Chilli Paneer
I felt like something different today so I decided to make this Chilli Paneer. It may sound strange but I want to add it to my Garlic Butter Naan Bread and make it into a wrap with a fresh salad. Let me tell you it was yum!
So don’t judge…Lol! Feel free to have it with rice too. Either way it’s still totally yum!
What is Chilli Paneer
Chilli Paneer is an Indo-Chinese dish. Cubes of paneer is coated in a batter and fried. It is then added to an Asian-style sauce which consists of soya sauce, vinegar, chilli sauce and tomato sauce.
The tanginess and the heat from the chilli makes this dish mouthwatering.
Quick and Easy
This Chilli Paneer Recipe comes together so quickly with just a few ingredients. It makes a great weeknight dinner too. If you are using store-bought paneer it really does become a super easy dish to create.
Today I did cheat and I bought the Paneer but you can make you own. It really is easy to make.
What is Indo- Chinese
Indo-Chinese cooking is Indian ingredients and flavours combined with Chinese cooking techniques and ingredients.
Cooking the Chili Paneer
You can cook a dry version of this dish, which is how I did it today. Alternatively you can have a more saucy dish if you prefer. The difference is the extra water that you add to turn it into a saucy dish.
Light Soy Sauce or Dark Soy Sauce
Personally I prefer the Dark Soy Sauce for this dish. However, you can use light soy sauce too if you wish. The dark soy sauce is definitely richer, thicker and a little sweeter than the Light Soy Sauce.
It is also not as salty as the light soy sauce. So I think it works really well for this Chilli Paneer.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. If you do try it please drop me a comment and a star rating, it is always appreciated.
More Recipes to try:
Chilli Paneer
Ingredients
Frying the Paneer
- 200 gram paneer cut into cubes
- 3 tbsp cake wheat flour/all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup water you may not require all of it
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
Sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 3 tbsp chilli sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar or white vinegar
- pinch of sugar
Chilli Paneer
- 1 small onion chopped into cubes
- 2 tbsp white parts of spring onion save the green to garnish
- 1 green pepper chopped into cubes
- 2 green chillies slit in halves
- 1 large clove garlic
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tbsp water
Slurry
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp cornflour
Instructions
Frying the Paneer
- Mix the flour, cornflour, salt, chilli powder and water together to make a batter. Depending on how thick or thin you prefer it, you may not need all of the water
- Add the paneer cubes to the batter and gently coat the paneer
- Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a pan and fry the paneer. Ensure that all sides are fried, they will be brown and crisp
- Drain on a paper towel
Sauce
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Use a whisk and whisk it all together into a smooth paste. Set aside
- For the slurry mix the cornflour and water and set aside
Chilli Paneer
- Add the minced garlic to the same pan the paneer was fried in, using the excess oil. Fry the garlic for a minute or until fragrant
- Add the spring onion, onion, pepper and chilli and saute on high heat for about 2 minutes
- Lower the temperature. Stir in the sauce and the cornflour slurry and allow it to cook for a couple of minutes. Add more water if you prefer more sauce
- Add the paneer and season with more salt if required and pepper. Garnish with the green bits of the spring onion
- Serve hot
Notes
- If you don't have spring onion you can leave it out. I have made this dish with and without it and it doesn't affect the taste much
- You can use dark or light soy sauce although I prefer the dark soy sauce
- You can reduce the amount of chilli sauce and chilli if you prefer a milder dish
Delicious contrast of textures in this recipe.Flavoursome and easy recipe.A definite keeper.
Thank you so much Sarika! So glad you enjoyed the recipe:-)