Cottage Cheese, Cooked With Whole Red Chillies In Tomato Based Gravy

The ‘kadhai’ is a traditional deep and heavy-bottomed pan, a classic must-have in an Indian kitchen. A beloved kadhai may even be passed down from one generation of a family to the next.

Those who cook regularly in their favourite kadhai sometimes even make the extravagant claim that a curry cooked in any other pot just won’t taste the same. This preparation gets its name because it is traditionally cooked in a kadhai.  The addition of capsicum adds an extra crunch to it. 

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

SERVES: 4

TASTES: hot 

INGREDIENTS

250gm cottage cheese (paneer)

4 whole dry red chillies

1½ tsp coriander seeds

6 whole black pepper corns

2 inch ginger piece

1 onion, medium

2 green chillies                                          

1 tomato, large 

1 capsicum

For the Tempering:

½ tsp cumin seeds

2 onions, medium

2 tsp garlic paste

2 tsp ginger paste

2 tomatoes, large

1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves, crushed

½ tsp garam masala powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder

¼ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder

½ tsp coriander powder

½ tsp salt or according to taste

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp ginger, julienned for garnishing

 METHOD

Cut cottage cheese into 1½ inch cubes, cover and set aside for later use.

Dry roast whole red chillies, coriander seeds and whole black pepper corns in a frying pan over medium flame till aromatic. Remove from the flame to cool. Pound 

roasted whole red chillies, coriander seeds and whole black pepper corns in a mortar and pestle to create a coarse powder (or coarse grind them in a food processor). Set aside.

Peel, wash and julienne ginger; peel, wash and cut onion into big chunks; wash and cut tomato and capsicum into chunks. Slit green chillies and place everything in one bowl.

 For the Tempering:

Heat oil in a heavy-based pan over medium flame.

Add cumin seeds, when they start to sizzle, add chopped onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic paste, stir for a few seconds and then add ginger paste and sauté for 30 seconds.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly or until they are soft. Add fenugreek leaves, stir, add garam masala powder, turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder and coriander powder, mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of water and stir until the oil surfaces.

Add the slit green chillies, julienned ginger, chunks of capsicum, tomato and onion to the mixture, mix until everything is well combined.  

Add cottage cheese cubes followed by grounded whole red chilli powder to the mixture and mix well (add 1 tablespoon of water only if you feel that the mixture is too dry and sticking to the bottom of the pan. The dish does not have a liquid gravy and calls for a drier end results). Season with salt, mix, cover and let simmer for 1-2 minutes to warm up the cottage cheese and till everything is well combined.

Transfer Kadhai Paneer to a serving dish and garnish with the julienned ginger.

Serve hot with butter naan.

 RUBY’S TIP

Shallow-fry the paneer cubes in 1 tablespoon of oil and add them to the mixture just before serving.

You can also lightly fry chunks of onion and capsicum to make the dish more interesting.