The Ultimate Chili Paneer

"Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze"


The Ultimate Chilli Paneer

We (my fiance and myself) do like trying various restaurants at the weekends, mainly Indian ones. Our son does prefers Mexican, Italian or other International food.

I do like to try eating and cooking all different kinds of food. Especially as my partner is English and most of my close friends are from different cultures this gives us the opportunity to try different cuisines. One of which is the Chilli Paneer or Chilly Paneer. I have tried so many different versions, but as a non-veg person would know where to get his best Chicken curry at, in the same way us Veggies know where to get the best Chili Paneer.


This particular one at this restaurant has different textures, the celery and peppers provide a crunchy texture, the soya and tomato sauces make it juicy and the onion mixture mixed with the sauces make it divine. The flavours are spicy, yet so satisfying!

We would look forward to Friday evenings when we could go to our favourite restaurant to eat our favourite dish, this Chili Paneer. Amazingly enough, I have now managed to make this recipe it is so delicious that once you start eating you will not be able to stop.

Inspired by Aayi’s recipe, I have amended it to suit the dish we have in this restaurant and I am pleased to say I have made it, it is spot on! This recipe is dedicated to Shilpa, thank you for the wonderful recipe.



The recipe is below with detailed pictures to guide you or you can soon even watch the video (which will be available soon on utube) on how I made this mouth watering dish. You have to try it to believe it, once you have tried it please share your thoughts with me by completing the comment box below the recipe. Enjoy!!


Here it is – The Ultimate Chili Paneer Recipe:


Ingredients - see pictures below for visual information:



225gms or 1 cup Paneer (chopped into half inch cubes)
1 medium sized onion (sliced)
3 spring onions (chopped into 1 inch pieces)
1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon garlic (finely chopped or grated)
3 Celery Sticks (chopped)
3 Green Chillies (sliced)
2 Capsicum or Peppers (sliced or cubed) – using different colours make it look nicer
1 tablespoon Sunflower oil
1 tablespoon Soya Sauce
1 tablespoon Tomato Ketchup Bowl of warm water (big enough bowl to hold all the paneer)
Salt to taste
Garnish - Handful of Coriander leaves, 1 chopped spring onion and 1 chopped chili


Recipe:


1. Deep fry the paneer pieces until golden brown, remove and drain on kitchen paper – as in picture

2. Add paneer to the bowl of warm water so it remains soft

3. Then place a large pan on the heat and add the oil

4. Once oil is warm, add onions until the start to turn transparent (translucent), then add garlic and ginger and stir for a couple of mins

5. Add all vegetables and chillies, not the coriander (shown in picture). Stir for a couple of minutes.

6. Add the soya sauce and tomato ketchup. Stir, removing all the stickiness at the bottom of the pan. Add salt and stir for 5 mins.

7. Add the items under 'garnish', mix and serve lovely and hot!


We enjoy eating this on it’s own, the men like it with their drinks (yes, their beers). We sometimes place this in the middle of a roti or paratha and roll the sides, to make a paneer roll. This is superb too. This is a must try dish! Enjoy!!

Tips:

• Do not be too worried with how to chop the vegetables or be too concerned with getting the measurements perfect, the above is a guide if you add a little more or less it will still be a stunning dish to really enjoy.


• The paneer can be bought and frozen for convenience but will need to be defrosted before use for this recipe or if you have time you could use home made paneer.


• When frying the ginger and garlic, do not panic if they are sticking to the bottom of pan (it is meant to), keep stirring and lower the heat.


• If you do not have the celery or spring onions you can still make this recipe and it will still be wonderful, just give it a try!

Easy/Hard to make: Easy to medium (medium as the paneer splutters when being fried, so be careful, otherwise it is easy)


Preparation time: 20 mins


Cooking time: 15 mins