Appetizers: How To Make Restaurant-Style Chili Paneer

I like to cook and eat natural, healthy, and tasty foods, and I enjoy sharing recipes from my native Indian cuisine.

Chilli Paneer- Restaurant Style

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 200 gm paneer, cut in 1 cm cubes
• fistful fresh peas
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped lengthwise
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped lengthwise
• 1/4 cup tomato, chopped in cubes
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour/maida
• 1 tablespoon corn flour
• 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons soya sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar, optional
• oil, For sauteing+deep frying paneer
• salt, to taste
• 2 green chilies, to grind
• 4-5 cloves garlic cloves, to grind
• 1-inch ginger, to grind
• 6 cashew nuts, to grind
• 1/4 cup cilantro/coriander leaf, chopped

Step-by-step images of making Chilli Paneer

1. Keep ready the ingredients as per instructions. This helps in easy cooking. Take all purpose flour, corn flour, red chilli powder and salt in a bowl. Prepare a thin liquid batter, by adding water. Keep aside.
2. Grind green chilli, ginger, cashew nuts and garlic to make a smooth paste. Keep aside.
3. Immerse paneer pieces in hot water. Drain, run cold water on it. Strain the paneer. Heat oil for frying paneer. Dip the paneer pieces in the batter. Deep fry in medium heat for 2-3 minutes or till they turn crispy. Remove on an absorbent paper towel. Repeat it for the entire paneer pieces.

Chilli paneer cooking in progress

Heat some oil in a pan. Throw onion, saute it till it becomes transparent. Add fresh peas and bell pepper pieces. Continue cooking for one minute. Add tomato and continue cooking for one more minute. No need to add water while cooking.

Pour ground paste to the pan. You may add few drops of water, if required. Stir fry the ground masala paste along with the other contents. Wow.. you will experience a heavenly aroma now. Yes !! garlic-ginger-green chilli combination starts emitting nice smell. Lower the flame.

Pour soya sauce, tomato sauce, sugar (optional) and salt. Add fried paneer pieces. Mix well. See that paneer pieces are evenly coated with the masala. Switch off the flame. Transfer the chilli paneer to a serving bowl. Yummy chilli paneer is ready to serve. Garnish it with chopped cilantro/coriander.

Another variation from this recipe

You can use Chilli paneer both as a starter and as a curry. For cooking it as a starter, you should use more oil and less or no water ; for preparing curry/gravy, you must add a little quantity of water and less oil in the recipe. In both cases, it should be semi-solid only. Both these types taste heavenly. It is a favorite dish for children and young adults. Amazing fact is, it tastes good even when it is cold. Hence, you can use this curry for tiffin box. It goes well with flat bread, chapati, roti, naan etc.