Dry Chilli Paneer (Street Style)

Dry Chilli Paneer (Street Style)

Prep Time : 15 mins
Cook Time : 15 mins
Total Time : 30 mins
 

Ingredients

For paneer marination

  • 200 to 250 grams Paneer (cottage cheese) – cubed
  • 2 tablespoon corn starch (also known as corn flour in india)
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper or black pepper powder
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil or any oil
  • salt as required

Other ingredients for dry chilli paneer

  • 1 medium onion – quartered and separated in squares
  • 1 small to medium capsicum – cut in squares (bell pepper)
  • 1 inch ginger – finely chopped or ½ tablespoon finely chopped ginger
  • 7 to 9 small to medium garlic cloves, finely chopped or ½ tablespoon finely chopped garlic
  • 3 to 4 green chillies, sliced vertically
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon green chilli sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sweet red chilli sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper or black pepper powder
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon sugar or add as required
  • 1 teaspoon chopped celery – chopped (optional)
  • 2 tablespoon water – added in the leftover corn starch to give glaze
  • salt as required
 

Instructions

Preparation

  • Pat dry 200 to 250 grams paneer first. Then slice the paneer in cubes or rectangles. Keep aside in a mixing bowl.
  • Then peel and finely chop 1 inch ginger and 7 to 9 medium garlic cloves.
  • Diagonally chop 3 to 4 green chillies. Quarter 1 small to medium-sized onion and remove all the layers. 
  • Slice 1 small to medium capsicum in squares. Remove its seeds and pith (white part). Keep the chopped veggies aside.

Marinating and pan frying paneer

  • Add 2 tbsp corn starch, ¼ tsp red chilli powder, ¼ tsp black pepper powder and salt to the paneer cubes.
  • Gently mix without the breaking the cubes. Or else you can shake the bowl and toss the paneer with the dry ingredients.
  • Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan or a well seasoned pan. When the oil is medium hot, place the paneer cubes in the pan. 
  • When the base is slightly cooked, flip over and fry them. Turn the paneer cubes gently and fry so that they are uniformly golden. You can also deep fry the paneer cubes if you want.
  • Fry them till golden and crisp. Do not fry for a long time as then they harden and become dense.
  • Place the pan fried paneer cubes in a plate. Keep aside.
  • Whilst the paneer cubes are getting fried, in the same bowl, in which we marinated the paneer cubes, there will be some leftover corn starch and spices. Add 2 tbsp water to the bowl and mix well. 
  • We will add this corn starch paste to give a glaze to the sauce.
  • In another small bowl, add 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp green chilli sauce, 1 tsp sweet red chilli sauce, ¼ tsp red chilli powder and ¼ tsp black pepper.
  • With a spoon mix all the three sauces very well.

Making street style dry chilli paneer

  • In the same pan, after we finish frying the paneer, add the finely chopped ginger-garlic and green chillies. Stir.
  • Then add the onion and capsicum squares. If using celery, you can add 1 tsp chopped celery at this step.
  • On a medium flame, stir fry till the edges of the onions and capsicum get cooked or become light browned.
  • Add the mixed sauces.
  • Then add little salt and sugar. Go easy on the salt as the sauces already have a salt in them. Stir very well.
  • Now add the corn starch paste. Stir again very well. Do check the taste and add some soy sauce or chilli sauce or sugar or salt if required.
  • Add the pan-fried paneer cubes. Stir and mix the paneer cubes with the rest of the sauce.
  • You can garnish it with some coriander leaves or chopped celery or spring onion greens before serving. 
  • Serve dry chilli paneer hot. This spicy paneer dish tastes best when served hot.

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