Paneer Corn Capsicum Masala
Restaurant-style paneer corn capsicum masala with grated paneer, julienned peppers, and sweet corn in a tomato-cashew gravy.
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai Indian wok
- Blender
- Box grater
- Small bowl for soaking cashews
Ingredients
For the corn and peppers
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- 3/4 cup sweet corn kernels fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned and drained
- 1 large bell pepper (capsicum) or 2 small, julienned, about 2 cups strips, green or green and red
For the cashew paste
- 6 cashews
- 1/4 cup hot water for soaking
For the gravy
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 3 garlic cloves minced, or 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 green chilli slit
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped, about 1 cup
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3/4 cup warm water plus more as needed
For the finish
- 100 g paneer about 1 cup loosely grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh cream
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed between your palms
To garnish
- fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon cream optional
Instructions
Soak, grate, and sauté
- Soak the cashews in 1/4 cup hot water for 15 minutes.
- Grate the paneer on the large holes of a box grater. Keep it in a bowl. Do not pack it down.
- Heat 1 tablespoon butter in the kadhai over medium-high. Add the corn and julienned peppers. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes until the peppers just start to shrink but still feel snappy. Tip them onto a plate.
Build the gravy
- In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon, and cardamom. Let them sizzle 30 seconds.
- Add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook 6 to 8 minutes until soft and light gold, not burnt.
- Add ginger, garlic, and green chilli. Cook 1 minute until the raw smell goes.
- Add the tomatoes, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt. Cook 5 to 6 minutes until the tomatoes collapse and oil collects at the edges.
- Tip the masala into the blender with the soaked cashews and their water. Blend until completely smooth. Return it to the pan.
- Add 3/4 cup warm water and stir until it loosens into a gravy that coats a spoon.
Add corn, peppers, then paneer
- Stir the sautéed corn and julienned peppers back in. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes on low. The peppers should still have a little bite. Add a splash of water if the gravy is catching.
- Stir in cream, garam masala, and crushed kasuri methi. Taste for salt. The gravy should taste a little sweet from the corn and savory from the tomato.
- Take the pan off the heat. Fold in the grated paneer. Let it sit 1 minute so the threads soften in the gravy. Do not boil after the paneer goes in.
- Garnish with cilantro and a spoon of cream if you want. Serve hot.
Notes
Frozen corn is fine. Thaw it, or if the kernels feel hard, boil 2 to 3 minutes and drain before the sauté.
Canned corn: drain well and pat dry so it does not water the gravy.
Julienne, not cubes. Strips about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide. Chunks belong in paneer capsicum masala.
Grate on the large holes. Fine grater makes paste. Packaged paneer that feels dry can soak in warm water 10 minutes, then pat dry before grating.
Two tablespoons of grated paneer is a garnish, not this recipe. Use about 100 g.
No cream: the cashew paste already gives body. Skip the cream, or use 2 tablespoons unsweetened cashew cream.
Vegan: oil instead of butter, and grate firm tofu or skip the paneer and use extra cashew cream. The name changes if you skip paneer.
Jain: skip onion and garlic. Bloom a pinch of hing with the cumin, use 1 extra tomato, and blend 8 cashews so the gravy still has body.
Leftover onion tomato masala works. Use about 3/4 cup, skip the onion-tomato cook, and still blend it with the soaked cashews.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently with a splash of water. The peppers soften on day two. Do not freeze. Grated paneer turns grainy.
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