Chili paneer is one of the popular Indo-Chinese recipes and officially comes under the “family favorite recipe label” as almost everyone in my family loves chili paneer.
What is chili paneer?
Chilli paneer is an Indo-Chinese vegetarian recipe made with paneer and vegetables. It is a vegetarian version of chili chicken for those who are vegetarian and don’t eat any kind of meat and eggs.
This is a classic recipe that can be prepared under 30 minutes in REAL 🙂 Paneer is deep-fried until golden brown and crisp and soft inside. Later, it is assembled with spicy(but not too spicy) gravy and served with rice.
Ingredients
Below are the ingredients required to make vegetarian chili paneer.
Soy sauce – the heart of any Chinese recipe is the quality soy sauce you use in the recipe. I am using Kikkoman regular soy sauce here. You can even use dark soy sauce.
Spices and seasonings – salt, pepper, red chili sauce, plain white vinegar, and a pinch of red chili powder are the common spices and seasonings used here.
For the gravy – vegetables like capsicum, green onions, onion, garlic, and cornflour slurry along with spices used to make thick, rich gravy.
For paneer preparation – quality paneer, all-purpose flour, corn flour, and regular spices are used.
How to make this chili paneer(in 30 minutes)
Step 1: Preparing paneer
The first and foremost step, preparing your paneer. Chop paneer into medium pieces. In a separate bowl, add corn flour, all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, red chili powder, and soy sauce.
Prepare a smooth batter using water and keep aside. Make sure to add water slowly.
Dip paneer into a batter and coat it well.
Deep fry on medium flame until golden brown crisp outside. Keep them aside.
Step 2: Preparing gravy
For the gravy preparation, start by mincing garlic, chopping onions, spring onions, capsicum, and carrots if you have. Make medium pieces of capsicum and carrots.
Heat oil in the pan. Once the oil is hot, add garlic and saute it. Add onion, ginger, and chopped vegetables. Saute for a while.
In a separate bowl, mix cornflour and water and prepare a slurry. Add soy sauce, red chili sauce, and vinegar, and mix everything well.
Cook vegetables and adjust the gravy consistency by adding water. Simmer the curry for 5 minutes on medium flame.
Serve hot with steamed rice.
Chilli Paneer(takeout style indo Chinese)
Ingredients
for crisp paneer,
- 250 gram Paneer Indian cottage cheese
- salt to taste
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup corn flour
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- black pepper powder to taste
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ cup water to make batter
for paneer gravy,
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- ¼ cup green onion chopped
- ½ cup capsicum diced
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon corn flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon red chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon green chili sauce
- ½ teaspoon plain white vinegar
Instructions
STEP 1: PREPARING PANEER
- The first and foremost step, preparing your 250 gram Paneer. Chop paneer into medium pieces. In a separate bowl, add ¼ cup corn flour, ¼ cup all purpose flour, salt to taste, black pepper powder to taste,½ teaspoon red chili powder, and ½ teaspoon soy sauce.
- Prepare a smooth batter using ½ cup water and keep aside. Make sure to add water slowly.
- Dip 250 gram Paneer into a batter and coat it well.
- Deep fry on medium flame until golden brown crisp outside. Keep them aside.
STEP 2: PREPARING GRAVY
- For the gravy preparation, start by mincing 1 tablespoon garlic, chopping onions, ¼ cup green onion, ½ cup capsicum, and carrots if you have. Make medium pieces of capsicum and carrots.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pan. Once the oil is hot, add garlic and saute it. Add onion, ginger, and chopped vegetables. Saute for a while.
- In a separate bowl, mix 2 tablespoon corn flour and 1 cup water and prepare a slurry. Add soy sauce, red chili sauce, and vinegar, and mix everything well.
- Cook vegetables and adjust the gravy consistency by adding water. Simmer the curry for 5 minutes on medium flame.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
