Chilli paneer dry | Chilli paneer recipe | How to make chilli paneer | Chili paneer

Chilli paneer dry aka chilli paneer recipe is a scrumptious and lip-smacking vegetarian Indo-Chinese recipe. It is crazily popular all over India and one of the most ordered veg starters in Indochinese restaurants. In this preparation, crispy paneer aka cottage cheese nuggets are tossed in spicy, sweet and sour sauce with veggies like spring onion, garlic, onion and capsicum chunks. It is a very simple and quick recipe which makes it a perfect appetizer for any party or get together. It can be relished simply as an appetizer or even a side with Fried Rice or Noodles.

About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
Frequently Asked Questions
How to make Chilli Paneer (step wise photos)
Recipe Card

Recipe for Chilli paneer is hugely popular in the subcontinents of India, both among vegetarians and non-vegetarians. It is mostly prepared in three different ways.

• Chilli paneer dry
• Chilli paneer semi dry
• Chilli paneer with gravy

Each the preparation taste irresistible. The chilli paneer dry and chilli paneer semi dry version are mostly served as appetizer and the chilli paneer with gravy is mostly served as a side with main course. Today, I will share the dry version and restaurant like semi dry version of Chilli paneer recipe with you. I will also share the chilli paneer with gravy version with you very soon. Just stay tuned.

For any Indian, Indochinese recipes are very beloved and well known. But for many people around the world this term is not common. They never experienced Indochinese food and don’t know much about this unique cuisine. Before talking about the chilli paneer recipe, let me share few facts about Indochinese food and Indochinese cuisine

Indochinese cuisine is a fusion of Indian and Chinese cuisine which is only available in India. Indians have induced their techniques and flavours into the Chinese food and invented this cuisine. According to availability of ingredients and taste buds of Indians, they recreated the recipes. Indo Chinese dishes are one of the most popular street foods of India. Indo Chinese food is sold in street stalls, small restaurants, and few Chinese & Indochinese restaurants of India. You will never find these foods in an authentic Chinese restaurant. In fact, it is really very difficult to get vegetarian food in real Chinese restaurants.

Chilli paneer recipe is one of the most popular and beloved Indochinese recipes in India like chilli chicken recipe, which is served in almost every marriage ceremony, party and get together as an appetizer.

It is a flavoured mildly sweet, tangy and spicy paneer recipe where crispy fried paneer pieces are coated with combination of sauces and crunchy veggies like onion, spring onion, garlic and capsicum. The fleshy and juicy flavoured paneer pieces with crispy coating and the combination of sweet, tangy, spicy sauces in the chilli paneer recipe is a real treat to anyone in this universe.

Chilli paneer dry is a very simple and easy recipe like any other Chilli preparations. It requires very common and regularly used ingredients of Indochinese culinary which are easily available in market. The USP of the chilli paneer recipe is that it gets prepared very quickly without investing much effort and time. It can be prepared in large batches too very easily without putting any extra effort. This makes the chili paneer recipe as one of the most frequently served starter in parties and get togethers.

I am a die heart fan of Indochinese food and can have it any time. Whenever I go to any restaurant, I always make sure to order a veg and nonveg appetizer. For most of the vegetarians in India, Indian cottage cheese (Paneer) is the most popular and one of the best options in main course as well as snacks.

But few years back to avoid takeaway food and to adopt healthy lifestyle, I started preparing Indochinese food, especially chilli recipes at home. In many Indochinese restaurants, they add MSG (Monosodium glutamate) which I completely skip from the recipe without compromising in taste and flavour.

Chilli paneer dry is a huge hit in our house and whenever I plan to prepare this crispy delight, I always make sure to prepare it in large batches. When I start frying the panner dipped in batter, my beloved family members and even I start having the crispy nuggets. We almost finish the half of it before tossing them in sauce. It is always fun to prepare restaurant style chilli paneer at home.

Chilli paneer recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. If you follow the method step by step, then you will get the perfectly crispy and spicy Restaurant style chilli paneer.

• Try to use fresh or homemade paneer for the recipe. If you are using frozen or refrigerated paneer then soak them in hot water for some time.
• Always make a batter and coat the paneer with it rather than directly adding flour into the paneer pieces.
• Always deep fry the paneer nuggets for crispier outer layer.
• Always cook the veggies in high flame before adding sauces to keep them crunchy.
• Try to use sesame oil for the recipe. It gives a perfect restaurant like aroma to the dish.
• Don’t skip dark soya sauce from the recipe. It gives a nice brown colour to the dish.
• Always use both, onion and spring onion for the recipe. It gives better texture and flavour to the dish.

