chilli paneer
How to make chilli paneer
Chilli paneer recipe restaurant style with step by steps guide, a video to make chilli paneer dry recipe and chilli paneer gravy recipe. Chilli paneer is everyone's favourite and it is for all the foodies and cooking enthusiast. In India is basically a fusion recipe of desi Chinese. Paneer chilli is yummy, versatile and extremely easy to make. If you are looking for sucha dhaba style chilli paneer recipe, you have come to the right place.
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What is chilli Paneer?
Chilli Paneer is a popular Indo-Chinese dish made with cubes of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) tossed in a spicy, tangy, and slightly sweet sauce along with onions, bell peppers, and flavorful seasonings. It combines the Indian love for paneer with bold Chinese-style sauces like soy sauce, chili sauce, and vinegar.
You can make this chili paneer recipe in two ways, chilli paneer dry and chilli paneer gravy. Sometimes the dry version of it is made as saucy and called as semi dry chilli paneer.
Among them chilli paneer dry is more popular and preferred one and can be made with schezwan sauce as schezwan paneer chilli. Another popular one is Thai chilli paneer which is made by using Thai curry paste, basil leaves and Thai ginger.
Chilli paneer ingredients
Paneer : Use fresh and soft paneer. Best is to use malai paneer or homemade paneer.
Corn flour : use a good quality of corn flour to coat the paneer.
Sauce : dark soya sauce, red chilly sauce and tomato sauce. Use a good brand.
Onion and capsicum : cut one onion and capsicum into dice or cube shape. And chopped one onion. You can use red and yello bell peppers to make more colourful and nutritious. It is optional to use.
Herbs : finely chopped ginger and garlic. Slits green chili in length wise to make spicy. A small bunch of fresh spring onion finely chopped.
Spices : white pepper powder, small pinch of sugar ( optional) and salt as per taste.
Other ingredients : red chilly paste and cooking oil. You can avoid chilly paste but it can make the chilli paneer more glossy and shiny.
Tips to make best chilli paneer
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- Use naturally brewed or organic soya sauce and apple cider vinegar for the recipe.
- To give it a nice shining colour use red chilly paste in the recipe. Otherwise use red chilli powder.
- Use finely chopped celery to increase the taste and flavour.
- Don't fry the paneer for long time otherwise they will become hard.
Steps to make paneer chilli
Frying
Cut the paneer into diamond shape pieces around one inch length and half inch in breath . Similarly cut the red, yellow bell peppers and capsicum into diced shaped.
Now take the paneer pieces in a bowl and apply corn flour to cover from all sides. You can increase the amount of corn flour if the paneer pieces are not fully covered.
Now take the paneer pieces in a bowl and apply corn flour to cover from all sides. You can increase the amount of corn flour if the paneer pieces are not fully covered.
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Deep fry this paneer pieces in medium heat flame oil till crisp golden and remove them a in a tissue paper to absorb excess oil.
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To make Paneer chilli dry
Heat half teaspoon oil in a wok or pan and fry chopped garlic and ginger till light brown. Then add chopped onion and saute in high flame till translucent.
Further add the capsicum, red yellow bell peppers, onion cubes and green chili. Saute further one more minute in high flame till they are translucent.
Further add the capsicum, red yellow bell peppers, onion cubes and green chili. Saute further one more minute in high flame till they are translucent.
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Now add few teaspoon of water and simmer the vegetables further.
Then add red chilly sauce, red chilly paste, tomato ketchup and dark soya sauce.
Then add red chilly sauce, red chilly paste, tomato ketchup and dark soya sauce.
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Pour corn flour slurry into the wok and mix.
Now add the fried paneer cubes, white pepper powder,sugar and salt. Mix everything very well to coat the sauces with paneer evenly.
Now add the fried paneer cubes, white pepper powder,sugar and salt. Mix everything very well to coat the sauces with paneer evenly.
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Check the seasoning and adjust according to your taste. Sprinkle some spring onions and remove in a plate and serve.
