I had come across this recipe for chilli paneer somewhere a long time ago and since it sounded super easy to make, had registered it in my mind. I got to try it out today and my husband said it turned out well. It was super easy to make too, generally I avoid trying any Indo-Chinese dishes thinking it would take a long time to make them.
Ingredients (3 - 4 servings):
Paneer cubed - 3 cups using a measuring cup
Onion cubed - 1 cup using a measuring cup
Peppers (green, red and yellow) cubed - 2 cups using a measuring cup
Spring onions - 1 small bunch, washed and finely chopped
Pepper powder - 2 tablespoons
Garlic - 5 pods finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch stick finely chopped
Green chillies - 5 slit along the length (you can vary this according to your taste)
Soy sauce - 5 teaspoons
Maggie hot and sweet tomato sauce - 5 tablespoons (you can use 2.5 tablespoons of hot sauce + 2.5 tablespoons of tomato sauce if you don't have this)
Corn flour - 4 teaspoons
Oil - 7 to 8 tablespoons
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Procedure:
1. In a wide bowl, add the cubed paneer pieces, a teaspoon of the corn flour, some black pepper powder, salt and mix well.
2. In a pan, add about 5 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil gets heated, fry the paneer pieces from step 1 until golden brown and set aside.
3. Add the remaining oil in the same pan, add green chillies, finely chopped ginger and garlic, about 1/3 of the finely chopped spring onions and fry for 30 seconds.
4. Add the cubed onions and peppers to step 3, a teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar (this helps retain the color of the veggies) and sautee on high heat for about 2 minutes.
5. Mix a little water with the remaining corn flour and set aside.
6. Add the hot and sweet tomato sauce, soy sauce and pepper powder to step 4 and stir it in.
7. Now add the corn flour paste, fried paneer cubes, adjust salt and lower the flame. Mix everything in for about 30 seconds and turn off the stove.
8. Garnish with the remaining chopped green onions.
This can be served as an appetizer, as a side for rotis, fried rice or noodles of your choice. Enjoy! :-)