For the vegan version, you can use tofu instead of paneer for the recipe.

Chilli paneer can be served as an appetizer or as side with main course like veg chow Mein, schezwan chow Mein, fried rice, schewzan rice. It can even be served with roti or naan.

There are various types of soya sauce available in the market, but I always prefer to use the dark soya sauce naturally brewed without MSG.

Instead of all-purpose flour aka maida, you can replace it with whole wheat flour aka atta for healthier version.

To prepare the chilli paneer recipe, first I have prepared the batter. I have used corn flour and all-purpose flour to prepare the batter. Paneer aka cottage cheese is moist in texture. So, I have made the batter little bit thicker as compared to other Chilli preparations. I have used larger quantity of corn flour into the batter. It makes the nuggets crispier. To flavour up the batter, I have added black pepper, red chilli powder, salt and ginger-garlic paste into it.

Then I dipped the paneer pieces into the batter and deep fried them till golden in colour. In most of the restaurants, paneers are always deep fried for chilli preparation. This step cannot be replaced by shallow frying. It is the key step to get the crispy chilli paneer.

For the chili paneer recipe, I have used both Onions and Spring Onions. It gives the better flavour and texture to the dish. First, I have fried the chopped Garlic and then added the grated or finely chopped ginger, onion chunks, spring onion whites and capsicum chunks one by one into the pan and tossed them in high flame for some time. Then I have added the spring onion greens into the pan and give a stir.

I have used red and green bell peppers for the recipe. But any variety of bell peppers, I mean capsicum – green, orange or yellow, red can be used for the chilli paneer dry.

Then I added soya sauce, vinegar, red chilli paste, tomato ketchup along with some black pepper powder and seasonings and mixed all the ingredients nicely.

After this, I have added the mixture of cornflour and water into the pan and mixed it well. I cooked it on high flame until the glossy texture occurred. If you are preparing the complete street stall style chilli paneer dry recipe then skip the addition of cornflour water from the recipe. This step is applicable for restaurant style semi dry version of chilli paneer recipe.

At the end, add the crispy fried paneer nuggets into the sauce and mixed it properly until all the paneer nuggets get coated evenly and then switch off the flame.

Many Indo Chinese recipes have already been shared in my previous posts. You may check few of them like

Chilli mushroom
Chilli potato
Babycorn Manchurian
Gobi Manchurian
Veg fried rice

..And Many more…

• ¼ cup Cornflour
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose Flour
• 2/3 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic paste
• ½ teaspoon Chilli powder
• ¼ teaspoon black Pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 3 tablespoons of Water, to prepare the batter

• 250 grams Paneer aka Indian cottage cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 Onion medium, diced and layers separated
• 1 tablespoon of Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Ginger, paste or grated or finely chopped
• 3 stalks of Spring Onion whites, sliced
• 3 stalks of Spring Onion greens, sliced
• ½ red Bell Pepper, medium diced
• ½ yellow Bell Pepper, medium diced
• 1 tablespoon Soya sauce
• ½ tablespoon Red Chilli paste or 1½ tablespoon Chilli Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Tomato sauce
• ½ tablespoon Vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon black Pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon Sugar (Optional)
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon Cornflour
• 3-4 tablespoons Water
• Sesame oil for cooking

1. Take a large mixing bowl and add corn flour and all-purpose flour, black pepper powder, red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, salt one by one into it. Mix all the Ingredients with a spoon and add little water at a time and mix it. Make a smooth and lumps free batter. I have used ¼ cup of water for the batter. The consistency of batter should be slightly thick.
2. Add paneer pieces into the batter and coat it nicely.
3. At the same time, put a pan on Stove and add enough oil to deep fry the coated paneer pieces.
4. Once the oil is hot, add the coated paneer pieces into the pan and fry them in medium flame for 1-2 minutes on each side till crispy and golden in colour. Transfer the paneer nuggets on a tissue lined separate plate.
5. Take the excess oil out of the pan or add 1½ tablespoons of oil into a different pan.
6. Once the oil is hot, add garlic into the pan and fry them till light golden.
7. Add Onions and sauté in high flame for 2-3 minutes till it has become translucent.
8. Add Ginger and give a nice mix. Cook it in high flame for a minute until the raw smell goes away.
9. Add capsicum chunks and mix it well. Cook it in high flame for another minute.
10. Add white parts of the Spring Onions into the pan and give a mix. Cook it in high flame for 1 minute. Stir frequently.
11. Add 1 tablespoon soya sauce, ½ tablespoon red chilli paste, 1 tablespoon tomato sauce, ½ tablespoon vinegar, one by one into the pan and mix it properly. Cook it in low flame for a minute.
12. Add salt, sugar, ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder into the pan and give a nice mix. Addition of sugar is completely optional.
13. Add spring onion greens into the pan and give a nice mix.
14. On the other hand, add 1 teaspoon cornflour and 3-4 tablespoons of water into a bowl and mix it well.
15. Add the cornflour water into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it for a minute in high flame until the glaze occurs.
    Note: For the complete street stall style dry version of chilli paneer aka chilli paneer dry recipe, skip the cornflour water from the recipe.
16. Add the Paneer nuggets into the pan and toss it until they get coated evenly with the sauce.
17. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.

