Chilli Paneerચિલી પનીર
Paneer coated in cornflour, fried, then tossed with garlic, chillies and soy. Serve it dry as a starter or with more sauce alongside noodles.
Ingredients
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- 250 g paneer, cut into fingers
- 3 tbsp cornflour, 2 tbsp plain flour, salt, pepper
- 1 onion and 1 capsicum, cut into squares
- 6 garlic cloves, 2 green chillies
- 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chilli sauce, 1 tsp vinegar
- Oil and spring onion
Method
- Coat the paneer in a thick batter of cornflour, flour, salt, pepper and a little water.
- Fry in hot oil until golden and drain.
- On high heat, fry the garlic, chillies, onion and capsicum for 2 minutes.
- Add the sauces and boil for a minute.
- Return the paneer and toss for 2 minutes.
- Finish with spring onion and serve immediately.
Tips
- Fried paneer hardens if it sits, so time it with the sauce.
- For a gravy version, stir in a spoon of cornflour slaked in water.
Storing and reheating
This is a dish to eat straight away. Leftovers keep a day in the fridge, but the coating goes soft and never crisps again. Reheat by tossing it in a hot pan for a minute rather than microwaving, which turns the paneer rubbery. To cook ahead, fry the paneer and keep it separate, then toss it into the sauce at the last minute.
What you can swap
- Without soy sauce you cannot get this flavour. Instead make a different dish with lemon, salt, pepper and a little tomato ketchup.
- Rice flour in place of cornflour gives an even crisper coating, and arrowroot works too. Skipping the plain flour leaves the coating very thin.
- Tofu, mushrooms or boiled soya chunks take the same treatment. Press tofu dry first.
- No vinegar? Lemon juice works, but add it off the heat at the end or it turns bitter.
What to serve with it
Served dry with toothpicks as a starter, or kept saucy to eat with fried rice, Hakka noodles or tawa roti. In Gujarati homes it has become a standard at small parties and birthday dinners.
Mistakes to avoid
- A thin batter slides off the moment the paneer hits the oil. It should be thick enough to cling to each piece, so add the water a spoon at a time.
- Do not crowd the pan. Too much paneer at once drops the oil temperature and the coating soaks up oil instead of crisping.
- Do not overcook the vegetables. Onion and capsicum should stay crunchy. Once they soften the dish eats like a sabji.
- Soy sauce brings its own salt, so taste before adding more, and remember the batter was salted too.
Questions people ask
Why does my paneer turn hard when fried?
Oil that is too hot, or frying too long, drives the moisture out. Fry on medium-high only until golden, two or three minutes. Also do not use paneer straight from the fridge: soak it in hot water for ten minutes first.
What is the difference between dry and gravy chilli paneer?
Same method. For dry, you keep just enough sauce to coat the paneer and serve it as a starter. For gravy, you stir in cornflour slaked in water to make a sauce for rice or noodles.
Can I make it without deep frying?
Yes. Coat the paneer and pan-fry it in two tablespoons of oil on a non-stick tawa, turning to brown all sides. It will not be as crisp, but once tossed in the sauce the difference is small.
