Chilli Paneer is one of the popular recipe from the Indian Chinese made with batter coated, crispy fried paneer cubes tossed in a spicy, salty, tangy and sweet sauce made with green bell peppers, garlic, ginger, green chillies and seasonings. This Chilli Paneer recipe has a restaurant style taste and flavor.
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.
Video
Notes
Paneer: It is better to use homemade paneer in this recipe. When using frozen paneer, then soak them in hot water for some minutes. Drain the water very well and pat dry the paneer cubes thoroughly before mixing them in the batter.
Frying Paneer: Paneer can be pan fried, shallow fried or deep fried. While frying, do not fry the paneer too much as then they become dense and loose their softness.
Soy Sauce: If possible use naturally brewed soy sauce. You can even use tamari or bragg amino liquid instead.
Spring Onions: If you do not have spring onions (scallions), you can use shallots or regular onions.
Flours: Normally in restaurants, both cornflour and all-purpose flour are used to make the batter. You can even use whole wheat flour or rice flour instead of all-purpose flour. In place of cornstarch, you can use potato starch, tapioca starch or arrowroot flour.
Spicing: Add less or more of the spices or sauces as per your taste buds.
Consistency: In this recipe, you can make the gravy slightly thick or having medium consistency. Just add slightly more water (about ¼ to ⅓) but do not add too much as then the flavors get diluted in the water. You can always check the seasonings and add more if needed.
Vegan Option: Replace extra firm tofu with paneer.
Serving Suggestions: Serve chilli paneer with veg fried rice or schezwan fried rice or burnt garlic fried rice. It also goes well as a side dish with pulao or jeera rice or ghee rice. You can also have it with tandoori roti or naan or chapati or paratha. You can even have it as an appetizer snack with any preferred dipping sauce.