Chilly Paneer

I wanted my first recipe post to be that of a Cake as I enjoy baking cakes the most. However, there’s a bout of Bird Flu going around in Bangalore and we have been off eggs and chicken for quite some time now (It was prevalent at the time I typed out this post). *sigh* (all my cake recipes are with egg) I did spot a recipe for an eggless brownie that uses whole wheat flour, in my friend’s blog and I can’t wait to bake it and post a review of the same.

So, I’m going to start with my next favourite ingredient to cook with – Paneer (cottage cheese). I love Paneer, it’s so versatile, you could make a stir fry or a curry or crumble it to make bhurjee or add it to cutlets, paranthas or smush it and make cheesecakes (oooh, I have two wonderful cheesecake recipes that use paneer) -the possibilities are endless.

I got this recipe from my “badminton” friend. (Yes, I have different classifications for my friends) Veena is an exceptional cook. She can whip up an entire meal for our neighbourhood and not break a sweat, she can cook dishes even with half the ingredients not being in her pantry and she can tell you recipes right off the top of her head. At her daughter’s birthday party, she was frying paneer to make Chilly Paneer and that is when she rattled out this recipe.

Now, I, on the other hand, need to refer to my recipe book no matter how many ever times I’ve made that dish before. So when Veena was telling me what’s to be done after frying the paneer, I fished out my phone to take notes. “Tsk tsk” she went. “Make it however you want to, just remember to add the soya sauce and ketchup and it’ll turn out okay”

She was right! There is no fixed quantity for the ingredients used in this recipe. It’s super simple. You can alter the vegetables that go into the dish. This is probably the only dish that I make without referring to my recipe book.

This recipe is a lot like the “restaurant-type” Chilly Paneer. That is how dishes are appreciated at my house – “tastes like restaurant food”.

CHILLY PANEER

(serves 2 adults and a child)                                                            

Ingredients:

Paneer (cottage cheese) – 250 gms

Onion- 1 medium sized                                              

Capsicum (Bell pepper) – 3/4^ths of it

Garlic – 6-7 cloves

Cornflour – 1 tbsp

Maida (white flour) – 1 ½ tbsp

Salt, pepper, red chilly powder – as needed

Soya sauce – 3/4^th tbsp

Tomato Ketchup – 1 ½ tbsp

Oil

Method:

1. Add cornflour, white flour, half a teaspoon salt, pepper as per your taste into a bowl. Add a little water to make a fine paste.
2. Cut the paneer into little cubes and add to the above ‘flour’ paste and coat it well. Set aside.
3. Chop the onion, capsicum and garlic. Set aside.
4. Shallow fry the paneer in oil until it turns a light golden brown and set aside (Do not dump excess paste into the frying pan)
5. To the same pan, first, add onions and fry until they turn pinkish brown ( around 3-4 mins on medium flame)
6. Next, add the capsicum and sauté until the edges start browning. ( 3 mins)
7. Add the garlic. Sauté for a minute.
8. Add the soya sauce and tomato ketchup and stir well until all ingredients are coated with the sauce.
9. Add the paneer cubes and quickly stir until paneer is well coated. Sauté for 2 mins.
10. Add salt and chilly powder as per your taste. Sauté for a minute more.
11. Done.

Recipe Notes

• I cut the veggies and paneer into cubes, you may slice it however you want to.  
• Do not make the ‘flour’ paste too thick. Thick paste ends up being clumpy when the paneer is fried. Also, drop the paneer into the hot oil one at a time to avoid the pieces from sticking to each other.
• Do not over-fry the paneer in the first round as you need to sauté it again with the vegetables and too much frying makes the coating on the paneer, hard.
• Do not overcook the capsicum as they lose their crunch. 3 mins is perfect as it loses its raw taste and its sweetness is enhanced.
• You may add green chillies or spring onions as garnish.
• You could use the same recipe to make chilly chicken and it tastes “restaurant like”. I’ve tried it with mushroom and baby corn too but paneer and chicken taste the best.