I have never had "kadai paneer" before, but recently chose to order it from a local Indian restaurant for take-out one night. Although I had relatively low expectations (I thought it would be overly creamy, and light on flavor), the dish was surprisingly tasty — rich flavor that really complemented the chunks of sweet bell peppers and paneer in the dish. Even though I had leftovers that lasted me for at least two additional meals, I decided later that week to recreate the dish at home. I found a few recipes online to guide my attempt at this dish – which I decided would include tofu in place of paneer – and adapted them to suit the flavor I thought I wanted. My first attempt at this dish was pretty fantastic — it really felt that I was eating the restaurant dish again, and I didn't really notice the substitution of tofu for paneer. The only change I will make the next time I make this is to omit some of the crushed red chiles I added during the cooking — I found myself eating a little too much rice and bread to help cool my mouth, and I'd prefer to enjoy more of the dish without those bland fillers.
Kadai Tofu
For approximately 2 – 3 servings.
Ingredients:
- 4 small tomatoes
- 3/4-inch piece of ginger, coarsely chopped
- 2 green chiles
- pinch of hing (optional, available at Indian stores)
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2/3 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- 3/4 tsp. cayenne
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric
- 2 hand-crushed dried red chiles (optional, will likely omit or half next time)
- 2 tbsp. dried kasturi methi (available at Indian stores)
- 1/2 package of extra firm tofu, cubed into 1/2-inch cubes
- 3/4 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 – 3/4-inch pieces
- Salt to taste
Directions:
- Blend tomatoes, ginger, and green chiles in a blender until smooth – I was skeptical of this technique from Manjula's Kitchen, but it really seems to work in the end, so don't let the pale red color worry you!
- In a large saute pan, melt butter on medium heat. When melted, add cumin, minced garlic, and hing, and coat with butter. Cook for 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in onion, and cook until translucent.
- Add tomato mixture, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric and cook down for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the crushed red chiles and kasturi methi leaves and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Tomato mixture should have a gravy-like, not soup-like, consistency.
- Add tofu and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook for 5 – 7 minutes or until warmed through, stirring occasionally. I think I may have covered the mixture at this point, but don't remember :-(.
- Stir in the bell pepper, and continue cooking until tofu and bell pepper cooked to taste. Add additional salt to taste.
Leave a Reply