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To make schezwan paneer chilli
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This chilli paneer is my personal favourite. In schezwan chilli paneer, ingredients mentioned above to make chilli paneer dry can be used except dark soya sauce. Instead of dark soya sauce, light soya sauce is used. Schezwan paneer is light red in colour and paneer are in cube shape not diamond shape.
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Additional ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoon schezwan sauce.
- 1 teaspoon light soya sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon red chilli paste.
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Preparation
Repeat all steps above to make chilli paneer dry recipe till adding the sauces.
Instead of dark soya sauce, add light soya sauce and add schezwan sauce to the mixture before adding fried paneer cubes .
When the mixture become dry, switch off the flame and remove. Sprinkle some chopped spring onions and serve hot.
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How to make chili paneer gravy
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Ingredients mentioned above for chilli paneer dry recipe is same for chilli paneer gravy.
preparation
The above steps to make chili paneer dry is same for Chilli Paneer gravy. All you need to make a little thick glossy gravy. For that you need to add more water and make a slurry by mixing corn flour with a cup of water.
Before adding paneer in chilli paneer dry pour the corn flour slurry into the sauce mixture and simmer for a while till the gravy become thick.
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Chilli paneer gravy without fried paneer
Yes you can make chili paneer gravy without frying the paneer. For that take the paneer cubes in a mixing bowl and mix with salt, white pepper powder and chilly powder.
Therefore tossed or saute them in a non stick pan in slow flame till they become crisp. Remove and use in paneer chilli gravy recipe.
Yes you can make chili paneer gravy without frying the paneer. For that take the paneer cubes in a mixing bowl and mix with salt, white pepper powder and chilly powder.
Therefore tossed or saute them in a non stick pan in slow flame till they become crisp. Remove and use in paneer chilli gravy recipe.
If you love chilli paneer gravy then I am sure you will love the
Chilli Paneer Recipe
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(25 reviews)
⏱️ Prep: 10 min |
🍳 Cook: 10 min |
🍽️ Serves: 2
By Chef Mobasir Hassan
Published: Jun |
Last Modified: Oct
These paneer chilli is a crisp fried paneer tossed with chilly sauce and taste sweet, sour and spicy. You can make dry chilli paneer, schezwan chilli paneer and chilli paneer gravy. Served with noodles and fried rice.
Ingredients
- 200 gm Paneer
- 4 tablespoon corn flour
- 1 teaspoon dark Soya sauce.
- 1/2 teaspoon Tomato ketchup.
- 1 teaspoon red chilly sauce.
- 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon red chilly paste or powder
- small pinch of sugar ( adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic.
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger.
- 2 teaspoon chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon corn flour
- 1/2 cup cubes of bell peppers
- 1/2 cup chopped spring onions
- 1 small onion cut into cubes
- 2 green chili ( cut into lengthwise)
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 3 teaspoon schezwan sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soya sauce
- Oil for deep frying and cooking.
Instructions
- Cut the paneer into diamond shaped around one inch long and half inch breath.
- Now dust the paneer with corn flour evenly so that all sides are covered.
- Rest them for 5 minutes to absorb the moisture.
- Heat oil in a kadai or pan and deep fry the paneer cubes till crisp golden.e
- Remove them in a absorbent paper to absorb any excess oil.
- Making dry chilli paneer, mix 1 tbs corn flour with 1/2 cup of water and keep aside.
- Heat one teaspoon oil in a wok or pan and fry the chopped garlic and ginger till light brown.w
- Now add the chopped onions and saute till translucent.
- Add the bell pepper cubes, onion cubes and slits green chili and saute for 1 - 2 minutes in high the flame.
- Stir the red chilly sauce, tomato ketchup red chilly paste, vinegar, sugar and dark soya sauce.
- Pour the above corn flour and water mixture into the pan and cook till the sauce thickens.
- Now mix the fried paneer cubes, white pepper powder and salt.
- Mix everything very well and check the seasoning of the sauce. If required add according to your taste.d
- Add the chopped green spring onions and remove. Serve the chilli paneer dry hot.
