Restaurant-Style Chilli Paneer
Make crispy restaurant-style chilli paneer at home with fried paneer cubes, capsicum, and a spicy soy-chilli sauce.
Getting that exact crisp-yet-tender texture at home took more than a few batches of soggy paneer. The secret is coating the paneer in cornstarch right before shallow-frying it so it forms a light crust that actually holds onto the sauce without turning mushy.
Most recipes crowd the pan or let the sauce turn into a heavy, gloopy paste. Keeping the heat high when you toss in the ginger, garlic, and capsicum ensures everything stays bright and crisp-tender rather than steaming in its own water.
Serve it straight away while the paneer still has a bit of crunch, alongside some hot fried rice or noodles.
Instructions
- Coat the paneer, tossing the cubes in a mixing bowl with salt, black pepper, and corn starch until evenly covered.
- Shallow fry the paneer, setting a pan on medium heat with oil and cooking the cubes from all sides until golden brown.
- Sauté the aromatics, setting a pan on high heat with oil, garlic, ginger, green chillies, and spring onion bulbs for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the vegetables, tossing in capsicum, spring onion greens, and sugar to sauté for 1 minute.
- Pour in the sauces, adding the soy sauce and red chilli sauce and sautéing for 1 minute.
- Thicken the sauce, pouring in a smooth mix of cornflour and water along with salt and black pepper until the liquid thickens.
- Coat the paneer, adding the fried paneer and tossing gently until the sauce clings to every piece.
- Finish and serve, stirring in freshly chopped spring onion greens before taking the pan off the flame to serve immediately.
Notes
Make sure the pan is genuinely hot when sautéing the aromatics so they develop the right flavor without losing their crunch.
Serve immediately upon tossing; letting it sit too long in the sauce will cause the crisp coating to soften.
At a Glance
How this recipe comes together
Four stages, start to plate
Toss paneer cubes evenly with salt, pepper, and corn starch.
Crisp the paneer on medium heat until golden brown on all sides.
Flash-cook aromatics and capsicum on high heat before adding sauces.
Thicken with cornflour slurry, gently fold in paneer, and serve hot.
