Chilli paneer is a very common dish in India. It is based on borrowed flavours from Chinese cuisine but has been embraced as one of the most popular dishes of the unique Indo-Chinese cuisine.
As the name suggests, it is a spicy dish with chillies and pepper but with a hint of sweetness from tomato ketchup and sugar, sharpness from vinegar and a savoury note from soy sauce.
Preparation and chopping is what takes most of the time making the dish, so please read the whole recipe before you start and get all the initial preparation steps done. Then, the actual cooking time is quite minimal.
Serves 4 as a starter, or 4 as a main with noodles or rice
red onion 2 medium
spring onions ½ bunch
red pepper 1
fresh ginger 25g
garlic 10-12 cloves
Thai red or green chilli 3-4 (or substitute ½ tbsp chilli flakes)
paneer 450g, approximately
cornflour 5 tbsp
freshly ground black pepper 1½ tbsp
dark soy sauce 5 tbsp
hot chilli sauce 1 tbsp, such as sriracha (optional)
tomato ketchup 2 tbsp
vinegar ½ tsp (optional)
granulated sugar 1 tbsp
oil 6 tbsp
To garnish (optional)
ginger 10g, finely julienned
long red chilli 1, thinly chopped diagonally
Take a large tray or plate. As you cut and prepare the vegetables, put everything on this tray – each ingredient separately. Peel and chop the red onions into 8 pieces, making rough cubes, then loosely separate the layers.
Wash the spring onions well to remove any grit and trim the ends. Cut the white part (up to half of the spring onion) in 6-7mm rounds and the green part in 2.5cm pieces.
Remove the stalk, seeds and white membrane of the red pepper and cut in 2.5cm chunks.
Wash the ginger well, no need to peel, and coarsely grate it. Peel and coarsely grate the garlic.
Finely chop the Thai chillies – you can use small scissors to cut them. Always wash your hands after handling chillies!
Cut the paneer into cubes of 2.5cm, or a little smaller. Place in a large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of the cornflour, ½ teaspoon of the black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Toss and coat the paneer pieces well. Keep aside.
In a small bowl, add all the sauces, vinegar, and sugar. Stir and keep aside.
In a small bowl, add 1 more tablespoon of the cornflour and 5 tablespoons of water. Mix well to make a slurry. Keep aside.
Place a large frying pan on medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons of the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the paneer, cook in two batches, tossing and turning in the pan for a minute or two just to get some colour around the edges. Remove to a plate and repeat with the second batch.
Using the same pan, add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Now add the chopped garlic. Sauté for a minute on medium heat till the garlic is fragrant – be careful not to burn it. Then add the ginger and Thai chillies (or chilli flakes, if using). Sauté for a minute, then increase the heat and add the onions, red pepper and the white part of the spring onions. Give a stir and cook for 2-3 minutes on high heat. You don’t have to cook the onions or the vegetables right through. The texture should be crisp and fresh.
Moving quickly, add the rest of the soy sauce, the tomato ketchup, the sugar and the vinegar mixture. Add black pepper and stir well.
Add the prepared paneer. Stir gently to coat the paneer in the sauce, then add the prepared cornflour slurry.
Give everything a gentle stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust if need be. Switch off the heat. Transfer to a serving bowl, finish with the spring onion greens you chopped earlier. Add the julienned ginger and red chilli slices, if using. Serve the chilli paneer on its own or with noodles or rice for a more substantial meal.
Tarunima Sinha is the owner of baking delivery business My Little Cake Tin
