If you're looking for a creamy, comforting bowl of Indian flavor that's a little bit richer than your usual weeknight fare, you've come to the right place. We're taking the beloved, humble Dal Fry—the soul food of Indian kitchens—and elevating it to a whole new level of deliciousness with the addition of golden, soft cubes of Paneer (Indian cottage cheese). This isn't just a lentil dish; it's a hearty, protein-packed main course where the earthy warmth of slow-cooked lentils meets a velvety, spice-infused tomato base, culminating in those delightful pockets of chewy, milky paneer. Get ready to ditch the takeout menu, because this Dal Fry with Paneer is about to become your family's new favorite, satisfying every craving for comfort and spice in a single, glorious spoonful.
So there you have it—your own pot of Dal Fry with Paneer, rich with flavor and deeply satisfying. This dish truly is the definition of comfort food: simple ingredients transformed into a luxurious meal that warms you from the inside out. Whether you serve it with fluffy Basmati rice, dunking soft pieces of Naan into that velvety gravy, or just enjoy it on its own, I hope this recipe brings a little bit of that authentic Indian warmth to your table. Don't forget to leave a comment below and let me know how your family enjoyed it, or what your favorite serving suggestion is! Happy cooking, and I'll see you in the next post! 😋😊
Preparation time - 5 to 7 minutes
Soaking time - 15 minutes
Cooking time - 15 minutes
Serves - 2 persons
Ingredients to make Paneer Packed Dal fry:
1/4 cup toor dal
1/4 cup chana dal
2 tablespoon yellow moong dal
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon jeera/cumin
2 kashmiri red chillies whole
1 tablespoon crushed garlic paste
1 tablespoon crushed ginger paste
1 teaspoon crushed green chilli
1/2 cup finely chopped or crushed onion
1 small finely chopped or crushed tomato
1 teaspoon kasuri methi
1 teaspoon asafoetida/hing
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tablespoon coriander cumin powder
1 cup paneer cubes
Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
To serve with:
Lachha onion
Method to make Paneer Packed Dal Fry:
- Wash and soak all dals in hot water for minimum 15 minutes.
- After that again wash and change the water. Pressure cook them.
- In a frying pan heat oil and ghee. Add jeera and let them crackle.
- First of all add whole red chillies to it.
- Add chilli, ginger, garlic and onion to it. You can crush all of them together. Add asafoetida to it and mix well.
- Let them cook for 2 minutes. Now it's time to add tomato to it. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add all dry spices to it and mix well. Add 1/2 cup water to avoid burning of spices. Mix well and cook untill all the ingredients are soft. Add paneer cubes in it and mix well so that spices can coat paneer.
- Add boiled dal to it and mix well.
- Cook it for minimum 5 minutes at medium flame. Stir occasionally.
- Our piping hot Paneer Packed Dal Fry is ready to serve.
- Serve it with any kind of Indian bread, rice and papad. It tastes good with Bajra (millet) roti also.
Tips:
- You can also add masoor dal, green moong dal and urad dal to it. But the proportion of these dals should be very less.
- Even you can add extra tadka at the time of serving. For that heat oil and ghee in a tadka pan. Add jeera and later add hing and red chilli powder to it. That's it.
- To make lachha onion stir fry onion slicees in few drops of oil for just one minute. And later sprinkle some salt and red chilli powder over it.
