This Restaurant Style Chilli Paneer is sublimely delicious and tangy Indo-Chinese dish made of crispy golden fried paneer cubes tossed in a sweet, sour and spicy sauce. Chilli Paneer that’s everyone’s favorite!
A fast vegetarian stir-fry for an easy weeknight dinner ready in just 15 minutes! I’ve been wanting to share this easy Chilli Paneer Dry recipe for so long – it’s super easy to recreate at home with the right mix of spicy, tangy and sweet flavors.
Chilli Paneer is my go to when we order Chinese. Along with egg fried rice and hakka noodles. It’s a crowd pleaser which takes very little effort to put together.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR CHILLI PANEER:
- Paneer: Use fresh or store-bought paneer in this recipe. Usually you can make at using this easy homemade paneer recipe, or buy it at Indian Grocery Store, or Costco. My preferred brands include Verka, or Nanak.
- Onion: Use red or white onion in the recipe. Cut in 1-inch chunks and seperate the layers for stir-frying.
- Bell Peppers: Feel free to use other color bell peppers in this recipe. I have used green, yellow and red pepper cubes.
- Aromatics: Ginger, garlic, and spring onions give this dish an aromatic flavor. Mince garlic and ginger for an authentic texture.
- Soy Sauce: Dark soy sauce is thicker, slightly sweeter, and less salty than regular soy sauce. It is also aged longer. This intensifies that sought-after umami flavor and creates a deeper, richer sauce.
- Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is a popular ingredient in Asian cooking because of its mild acidity and sweetness.
- Tomato Ketchup: Adds sweet and tangy flavor to the dish
- Chilli Sauce: Add nice tastes to the chilli paneer. You can use homemade chilli paste as well
- Flour : Combination of corn starch and all-purpose flour to coat the paneer cubes to get lighter and crisper fried paneer. Feel free to use rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, or arrowroot flour instead of cornstarch.
- Salt and Pepper
HOW TO MAKE CHILLI PANEER?
Cut the paneer into bite-sized pieces and coat in the dry mix. Then shallow fry the paneer and keep aside. Stir fry veggies and aromatics along with sauces and corn flour slurry. Finally add the fried paneer cubes, stir fry and serve!
TIPS FOR MAKING CHILLI PANEER AT HOME:
- I’ve used a wok because we want the veggies and fried paneer to remain crunchy. Woks are the best for short duration cooking at high temperatures. However, if you don’t have a wok, you can use any nonstick cooking pan.
- When cooking the veggies, the wok should constantly be oh high heat. You want all veggies to remain crunchy. Lower the flame once you have added the sauce.
- Use dark soy sauce for a richer flavor. For umami-packed results, I like to use dark soy sauce. It adds a nice deep amber color and an intense flavor. If you only have regular soy sauce on hand, add another ½-1 Tablespoon depending on how salty you like your dish.
- Adjust the sauce to make dry or with gravy. This recipe results in a semi-dry dish, popularly known as ‘Dry Chilli Paneer’ in restaurants.
VARIATIONS:
- Chilli Paneer Gravy: For saucier chilli paneer, add an extra half cup of water to the sauce
- Vegan Chilli Paneer: You can easily substitute the paneer for tofu to make chilli tofu
- Gluten-Free Chilli Paneer: Simply use tamari instead of soy sauce for a gluten-free version.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
You can serve this as an vegetarian appetizer or as a main course with plain brown rice, fried rice or noodles.
MORE INDO-CHINESE RECIPES TO TRY!
Burnt Garlic Mushroom Fried Rice
OTHER TOFU RECIPES:
Are you making this recipe? Then don’t forget to like and leave your comments for this recipe! I LOVE to see your creations so snap a photo and tag BlendOfSpicesbySara on Instagram with the hashtag #blendofspicesbysara
Reach out to me at blendofspicesbysara@gmail.com and also you can follow me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM ,PINTEREST,TWITTER to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Chilli Paneer
Ingredients
- 8 oz Paneer cubed
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Red Chili Sauce
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper Powder
- 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
- 1/4 cup Water or as required
- Oil to deep fry
- 2 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tbsp Green onions white part chopped
- 1 tsp Ginger grated
- 2 tsp Garlic minced
- 1 cup Red Onions cubed
- 1 cup Bell Peppers cubed
- 1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Red Chili Sauce
- 1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
- 1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Corn Starch
- 2 tbsp Water
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Powder
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix all ingredients listed under “To Fry Paneer” except paneer to a thick batter. Adjust the water as required.
- Coat each paneer cubes with the batter and deep fry them till golden and crispy.
- Heat oil in a wok or a deep pan. Saute ginger, garlic, and chopped white part of green onions till raw smell goes off.
- Add cubed onions and bell peppers. Saute them on high flame for 2 minutes. Then add dark soy sauce, red chili sauce, vinegar, ketchup, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Meanwhile mak ethe corn starch slurry by mix 1 tbsp of corn starch with 2 tbsp of water. Add it over cooked onions/pepper in a wok while stirring continuously.
- Keep cooking it until the sauces becomes thick and changes color to little dark brown.
- Add fried paneer to the wok and let sauces coat all the paneer cubes evenly. Finish off the chili paneer with handful of chopped green onions.
Notes
- I’ve used a wok because we want the veggies and fried paneer to remain crunchy. Woks are the best for short duration cooking at high temperatures. However, if you don’t have a wok, you can use any nonstick cooking pan.
- When cooking the veggies, the wok should constantly be oh high heat. You want all veggies to remain crunchy. Lower the flame once you have added the sauce.
- Use dark soy sauce for a richer flavor. For umami-packed results, I like to use dark soy sauce. It adds a nice deep amber color and an intense flavor. If you only have regular soy sauce on hand, add another ½-1 Tablespoon depending on how salty you like your dish.
- Adjust the sauce to make dry or with gravy. This recipe results in a semi-dry dish, popularly known as ‘Dry Chilli Paneer’ in restaurants.
