KADHAI PANEER

If there is one gravy or side dish which is on everyone’s wishlist while ordering the main course in a restaurant, I would say it is a paneer gravy. When it comes to choice of a paneer gravy, we are usually spoilt for choices in a restaurant – Paneer Butter Masala, Kadai Paneer, Paneer Tikka Masala, Paneer Makhani and the list goes on.

However many feel that most of these dishes taste somewhat similar! In my opinion, that is just a myth! Though the base for most of these dishes are an onion and a tomato based gravy (sometimes accompanied by some cashews), but there are very subtle differences in the ratio of these ingredients and also the way they are cooked which make them quite distinct.

Kadai Paneer is one such dish, which is generally known to be not as creamy as a paneer butter masala or a makhani gravy, as it has some strong and spicy flavours of the freshly ground masala.

It is usually made in onion and tomato based gravy, with the ratio of onions and tomatoes being 1:2. Also this dish makes use of tri-colour bell peppers (red, yellow and green) and I prefer them to keep crunchy in the gravy, as it gives a nice bite in combination with super soft paneer. If you do not find the yellow and red bell peppers, you could just make use of the green capsicum.

Kadai Paneer pairs best with Indian breads like roti, paratha or naan. However my personal favourite is naan, especially garlic butter naan. You could also serve it as a side dish with some basmati rice.

Kadai Paneer (or known as Kadhai Paneer) is an Indian dish made by cooking paneer and bell peppers in a fragrant, freshly ground spice powder. It is usually served with buttered naan, paratha, roti, jeera rice, or steamed basmati rice.