Tempered mustard and curry leaves, a jammy tomato base, cabbage for bulk.
Serves ~5 · Active ~30 min · Total elapsed ~38 min
Nutrition (calculated)
- Energy ~410 kcal per serve · ~2,060 kcal total
- Protein 23 g · Carbs 11 g · Fat 30 g
Serving count calculated from volume — 600 g paneer across five. Counted on full-fat paneer at ~290 kcal per 100 g.
Equipment
- A wide, deep pan — the finished dish is around 1.5 L, and the cabbage needs surface area to wilt rather than steam.
- A lid within reach for the mustard seeds. They spit.
Ingredients
Grouped by when they’re used.
- Before you start
- 600 g paneer, cubed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 0 min — 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 min — 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 3 min · tempering
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 12 curry leaves
- 4 min — the chopped onion
- 11 min
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 12 min — 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 21 min · spices
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1–1½ tsp salt
- 22 min — 200 g shredded cabbage
- 27 min — the cubed paneer
Serve with
Added per portion, at the plate:
- A squeeze of lemon — half a lemon covers the batch
- Fresh coriander (optional)
Before active cooking
- Cube the paneer (~4 min)
- Chop the onion (~3 min)
- Mustard, cumin and curry leaves out by the pan (~1 min)
The tempering runs on seconds. Nothing that goes in during the first four minutes can be prepped while it happens.
Timeline
Legend
● act │ free ╎ free between stirs
┃ stay at the pan
◆ go when true ◇ stop when true
🔪 prep, into a free window ✓ done
[+n] minutes to your next action
0 min ● OIL IN, medium
[+2] ┃ ◆ until it shimmers, ~2 min
2 min ● MUSTARD SEEDS · lid ready
┃ ◆ until they pop, ~30 s
3 min ● CUMIN + CURRY LEAVES · ~20 s
┃ they will spatter
4 min ● ONION IN, medium
[+7] │ 6–8 min → soft and golden
│
│ 🔪 Mince garlic · grate ginger
│ 🔪 Chop tomatoes
│
11 min ● GARLIC + GINGER · 1 min
┃ don't let them colour
12 min ● TOMATOES IN
[+9] ╎ 8–10 min ◇ thick and jammy
╎
╎ 🔪 Shred cabbage
╎ 🔪 Measure the spices
╎
21 min ● SPICES · ~30 s, stir into the oil
22 min ● CABBAGE IN
[+5] ╎ 5 min → wilted, still with bite
27 min ● PANEER · fold through gently
[+3] ┃ 2–3 min, just warmed through
30 min ● HEAT OFF
✓ DONE
What moved
- Lemon and coriander left the plan. It now ends at heat off, 30 min, and they sit in Serve with instead.
- Juicing and chopping them left the tomato window, which is now 5 minutes of prep in a 9-minute window rather than 7.
- A storage line went with them: it said a fresh squeeze after reheating brings the lemon back. Nothing to bring back now — it is always fresh.
Storage and reheating
Your source gives no storage instructions; this is general practice, not from the recipe.
- Cool, then portion. Keeps 3–4 days in the fridge.
- Reheat gently — low heat with a splash of water, or medium in the microwave. Paneer tightens and turns squeaky on high heat, and it does not recover.
- The cabbage keeps softening over the week. Fine, but day four is not day one.
- Don’t freeze it. Paneer goes spongy and crumbles when thawed.
