Tasty & Easy to make Kadai Paneer
Tasty & Easy to make Kadai Paneer
This quick and simple Kadai Paneer recipe only takes 15 minutes to prepare, and I love it! This is ideal for those hectic days when you have little time to prepare dinner. It tastes great and goes well with naan or roti!
This recipe makes an instant version of kadai paneer using a bottle of pasta sauce, yes, store bought pasta sauce! Before you raise your eyebrows, let me assure you that this actually works.
The sauce serves as the foundation for the curry, which is flavoured with spices, butter, and cream. The spices, kasuri methi, butter, and cream add authenticity and closeness to the real thing. For the amount of effort and time required (only 15 minutes), this turns out fantastic and I am excited to share the recipe with you guys!
Ingredients
The ingredient list might seem long, especially the number of spices used but we need them to get as close to the real flavor as possible. It comes together super quickly I promise!
Pasta Sauce: for this instant and easy kadai paneer recipe, you need a good quality pasta sauce. Since the flavor of the sauce depends on the sauce, I recommend using a brand which tastes good. I love using Rao’s marinara sauce for this recipe (not sponsored, it’s just my favorite brand of store bought pasta sauce).
Spices: I use quite a bit of spices here to make the store bought pasta sauce taste like an authentic Indian sauce. So there’s coriander powder, garam masala, chili powder, cardamom powder and Kashmiri red chili powder for that nice red color. And of course there has to be some kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) for flavor.
Butter & cream: to give the curry a little creaminess and sweetness, we use butter and cream. I love using salted Amul butter here.
Step by Step Instructions
Before you start make sure to soak paneer in warm water for 20 minutes. This is especially important if you are using frozen paneer or the ones sold in stores in US. If using fresh paneer, you can skip this step.
1- To a large pan/kadai, add 1 tablespoon oil on medium heat. To that add your quartered onions (petals separated) and cut bell peppers.
2- Sauté them for 3 to 4 minutes until they soften a little. Then remove them on a plate and set aside.
3- To the same pan, now add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Then add store bought marinara sauce (I love using Rao’s brand). Add around 1 & 1/2 to 1& 3/4 cup of marinara sauce. Mix it well.
4- Then add the following:
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (for color)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 teaspoon sugar
salt, to taste, around 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon
Mix and cook the spices for around 30 seconds.
5- Add 1 tablespoon butter (I recommend using Amul butter) and 2 to 3 tablespoons cream. Mix until it’s combined and butter melts.
6- Now add 1 tablespoon crushed kasuri methi and mix.
7- Add in the paneer cubes along with the sautéed onions and peppers.
8- Mix everything together, garnish with cilantro. Your 15 minute Kadai Paneer is now ready to be served! Enjoy with naan or rotis!
Serving Suggestion
You can serve this easy kadai paneer with naan or tandoori roti.
Or with jeera rice.
Which Pasta Sauce To Use
This recipe is made with marinara sauce but honestly I have used different sauces like arrabiata sauce and that works well too.
Make sure to use a good brand of pasta sauce. I love Rao’s brand! Rao’s marinara has thick texture with some tomato chunks in it which give the base a good texture.
Re-heating Instructions
To re-heat, I recommend using a microwave. To re-heat in a pan, add some water and then cover the pan with a lid and let it heat for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. This way paneer pieces will soften again.
Tips & Notes
Use good quality marinara sauce for best results. I recommend the brand Rao’s or Lucini.
The sauce already has salt in it so adjust salt levels to taste.
To make it spicier, you can add some sliced green chilies or add more of the red chili powder.
The cream, butter and sugar helps balance the tartness of tomatoes so do not skip on those.
You can add more butter or cream to make it richer/creamier.
You may add some ginger-garlic paste as well.
Comments
Post a Comment