Kadai Vegetable
Kadai vegetable is a very aromatic mixed vegetable side dish accompanying many Indian breads and main course rice dishes. This is a Punjabi style side dish famous for its crunchy vegetables and spicy taste. Unlike some creamy gravies, this one is very light on the stomach and quite easy to make!
Many years ago, I used to live next to this little shack of a restaurant. And they might have made the tastiest Kadai vegetable I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. So now when I make my own at home, I am always reminded of my much younger self scooping out the very last bit of gravy with my naan bread.
Sometimes I don’t know what to do with small bits of random veggies in the fridge, and a mixed vegetable curry is a great way to use them up. It also goes with any carb like rice or bread so it’s super convenient.
Ingredients
Potato – 1 medium sized
French Beans – 1 handful
Carrot – 1 medium sized
Fresh peas – 1 handful
Fresh corn – 1 handful
Green capsicum – 1 medium sized
Tomato – 1 large sized
Onion – 1 large sized
Coriander leaves finely chopped – 2 tbsp
Green chillies slit – 3 (or to taste)
Ginger finely chopped – 1 tbsp
Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) – 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp (or to taste)
Jaggery grated or brown sugar – 1 tsp
Greek yoghurt or hung yoghurt – 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Fresh milk – 3 tbsp
Kada masala powder – 2 tbsp
Butter – 1 tbsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Yield
Serves 4
Prep time
15 mins to make the Kada masala powder
15 mins to cut the vegetables
10 mins to boil the vegetables
Cook time
25 minutes
Method
1) Peel the potato. Chop the French beans, carrot, peeled potato, capsicum and the tomato into cubes. Set aside the capsicum alone. Chop the onion finely.
2) Take the potato, peas, carrot, French beans and corn in a wide pan, add water to completely cover it. Add 1/4 tsp salt and boil it until the veggies are almost cooked but not soft and mushy. Immediately drain this in a colander and wash with cold water. Set aside.
3) In a heavy bottomed pan (kadai) heat butter and oil together. Add the cumin seeds when the oil is hot enough and let it splutter.
4) Immediately add the slit green chillies and the ginger. Sauté for a minute on low heat. Now add the onion and a pinch of salt. Fry in medium heat until golden.
5) Now simmer the heat, add the turmeric powder and the kada masala powder. Sauté for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and add half the quantity of salt at this stage. Mix and add 2 or 3 tbsp of water. Cover the pan and cook for 5 mins on low flame.
6) Now open the pan and the tomato would have cooked 50% and the whole gravy will be very aromatic. Mix the milk with yoghurt and add it to the gravy. Mix nicely. Cover the pan once more and let it cook for another 2 to 3 mins. At this stage whatever oil/butter we added at the beginning will start to float on top of the gravy.
7) Now add the vegetables, the remaining salt, jaggery/sugar, cubed capsicum and kasoori methi. Mix properly and cover the pan again. Let it cook on low heat for 4 to 5 mins.
8) By now the vegetables would have absorbed all the flavors from the gravy. Garnish with coriander leaves and take off the heat. Serve your kadai vegetable hot with jeera rice, plain rice, roti, poori, paratha, naan, kulcha or even toasted bread.
Notes
- If you are making this for a party crowd, then you can also boil the vegetables and refrigerate it the previous day. This way the cooking time for this dish will be reduced significantly.
- If you do not have butter then adding ghee along with oil is also a great option. Adding butter or ghee gives a rich aroma to the kadai vegetable.
- If greek yoghurt is not available, then make hung yoghurt at home and use that instead. Labneh is a good alternative for those who live in middle eastern countries.
- Mixing milk with greek yoghurt/hung yoghurt/labneh gives a silky smooth texture and creamy taste. This is a great alternative for fresh cream. Store bought fresh cream is easy to use, but very heavy on the stomach. So choose either of the options according to your preference.
- Adding capsicum right at the end helps in retaining the color and crunch.
- You can also add cauliflower and paneer cubes to this dish along with the other vegetables. Cauliflower florets should be blanched and added along with the capsicum. Add the paneer cubes also at this final stage.
Pro tips
- The key ingredient is the kada masala powder, best made fresh at home in small batches. Store bought ones lose their flavor after a few weeks of opening the packet. Also it is quite economical to make it at home. Make your own kada masala powder with this recipe here!