Transfer the chilli paneer dry on a serving plate. Serve immediately to enjoy its best taste or else the crisp of the paneer can get faded. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and spring onion greens on the top and garnish it. Serve the luscious crispy delight as snack or appetizer or as a side with veg fried rice, chow mein and enjoy.

Chilli paneer dry | Chilli paneer recipe | How to make chilli paneer | Chili paneer

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes (Excluding marination time) Cooking Time: 20 minutes 20 minutes

Nutrition facts: NA calories NA fat

Rating: 3.8/5

( 4 voted )

Pin

Print

Ingredients

For batter

• ¼ cup Cornflour
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose Flour
• 2/3 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic paste
• ½ teaspoon Chilli powder
• ¼ teaspoon black Pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 3 tablespoons of Water, to prepare the batter

Other ingredients

• 250 grams Paneer aka Indian cottage cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 Onion medium, diced and layers separated
• 1 tablespoon of Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Ginger, paste or grated or finely chopped
• 3 stalks of Spring Onion whites, sliced
• 3 stalks of Spring Onion greens, sliced
• ½ red Bell Pepper, medium diced
• ½ yellow Bell Pepper, medium diced
• 1 tablespoon Soya sauce
• ½ tablespoon Red Chilli paste or 1½ tablespoon Chilli Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Tomato sauce
• ½ tablespoon Vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon black Pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon Sugar (Optional)
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon Cornflour
• 3-4 tablespoons Water
• Sesame oil for cooking

Instructions

1. Take a large mixing bowl and add corn flour and all-purpose flour, black pepper powder, red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, salt one by one into it. Mix all the Ingredients with a spoon and add little water at a time and mix it. Make a smooth and lumps free batter. I have used ¼ cup of water for the batter. The consistency of batter should be slightly thick.
2. Add paneer pieces into the batter and coat it nicely.
3. At the same time, put a pan on Stove and add enough oil to deep fry the coated paneer pieces.
4. Once the oil is hot, add the coated paneer pieces into the pan and fry them in medium flame for 1-2 minutes on each side till crispy and golden in colour. Transfer the paneer nuggets on a tissue lined separate plate.
5. Take the excess oil out of the pan or add 1½ tablespoons of oil into a different pan.
6. Once the oil is hot, add garlic into the pan and fry them till light golden.
7. Add Onions and sauté in high flame for 2-3 minutes till it has become translucent.
8. Add Ginger and give a nice mix. Cook it in high flame for a minute until the raw smell goes away.
9. Add capsicum chunks and mix it well. Cook it in high flame for another minute.
10. Add white parts of the Spring Onions into the pan and give a mix. Cook it in high flame for 1 minute. Stir frequently.
11. Add 1 tablespoon soya sauce, ½ tablespoon red chilli paste, 1 tablespoon tomato sauce, ½ tablespoon vinegar, one by one into the pan and mix it properly. Cook it in low flame for a minute.
12. Add salt, sugar, ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder into the pan and give a nice mix. Addition of sugar is completely optional.
13. Add spring onion greens into the pan and give a nice mix.
14. On the other hand, add 1 teaspoon cornflour and 3-4 tablespoons of water into a bowl and mix it well.
15. Add the cornflour water into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it for a minute in high flame until the glaze occurs.

Note: For the complete street stall style dry version of chilli paneer aka chilli paneer dry recipe, skip the cornflour water from the recipe.

16. Add the Paneer nuggets into the pan and toss it until they get coated evenly with the sauce.
17. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.