Chilli Paneer Recipe (Spicy Indo Chinese Style)
Chilli Paneer stands out as a renowned Indian Chinese dish, consisting of paneer cubes coated in a crisp batter, deep-fried to perfection, and then combined with a lively sauce. This sauce, crafted from green bell peppers, garlic, ginger, green chillies, and a blend of seasonings, brings together a harmonious blend of spiciness, saltiness, tanginess, and sweetness. Embodying the essence of restaurant-style cuisine, this Chilli Paneer recipe boasts an authentic taste and flavor.
Ingredients
For Batter
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (also known as cornflour in India)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper or black pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder or sweet paprika
- salt as required
- ¼ cup water or add as required
For Frying Paneer
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 200 to 250 grams Paneer – cut in cubes
For Chilli Paneer Gravy Or Sauce
- ⅓ cup spring onions – chopped or 2 small sized spring onions (scallions)
- 2 to 3 green chillies – slit or sliced
- 2 teaspoons ginger – finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons garlic – finely chopped
- ½ cup capsicum – sliced or 1 small green bell pepper
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce – naturally brewed
- 1 teaspoon red chilli sauce – spicy tasting
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder or sweet paprika
- ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or add as required
- salt as required
- ½ to ⅔ cup water or add as required
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (also known as cornflour in india)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water for dissolving cornstarch
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar – optional
- 2 to 3 tablespoons spring onion greens – chopped, to be added later
Instructions
Making Batter
- In a bowl take 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour.
- Next add 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger, 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic, ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper or black pepper powder and ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder. Also season with salt as required.
- Add ¼ cup water or add as required.
- With a wired whisk or a spoon mix very well to get a smooth batter without any lumps.
- Now add paneer cubes in the batter.
- With a spoon gently coat the paneer cubes with the batter.
Frying Paneer
- Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan. Let the oil become medium hot.
- Carefully and gently place the batter coated paneer cubes in the moderately hot oil. Fry the paneer cubes on medium heat.
- When one side looks crispy and golden, flip each paneer cubes and fry the second side.
- Flip a couple of times and fry till the paneer cubes are crisp and golden. Also do not over do the frying as then the paneer cubes can become chewy.
- Remove the fried paneer cubes and place them on kitchen paper towels for the extra oil to be absorbed.
Making Chilli Paneer
- In the same pan, there will be some oil left. So no need to add any extra oil. Add 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger, 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic and 2 to 3 green chillies (slit or sliced).
- Stir fry on medium to high heat for some seconds.
- Then add ⅓ cup chopped spring onions.
- Stir fry spring onions for 1 to 2 minutes on medium to high heat.
- Next add ½ cup sliced capsicum.
- Stir fry on medium to high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. The capsicum only needs to be slightly cooked.
- Lower the heat and then add ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder.
- Then add 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon red chilli sauce.
- Stir and mix the sauces and red chilli powder with the remaining stir fried ingredients in the pan.
- Add ½ to ⅔ cup water and mix well.
- Let the mixture come to a simmer on medium to medium-high heat.
- Meanwhile take 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a small bowl.
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water for dissolving cornstarch.
- Mix very well to get a smooth and fine slurry or paste.
- Lower the heat and then add this cornstarch slurry or paste to the prepared sauce in the pan.
- As soon as you add cornflour slurry to the sauce, mix it very well so that no lumps are formed.
- Add ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or as required.
- Season with salt as per taste. Do keep a check on salt as soy sauce and red chilli sauce already have salt in them.
- Mix very well and simmer till the sauce has slightly thickened and the corn starch has cooked.You can check the taste and you should not feel any raw taste coming from the cornstarch in the sauce.
- Add the fried paneer cubes.
- Mix paneer cubes very well with the sauce.
- Turn off the heat and then add ¼ to ½ teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar. You can skip vinegar if you prefer.
- Then add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped spring onions greens.
- Mix very well. Check the taste of gravy and if you want, you can add more soy sauce, chilli sauce, salt, black pepper or sugar.
- Serve restaurant-style Chilli Paneer garnished with some spring onions.
Nutrition
Calories: 408kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 11gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 767mgPotassium: 148mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gCalcium: 346mgIron: 1mg
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