Kadhai Paneer

Ingredients:

Paneer/cottage cheese                                    -250 gms cubed
Tomatoes/tamatar                                          -6 medium, finely chopped
Onions                                                           -4 medium, finely chopped
green chilies/hari mirch                                 -4, Sliced
Garlic/lahsun                                                 -6-7 cloved, Pureed
Ginger/adrak                                                 -2 inch, half pureed and half julienned
Bell peppers/capsicum/shimla mirch            -4, julienned Mixed coloured if available or only green
Bay Leaf/Tej patta                                         -1 big
Cumin Seeds/Jeera                                        -1 tspoon
Black Cardamom/badi ilaichi                        -1
Cinnamon stick/daalchini                              -0.5 inch stick
Kashmiri red chillies                                      -2 Whole
Coriander seeds/dhania seeds                        -1 tblspoon, roasted
Asafetida/Hing                                               -1 pinch
Turmeric powder/haldi                                  -1 tspoon
Coriander powder/Dhaniya                            -1/2 tblspoon
Crushed kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves   -2 tbspoon
Garam masala powder                                    -1/2 tspoon
Fresh Coriander                                              -2 tblspoon chopped
salt                                                                  -to taste
Oil                                                                  -2 tblspoon + To deep fry Paneer if you like it to

Instructions:

In a deep and heavy bottom kadai heat the oil.
Now add the Cumin, Asafetida, Bay leaf, Black Cardamom, Cinnamon stick, and coriander seeds, red chillies.
Now add ginger and garlic puree, saute these till the raw smell disappears.
Now add onions and saute till they start to caramelise.
Now add the chopped tomatoes. saute the tomatoes till they become soft.
After 10 minutes of cooking this mix add turmeric and coriander powder to the tomatoes mix.
Now saute the tomato mix until the whole mixture become like a paste and starts to leave the oil.
Once you see oil in the sides of tomato mix add the capsicum julienne and chopped green chilies.
Cook the capsicum with masalas for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile if you want to fry your Paneer before cooking with masala you can do it now. I did not fry it to make it less oily. But if you go for big quantity cooking do fry the Paneer otherwise mixing with masala in big quantity will break the Paneer cubes easily.
Now add salt and garam masala powder and mix well.
Now its time to add the paneer. Cook the Paneer with masalas for 5 minutes.
lastly add kasuri methi, ginger julienne and coriander leaves mix and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Your Kadhai paneer is ready. It can be served as side dish for your dinner or lunch parties.
serve the kadai paneer hot with Dal makhni, rotis or laccha parantha.