Dry Chilli Paneer

Paneer  is one of my favourites among vegetarian options. And I can easily fall for any kind of paneer dish. I still remember the first time I had paneer was for summer holidays at a restaurant in Nagpur in Maharastra, where my dad was brought up and I think it was Paneer Butter Masala that we had then which still comes to my mind as one of the early memories of having this dish.

And then my love for paneer grew strong during my years in Punjab. I then understood that Paneer can be substituted for chicken in almost many North Indian curries like Kadai Paneer, Paneer Butter Masala, Shahi Paneer, Paneer Tikka, Chilli Paneer etc. So even though I truly love paneer based gravies, another starter dish with Paneer that is a regular on the menu for most occasions in North India is Dry Chilli Paneer.

This is an Indo Chinese dish which is has a crunchy texture for the onions and bell peppers or capsicums added. This is acheieved by not over doing the sautéing of the onions and bell peppers. The key is to retain the crunch by just sautéing it for a few minutes only. I have always wanted to recreate it in my kitchen as well and I finally did and I was surprised on how easy it is. When you desire a change from the routine robust dinners, this is what I quickly like to whip up.

Here goes the recipe. Hope you enjoy it too

RECIPE

Ingredients

Paneer – 250 gm (2 cups paneer cut into small cubes)

For the batter

Maida/All purpose flour – 2 tbsp

Cornflour – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp

Soya sauce – 1 tsp

Water – 2 tbsp

Oil – 2 Tbsp for frying

For the dish

Onion – 1 medium sliced into cubes

Green Chillies – 3 chopped finely

Ginger chopped – 1 tbsp

Garlic chopped – 1 tbsp

Bell peppers (Capsicum) – 2 big cut into cubes

Soy Sauce – 1 tbsp

Tomato Ketchup – 2 tbsp

Chilli Sauce – 1.5 tbsp

Vinegar – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

STEPS

1. Marinate and coat the paneer in a bowl with the batter ingredients.
2. After a few minutes,  in a frying pan, shallow fry the paneer cubes till its light brown.
3. Remove the cubes once fried and transfer it to a plate
4. Now in a kadai or round bottomed non stick pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the green chillies, ginger and garlic chopped and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on medium to high heat.
5. Now add in the onion cubes to the pan and sauté for 2 -3 minutes.
6. Add in the bell peppers at this point and sauté for 2 minutes.
7. Then add in the sauces (soya sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce) and vinegar one by one to the pan and keep sautéing.
8. Now add in the fried paneer pieces and keep sautéing on high flame.
9. Add in salt and black pepper now and let it it all mix well for 2-3 minutes.
10. Now turn off heat
11. Serve hot.