Cottage Cheese or as more popularly called, Paneer, is among one of the most widely used food ingredients in an Indian Platter. From North to South, East to West, it comes as no surprise that Paneer finds its place in most cuisines across the country. Paneer, a dairy product, can be produced by the action of curding steamed milk with acidic agents such as Lemon juice or vinegar.

Amongst the numerous dishes such as Butter Paneer Masala, Paneer Tikka and Shahi Paneer available in across the country, one Indo-Chinese starter that has captivated the minds of most Indians is Chilli Paneer. Available in two choices – Dry and Gravy, Chilli Paneer is amongst the must have starters in your parties. Today, we are going to show you how you can make this favorite Party Starter at your home yourself.

Ingredients:

For Chilli Paste:

1. ½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
2. ½ tsp sugar
3. 50ml Water

For Sauce:

1. 1 tsp Soya Sauce
2. 1 tsp Chilli Sauce
3. 1 tsp Vinegar

For Batter:

1. Paneer – 200 to 250 gram
2. ¼ tsp Red Chilli Powder
3. Pepper Powder
4. Salt per requirement
5. Water per requirement
6. Vegetable Oil for frying
7. Corn flour

Other Useful Ingredients:

1. Chopped Garlic
2. Chopped Onion rings
3. Chopped Onion whites
4. Sliced Bell Pepper/ Capsicum
5. Green Chillies deseeded
6. Corn Flour
7. Water as per requirement

How to go on about the dish:

1. First of all, we need to make the paste for Chilli Paneer. Start of by mixing red chilli powder, sugar and very small amount of water together and leave it aside to rest for some time.
2. Next up, prepare your batter. Make a thick batter out of cornflour, pepper, salt and red chilli powder using small amount of water. You can also choose to prepare a thin batter by using less amount of corn flour while making it. Most restaurants prefer to make a thick batter and hence add higher amount of corn flour to it
3. After mixing the batter thoroughly, add about 250 grams of Paneer and fry (deep or shallow) it on a pan.
4. Once the batter is fried, pour the contents in a bowl. Pour little oil into the pain again and fry garlic till a pungent smell.
5. Next up, fry onions rings (green and whites, both), chillies and capsicum till the time they are partially cooked. After that, add Soya Sauce, red chilli paste and vinegar to the pan.
6. Add 2-3 tsp water to the pan to avoid burning the seasoning.

If you are making dry Chilli Paneer:

1. Add corn flour to a bowl and mix with 3 tsp water and pour it to the pan.
2. Stir and cook the sauce till it thickens.
3. After this, add fried cubes to the pan and sauté it for about 2-3 minutes. Finally, add spring onions over the top and let it rest for about a minute.
4. Serve Chilli Paneer hot.

If you are making Gravy Chilli Paneer:

1. Add 1 tsp corn flour to about half cup water in bowl. The quantity of water used for Gravy Chilli Paneer is vastly different from that of Dry alternative.
2. You can also add about 1-2 tsp Tomato Ketchup to provide more flavor. Stir the mixture well to ensure there are no lumps.
3. Pour this mixture into the hot pan and let it boil.
4. When the mixture thickens, add Paneer cubes and take it off the stove after a few minutes.
5. You can adjust water, salt and corn flour later on to get the gravy right.
6. Serve the dish hot alongside Fried Rice or noodles to have a course meal.

Nutritious Information about the dish:

While Chilli Paneer is consumed as Starters in most get-together or parties, one must always keep a check on the nutritious value of the dish.

For the amount of ingredients mentioned above, the roughly idea about different Nutrition intake is mentioned below:

1. Calories: 1159
2. Carbohydrates: 25g
3. Sugar: 8g
4. Total Fat: 116g
5. Saturated Fat: 10g
6. Unsaturated Fat: 90g
7. Trans Fat: 6g
8. Sodium: 765mg
9. Protein: 14g
10. Fiber: 3.5g
11. Cholesterol: 16mg

The Last Words

Paneer has always been an important food product on our kitchen shelf or in our refrigerator. Easy to cook, easily edible and provides nutritious benefits, Paneer is the go to source for your daily dose of nutrition. Today, exotic Paneer dishes are not only winning hearts in our country but also across the globe. Dishes such as Paneer Butter Masala, Chilli Paneer and Paneer Tikka have found a place among the cuisines served in most parties and available in the menus of some of the top restaurants around the world.