- For schezwan chilli paneer :- use light soya sauce instead of dark soya sauce in step 5 above.
- For schezwan chilli paneer :- use light soya sauce instead of dark soya sauce in step 5 above.
- Mix the schezwan sauce after adding fried paneer cubes, white pepper and salt.
- Mix everything well and check the seasoning. Add the chopped spring onions and serve.
- For chilli paneer gravy Mix 2 teaspoon corn flour with 1 cup water and make a lump free slurry in a mixing bowl. Increase the amount of dark soya sauce to 2 teaspoon, chilly sauce to 2 teaspoon and little more salt and sugar.
- Repeat all above steps of Chilli paneer dry recipe with the ingredients for gravy recipe.
- Check the seasoning before removing and serve hot paneer chilli gravy with Hakka noodles and fried rice.
Chef’s Tips
- The paneer used to make chilli paneer can be shallow fried, deep fried or grilled. You can choose depending upon your needs.
- Don't cook the paneer for long time. Always serve it hot either the paneer will become hard and chewy.
- Try to use organic good quality vinegar like apple cider vinegar.
- To make chili paneer gravy, increase the amount of Corn starch water mixture in the chilli paneer recipe.
- While adding more Corn starch water mixture, check the seasoning and adjust the amount of chilly sauce, dark soya sauce and salt and pepper.
- For healthy option, you can opted for a organic dark soya sauce also.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 185 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 20g
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Video for chilli paneer gravy recipe
Serving suggestions
Chilli paneer dry and semi dry is generally served as an appetizer or snacks. Sweet chilly sauce or schezwan sauce is often served with them as a side dish. You can served them as a side dish with noodles and fried rice.
And chilli paneer gravy is served as a main course / dish with some noodles like hakka noodles, Hong Kong noodles or chilli garlic noodles. It goes well with some fried rice also like vegetable fried rice, chicken fried rice or Singapore fried rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is Chilli Paneer made of?
A: Chilli Paneer is an Indo-Chinese dish made with paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cubes tossed in a spicy and tangy sauce made from soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, and vegetables like onion and capsicum.
Q2: What’s the difference between dry, semi-gravy, and gravy chilli paneer?
Dry Chilli Paneer – served as a starter or appetizer, with little to no sauce.
Semi-Gravy – slightly saucy, perfect as a side with fried rice or noodles.
Gravy Chilli Paneer – made with cornflour slurry and extra sauces, ideal to serve with rice or roti.
Q3: Can I make Chilli Paneer without cornflour?
A: Yes, you can skip cornflour and use rice flour or all-purpose flour (maida) for coating. However, cornflour gives the best crisp texture to the paneer.
Q4: How do I keep paneer soft in Chilli Paneer?
A: Soak paneer cubes in warm water for 10 minutes before frying. This keeps them soft and prevents them from becoming rubbery.
Q5: Can I bake or air fry paneer instead of deep frying?
A: Absolutely! You can bake paneer at 200°C for 10–12 minutes or air fry at 180°C for 8–10 minutes. Brush a little oil for best results.
Q6: How can I make restaurant-style chilli paneer at home?
A: Use high-heat cooking (stir-frying), finely chopped garlic, spring onions, and a mix of soy sauce, chili sauce, and vinegar. A wok or iron kadhai gives the best smoky flavor.
Q7: Can I use tofu instead of paneer?
A: Yes, tofu works as a great vegan substitute. Just press it well to remove excess water before frying or sautéing.
Q8: What to serve with Chilli Paneer?
A: Serve dry chilli paneer as a starter with schezwan chutney. For a main course, pair gravy chilli paneer with fried rice, hakka noodles, or plain steamed rice.
Q9: Can I prepare Chilli Paneer ahead of time?
A: You can prep the sauce and chop vegetables in advance. But toss the paneer just before serving to maintain its crispiness
Q10: How to make Chilli Paneer healthier?
A: Use less oil, air fry or shallow fry paneer, reduce sodium in sauces, and add more vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli.
