Recipe: KADAI VEGETABLE

Kadai Vegetable

Kadai Vegetable is a favourite of mine when I order food at restaurants. They are made best at the many Shetty restaurants in town. This dish is basically a mix of vegetables in a thick gravy with a few pieces of paneer (cottage cheese) thrown in. I decided to make my own version at home and believe me, it turned out to be finger-licking delicious. It can be served with rotis, naans or pooris. 

INGREDIENTS

Cauliflower – 150-200 gm (cut into flowerets)
French Beans – 50 gm (cut into ½” pieces)
Carrot – 1 (cut into ½” pieces)
Peas – 1 handful
Capsicum – 1 large (cut into squares)
Haldi powder (Turmeric powder) – ¼ tsp
Mirchi powder (Red Chilly powder) – 1 pinch
Garam Masala Powder (Mixed spices powder) – ¼ tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar – ½ tsp
Cream – 1 tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves – 1 tsp
Oil – 3 tbsp
Jeera – ½ tsp
Paneer – 100 gm (cut into small cubes or the way you like it)

For masala

Onion – 2 large (chopped)
Green chillies – 3 
Ginger – ½” piece
Garlic – 4-6 (peeled)
Tej Patta (Bay leaf) – 1
Kadi Patta (Curry leaves) – 5-6 leaves
Coriander seeds – ½ tsp
Jeera (Cumin seeds) – ½ tsp

For gravy

Tomato – 2 medium (chopped)
Cashew nuts – 4 (soaked in water for half an hour)

METHOD

1. Cook the cauliflower, beans, carrot and peas with half a glass of water, a pinch of salt and a pinch of haldi powder. 
2. Take a kadai (saucepan) and keep it on the gas on a low flame. Add the oil and once hot, shallow fry the chopped paneer and remove when golden brown. Keep it in a serving bowl. 
3. Now let the jeera crackle in the remaining oil. Then add the cut capsicum and shallow fry.
4. Add all masala ingredients in a mixer and grind to a smooth paste. Add a bit of water only if required as you grind the masala.
5. Once the capsicum is fried, add the masala to it and stir fry.
6. Add tomato and soaked cashew nuts to the mixer and grind into a smooth paste.
7. Add salt, sugar, haldi powder, mirchi powder and garam masala powder to the cooking mixture. Stir well and allow it to cook for a couple of more minutes.
8. Now add the tomato gravy to the kadai and mix thoroughly before adding salt and sugar.
9. When it begins to boil, add the rest of the boiled vegetables along with the water they were cooked in. (There shouldn’t be too much water. Only half a cup as mentioned above. If there is more, some of it needs to be drained away or the kadai vegetable will become too soggy).
10. Allow the mixture to cook for 2-3 minutes before adding beaten cream and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and switch off the gas.
11. Pour the cooked vegetables in gravy into the serving bowl contained stir fried paneer cubes. Mix well before serving hot with rotis, pooris or naans as you choose.

I promise you that the Kadai Vegetable tastes as delicious as any hotel recipe that you have tasted. Apart from the cutting of veggies, the dish is quite simple to make. 

*The above quantity is enough to serve two large portions.