paneer on it and heat on a medium heat turning frequently until the paneer is light brown on all sides. Continue this process until all the paneer cubes are evenly browned and keep aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add onions and saute until onions turn transparent.

Add tomatoes to it and continue to stir until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

Add all the spices and stir for about a minute.

Add green peas, salt to taste and a little water and let it cook until the green peas turn soft but not mushy.

Add paneer cubes, a little water and let it simmer together for a few minutes.

Add the yogurt + cashew mixture and let simmer for a few minutes.

Serve hot with naan, roti or rice.

Serves approximately 3

The process of blanching is to place tomatoes in a large bowl and fill it with hot water. Let soak for a few minutes usually about 5 minutes or so, remove the tomatoes from the hot water and place in cold water for a few minutes until the tomatoes are cool enough to touch. You would be able to see cracks on the skin of the tomato and you just need to peel the skin of the tomato.

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