chilli paneer recipe

i have to admit that i was never a huge fan of paneer. but one paneer dish that i really loved was chilli paneer. i remember going to any restaurant for dinner and without fail i would order chilli paneer with some naan or tandoori rotis.

now an indo chinese recipe of chilli paneer with naan is a unsual combo. but let me tell you it is a made for each other combo. when you dunk the naan in the umami & spicy gravy, take a bit of the green chilies and the soft succulent paneer in the naan and have it… you will know why their combo is awesome.

now my vegan eating does make me miss chilli paneer. of course i can make it with tofu, but i get very bad tofu here… so i will have to make my own tofu to make a vegan version of chili paneer.

i made this chilli paneer for hubby as i don’t want to deprive him of eating his favorite paneer. he loves paneer dishes. chilli paneer is also hubb’s fav dish.

here is my version of making this famous indo chinese recipe at home. this is a not a dry recipe of chilli paneer but the gravy version. dry chilli paneer recipe will be posted in some time.

i used home made paneer to make the spicy chilli paneer. you can also use good quality store brought paneer.

i generally don’t add msg – mono sodium gluatamate or chinese salt to any of the indo chinese recipes i make at home. so the taste will be not restaurant style or like the chinese food we get at the chinese food stalls in india. nevertheless they are healthier and nutritious.

lets begin step by step chilli paneer recipe:

1: in a bowl take the cornflour and salt. toss the paneer pieces in this mixture well so that the cornflour coats the paneer cubes well.

2: shallow fry or pan fry the paneer cubes. the corn flour coating gives a nice white color to the paneer.

3: drain on kitchen paper tissues.

4: heat sesame oil and stir fry the spring onions till transparent.

5: add the chopped ginger, garlic. stir fry till the raw aroma of these disappear.

6: now add the capsicum and green chilies.

7: stir fry these.

8: stir fry till the capsicum is almost half cooked and add black pepper & crushed schezuan pepper. if you don’t have schezuan pepper, then just don’t add.

9: add veg stock or water along with some fresh or dry celery. i have added dry celery (sun dried at home)

10: add soy sauce, salt, sugar and simmer.

11:  add corn starch paste to thicken the gravy.

12: i also felt that i needed to add some red chilli powder as well. so here goes the red chilli powder.

13: simmer till the corn starch gets cooked and the gravy is thickened. add vinegar & the fried paneer cubes.

14: lastly simmer for 1-2 minutes…

15: serve the chilli paneer garnished with scallion greens with fried rice or naan. i served the chilli paneer with veg fried rice.

chilli paneer recipe details below:

5.0 from 2 reviews

chilli paneer | indo chinese recipe

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

a spicy and saucy indo chinese recipe of chilli paneer (cottage cheese)

Author: dassana amit

Recipe type: main

Cuisine: indo chinese

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

for frying the paneer:

• 200 gms paneer/cottage cheese
• ½ tsp black pepper powder or crushed pepper
• 2 tbsp corn flour/corn starch
• salt as required

for the sauce

• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• ½ tbsp chopped celery or 2 tsp dry celery
• 2 crushed schezuan pepper
• ¼ cup chopped spring onions/scallions (reserve some greens for garnishing)
• ½ tbsp chopped ginger-garlic
• 4-5 green chilies
• ¼ cup sliced capsicum
• ½ tsp vinegar
• ¾ to 1 cup veg stock or water
• ½ tsp black pepper powder or crushed black pepper
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp corn flour dissolved in 2 tbsp water – for the corn flour paste
• salt and sugar as required

Instructions

frying the paneer:

1. mix the paneer with black pepper powder, salt and corn flour.
2. shallow or deep fry till done.
3. don’t overfry as the paneer might become hard.
4. since we coat cornflour you won’t be seeing the paneer as browned.
5. so don’t keep on frying to make it golden brown. the paneer will become hard.

preparing the sauce:

1. heat sesame oil.
2. now add the spring onions/scallions and stir fry till they become transparent.
3. add the ginger-garlic and stir fry till the raw smell disappears.
4. add the capsicum and green chilies and stir fry till the capsicum is half cooked.
5. add black pepper & crushed schezuan pepper.
6. pour the veg stock or water.
7. add celery and stir.
8. add soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, red chilli powder and salt.
9. simmer.
10. add cornflour paste.
11. stir well and let the sauce thicken.
12. add the fried paneer cubes and simmer them in the sauce for 1-2 minutes.
13. garnish with spring onion greens and serve chilli paneer hot with veg fried rice.

Notes

to make the sauce more thick, add some more cornflour paste.
if the sauce has become too thick, then add some veg stock or water to thin it down.

3.2.1652