Paneer Pepper Dry (Paneer Kadi Patta) is an easy-to-make, flavorful recipe that is crispy on the outside with chewy melt-in-mouth texture inside prepared mainly using curry leaves, peppercorns, and paneer (Indian cottage cheese).

Why do Indians eat paneer?

Paneer is one of the most popular ingredients loved and used in Indian cooking, from sweet to savory dishes. When paneer is prepared fresh at home, it has a soft and melt-in-the-mouth texture. Apart from its taste, it is also considered healthy. It is rich in protein, essential fats, calcium, and vitamin D. Therefore, paneer is considered one of the best ingredients for the traditional Indian vegetarian diet.

I love to call it vegetarian chicken. Whenever there is a party or get-together, non-vegetarians enjoy chicken, and vegetarians have paneer as a special dish. That is because you can easily substitute paneer for chicken in dishes like chicken butter masala, chicken 65, chicken tikka masala, following the same recipe as that for chicken.

Some of my favorite paneer recipes include

PANEER BUTTER MASALA
PANEER IN BUTTER GARLIC CREAM SAUCE - new and loved by my readers
PANEER HARIYALI
PANEER PARATHA
PALAK PANEER
Restaurant-style Paneer Tikka
PANEER TIKKA MASALA
RASMALAI

What is your favorite paneer dish? What recipe would you love to see next on my blog?

Coming back to my paneer pepper dry or paneer kadi patta:

This pepper dry or kadi patta can be prepared in two ways. In the first method, the paneer is deep-fried, while in the second method, the paneer is stir-fried. I have given details for both methods in the recipe.

Restaurants in my home time serve kadi patta and pepper dry, and it is one of the popular items on the menu, especially chicken and mushroom kadi patta and pepper dry. I was craving for kadi patta badly, and I also had a big bunch of curry leaves that I had stored in the refrigerator and which had started to show signs of losing their freshness. So I decided to use it quickly and make this recipe.

This recipe does not require marination, so no waiting or resting time. Just grab a few basic ingredients from your kitchen to make this beautiful recipe.

Ingredients for Paneer Pepper Dry (Paneer Kadi Patta)

2 cups Curry leaves (the more the better for flavor :-))
1 tablespoon Peppercorns (adjust to taste)
400 grams of Paneer cubes
¾ cup Rice flour
2 tablespoon All-purpose flour or corn starch
Salt to taste
Water, as needed
Oil for frying

For final tempering

2 tablespoon Oil
3 tablespoon Garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 Green chilies slit (adjust to taste)
2 Curry leaflets or sprigs
Salt, to taste

How to make Paneer pepper dry or paneer kadi patta

In a pan on medium to low flame, add curry leaves and peppercorns and dry roast until curry leaves become crispy. Switch off the flame and let it cool. Add it to a blender or mixer and blend it to an almost smooth powder.

In a bowl, add rice flour, all-purpose flour, half of the curry leaves & peppercorn powder, and salt to taste. Add water little by little to form a medium-thick paste-like texture. (water required is approx ¾ cup and 1 tablespoon extra, check the video to see the right consistency) . To the above batter, add paneer cubes and toss to combine.

Heat oil in a pan for frying on medium flame. Once hot, drop paneer cubes depending on the size of your pan and fry till they are crisp on the outside. Transfer fried paneer to a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

In another pan, add oil, garlic cloves, green chilies, curry leaves, and saute until garlic becomes lightly golden. Now add remaining curry leaves, pepper mixture, a pinch of salt, fried paneer, and toss to combine. Serve immediately for the best taste and enjoy. If you deep fry paneer cubes as described above, you can also store them in an airtight container and munch them throughout the day.

Tips

To get the perfect texture always fry on medium flame. If you fry on low flame, it will absorb excess oil.
Love spicy food, increase the amount of peppercorns or green chilies or both.
Don't like paneer? You can even use mushroom, cauliflower, tofu, or chicken.
Instead of peppercorns, you can even use pepper powder directly.
I generally prefer coconut oil for frying as I love the flavor it gives to the dish. Use oil of your choice.

If you want to avoid frying, go with this stir fry method. Even this tastes delicious.

Follow the same steps as above till you dry roast curry leaves and peppercorns and make their powder. For stir-fried Paneer Pepper Dry, skip the process of preparing a batter.

In a pan, add 3 tablespoon oil and garlic cloves. Once light-golden, add curry leaves, green chilies, and saute for a minute or two. Transfer this to a plate.

In the same pan, arrange panner in single layer drizzle oil and saute till it's light golden. Add the sauteed garlic mixture from the previous step and the curry-leaves-pepper-powder blend and toss to combine. Serve hot and enjoy.

Where to buy paneer?

Paneer is available in the refrigerator or freezer section in any Indian stores near you. You can prepare it at home by following these easy steps.

Paneer Pepper Dry | Paneer Kadi Patta