Kadai Paneer Recipe (Restaurant Style)

Out of the many kadai preparations that are popular in North Indian restaurants across the globe, Kadai Paneer is one of the most loved vegetarian variants. Kadai Paneer recipe is a tangy, deeply spiced dish that is perfect for enjoying all year round. Made with pantry staples like onions, tomatoes, capsicum (green bell peppers) and Indian spices, this paneer dish comes together in 30 minutes. Here, I have shared a semi-dry restaurant style version.

About Kadai Paneer

As I have mentioned above, Kadai Paneer is a North Indian/Punjabi dish featuring soft paneer cubes cooked in a spicy, aromatic tomato-based gravy with sautéed onions and capsicum, infused with freshly ground kadai masala.

As the name suggests, Kadai Paneer is made with Indian cottage cheese, a.k.a paneer – a soft cheese that does not melt. Apart from being prepared in a kadai, a special kadai masala also adds to the unique rustic flavor of this dish.

The word ‘kadai’ or ‘karahi’ refers to a humble piece of Indian cookware, similar to a Chinese wok but with steeper sides, greater depth, and more thickness. Since the entire dish is typically made in a kadai, it is aptly named Kadai Paneer.

Paneer is a fresh cheese made by curdling milk with an acidic food ingredient like lemon juice or vinegar. Unlike American-style cottage cheese, which is loose and made of individual curds, paneer is firm (like tofu), non-melting, and can be easily cut into cubes – making it the perfect choice for this Kadai Paneer recipe.

Due to its texture and firmness, paneer makes an excellent addition in other Indian curry recipes like Paneer Butter Masala, Palak Paneer, Shahi Paneer and Matar Paneer as well as various sabjis, stir-fries, and salads.

Kadai Paneer is one of the easiest and most delicious paneer recipes you can make.

Why This Recipe Works

This restaurant-style Kadai Paneer makes a semi-dry, mildly spiced dish with bold, rustic flavors. Its signature taste comes from freshly ground kadai masala, where coriander seeds and Kashmiri dried red chilies are the key spices.

If you do not have whole spices, you can substitute with spice powders like turmeric, Kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala, and coriander powder. Still, I highly recommend preparing the fresh kadai masala, as it lends a richer and deeper flavor.

In addition to paneer, onions, capsicum (green bell peppers), and tomatoes are the classic ingredients that complete the dish, along with a few select herbs and spices.

This simple yet flavorful recipe is adapted from the renowned cookbook Prashad – Cooking with Indian Masters by Jiggs Kalra.

How to make Kadai Paneer

Make Kadai Masala

1. In a spice-grinder, mixer-grinder or mortar-pestle, take 1.5 tablespoons coriander seeds and 5 to 6 Kashmiri dried red chilies.

Tip: Tear or break the dried chilies and remove the seeds before you make the kadai masala. Also, ensure that your spices are fresh and without any molds or insects.

2. Grind to a semi fine powder or a fine powder if you prefer. Set the ground kadai masala aside.

Sauté Onions, Tomatoes & Spices

3. In a kadai or wok or a sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil. Add ⅓ to ½ cup finely chopped onions.

4. Sauté onions on medium-low to medium heat until they soften and turn translucent.

5. Then, add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste.

6. Sauté for a few seconds or till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.

7. Next, add 2.5 to 3 cups finely chopped tomatoes.

The tomatoes have to be ripe, red and sweet. If tomatoes are not in season, I recommend using canned tomatoes that you pulse in a food processor.

8. Mix well and sauté tomatoes on medium-low to medium heat 3 to 4 minutes.

9. Then, add the prepared kadai masala to the tomatoes.

10. Mix well. Sauté till the entire mixture turns into a paste and starts separating from the oil. (This method is called ‘bhunao‘ in Hindi.)

This onion-tomato masala will also begin to thicken and become glossy.

Sauté Capsicum

11. Add ¾ to 1 cup capsicum juliennes (thin slices).

12. Sauté the capsicum on medium-low to medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

Note: You can use red, orange, yellow or green colored capsicum, or a mix of various colored bell peppers.

13. Add 1 to 2 slit green chilies (or 1 small serrano pepper) and about ½ cup water.

Note: Add about 1 cup water, or as needed, to get a pouring consistency. You can make the dish dry or with some gravy by adding less or more water.

14. Mix very well and sauté until the capsicum is al dente.

Note: If you like, you can cook the capsicum until soft, but I prefer keeping a slight crunch in the dish.

15. Once the capsicum is cooked to your liking, add ½ teaspoon garam masala powder and salt as required. Mix these with the rest of the masala.

Make Restaurant Style Kadai Paneer

16. Next, add 250 grams cubed paneer.

17. Again, mix very well.

18. Lastly, add 1 teaspoon crushed dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), ginger juliennes (from 1 inch ginger) and 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves. Mix again and switch off the heat.

Note: If you do not have kasuri methi, then simply omit them. Fresh ginger is a must, so do not skip. It imparts a fresh, zesty flavor to the dish.

19. Serve Kadai Paneer hot with chapati, naan or Paratha

Serving Suggestions

This semi-dry Kadai Paneer tastes good with any kind of Indian flatbreads like Naan, paratha or Roti. It also pairs nicely with Pudina Paratha or Roomali Roti.

You can also have it with bread or dinner rolls (Pav), it’ll just taste as good as it does with the flatbreads. Make sure to serve with a side of onion rings and lemon wedges.

A more innovative idea would be to make grilled sandwiches, toasties, wrap or Kathi Roll with this restaurant style Kadai Paneer recipe; they simply taste incredible. Add some melting cheese to make these warm dishes even more tasty.

You can also make a Pizza with this semi-dry Kadai Paneer and mozzarella cheese as toppings.

Expert Tips

1. Paneer: It is best to use homemade paneer, whenever possible. Although you can also use packaged store-bought paneer. Read the instructions on the package on how to use the paneer. Frozen paneer cubes need to be soaked in hot water before adding in the dish.
2. Tomato: Use red, ripe and sweet tomatoes. Avoid using tart, green or sour tomatoes.
3. Onion: You can use either red, yellow or white onions. All work well in this dish.
4. Capsicum (bell pepper): Green bell pepper/capsicum is essentially added in this dish. But you can break the norm and use red or yellow bell pepper too. With red or yellow bell pepper, the dish will have subtle sweet tones.
5. Homemade kadai masala: Coriander seeds and dried red chillies go in the kadai masala, making it aromatic and pungent. You can also add a bit of cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom in the masala, if you like.
6. Dried red chillies: If Kashmiri chillies are unavailable, use any Indian dried red chilies with a low-medium heat quality. Highly pungent hot chillies will make the recipe too spicy. Change the quantity depending on the spiciness of the chillies. Since red chilies are added in the recipe, you do not need to add red chili powder.
7. How to grind the spices: The spices for kadai masala can be easily ground in a small grinder or a spice grinder. To make the pounding easier in a mortar pestle, dry roast the red chilies and coriander seeds first.
8. Cooking in a pan: No kadai? No problem. Simply use a frying pan or a sauté pan or a wok.
9. Garnish: Do not forget to garnish the dish with some ginger juliennes and fresh coriander leaves (cilantro).
10. Vegan option: Use tofu, instead of paneer and use oil, instead of butter or ghee (clarified butter).

FAQs

Kadai Paneer recipe from the archives was first published on September 2009.