Chilli Paneer (Dry)

Chilli Paneer (Dry)

Chilli Paneer is a fusion dish, an Indo Chinese dish, an absolutely sumptuous and tasty starter dish that is popular in India. It can be categorized as a vegan style alternative for chilly chicken. Loaded with calcium, phosphorous, vitamins and minerals, Paneer is good for growth and development of teeth, bones, nail, hair etc..

During Lent season, Paneer/ Cottage cheese is a regular item in my shopping list and everyone enjoys the different Paneer varieties like Paneer Butter, Palak Paneer, Paneer Korma, Paneer Matar etc. with rice and Rotis. Paneer is easily available in markets and it is essential you use good quality Paneer. I used Malai Paneer for this recipe and the result was just marvelous. You can also use Tofu for preparing this. Tofu is prepared by coagulating Soy Milk, while Paneer is an Asian version of fresh cheese or curd cheese.

This recipe is for making dry Chilli Paneer, and can be had as starter or as a filling in rotis and can be had as Chilli Paneer wrap. It can be prepared with gravy and served as side dish with fried rice, Noodles, Chilli Garlic fried rice etc. Kids will surely love this dish as it is not very spicy but mild and delectable. If you want it spicy you can adjust the chilli measures. Hope you will also try this recipe and enjoy restaurant style Chilli Paneer at home. You should try my other Indo Chinese specials like Soya Manchurian, Szechuan Chilli Chicken, Chicken Noodles, Spring rolls, Chilli Fish, Gobi Manchurian etc. I don’t use MSG in my dishes, still it tastes awesome. So let us together make  this easy Chilli Paneer recipe!!

Cuisine : Indo-chinese

Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients for Batter:

Chilli Paneer Ingredients

Ingredients for Chilli Paneer gravy:

Chilli Paneer Ingredients

Method:

Pat dry and cut the Paneer into small cubes. Make a medium thick batter with Maida, corn flour, pepper powder, ChillI Powder, soy sauce, ginger garlic paste, salt and water. Coat the Paneer cubes with this batter and deep fry in oil till golden brown. Set aside.

Chilli Paneer Preparation

Remove excess oil from the pan, and keep enough oil for sautéing. Cut the onion into cubes, slice green chillies diagonally and cut the capsicum into cubes. Heat oil, add the chillies and then Onion and stir fry for few seconds. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir fry for few seconds. Once the onion becomes pale, add pepper powder, Chilli Powder and Sauté.

Chilli Paneer Preparation

Add the cubed Capsicum and turn off the heat. Mix Soy sauce, Vinegar, Chilly Sauce and sugar in a bowl.

Heat the pan again and add this mix to the pan. Adjust the salt. Add the chopped spring onions and celery and the fried Paneer cubes. Mix well and serve hot.

Tips:

• Add more green chilies or chilli powder if you like it spicy.
• Adding sugar is to balance the flavors and seasoning.
• The soy sauce used is dark soy sauce, if you are using light soy sauce, add more to get the desired taste.
• The Onions and capsicum should not be overcooked so just stir fry for few seconds.
• If you can get White Onion, it is the best for dry version as it stays crispy and gives more visual appeal.
• If you like with gravy, add 1 cup water and adjust the measure of sauces and add corn flour to make it a thick gravy.

Please try this Chilli Paneer recipe and let me know if your feedback or share with your friends through the share buttons on the side. It will definitely motivate me. Thanks!! God Bless!!