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Home » Video Recipes » Chilli Paneer Recipe

Published: Jul 31, 2020 | Modified: Mar 28, 2024 by Hina Gujral

Chilli Paneer Recipe

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Chilli Paneer is a fusion Indian-Chinese main course dish. Follow my tips and tricks to make restaurant-style chilli paneer gravy at home. Be sure to watch the video!

Aerial shot of chilli paneer in a white ceramic serving bowl on a black background.
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  • My Secret Tips
  • Watch Chilli Paneer Video
  • Serving Suggestion
  • More Indian-Chinese Recipes
  • Chilli Paneer Recipe

Hina Says -“We, in India, love paneer and anything loaded with Indo-Chinese flavours. Chilli Paneer is the perfect combination of these two crowd-charming favourites.”

It is the most popular vegetarian version of takeout style Kung Pao Chicken or Chilli Chicken. BIG on flavours and loaded with the goodness of cottage cheese (paneer).

In the Indian sub-continent, you can easily spot chilli paneer on the menu of many restaurants or takeaway joints.

Ok, let’s get right to it.  Here are the important things I have learned over the years about making an excellent Chilli Paneer:

  • Use the fresh and best quality paneer for the dish.
  • Marination is one crucial step in the making of Chilli Paneer. Marinate paneer for at least 30 minutes before shallow frying.
  • Cooking for too long is the last thing you want to do for an Indian-Chinese dish. It has to be quickly stir-fried. So that the vegetables do not lose their crunch and the paneer is not turn chewy.
  • To make a little extra sauce, add ¼ Cup of water while cooking the vegetables. Simmer the sauce until it thickens. And then add the paneer. If you prefer dry Chilli Paneer, do not add more than 2 – 3 tablespoons of water.
  • At last, allow the paneer to absorb the sauce’s flavour. Let paneer sit in the pan for at least 5 – 10 minutes before serving.
Paneer Chilli in a white serving bowl with fried rice blur in the background.

My Secret Tips

TIP #1 – soak the block of paneer in lukewarm water for 5 – 6 minutes before marinating. This way, your paneer will always be super soft and moist even after shallow frying.

TIP #2 – the secret formula for making restaurant-style chilli paneer is my homemade chilli paste. It is bursting with real flavours. One tablespoon of it in the gravy, and you will fall in love with the taste. No store-bought sauce can give you this taste.

TIP #3 – To make a vegan chilli sauce, use tofu or mushroom instead of paneer as I did in this vegan tofu stir fry. Marinate, shallow-fry, and cook the tofu/mushroom in the chilli sauce. Chilli Mushroom or tofu is a gratifying vegan meal for lunch or dinner.

Watch Chilli Paneer Video

Serving Suggestion

Chilli Paneer is served as a snack and main course. The dry version of the dish is served as an appetizer.

For the main course, serve it with chilli garlic noodles, chicken fried rice, mushroom fried rice, steamed jasmine rice, or sticky rice.

You can use the leftover chilli paneer to make vegetarian tortilla wraps for the evening snacks and school lunch boxes.

If sandwiches and wraps are not your things, toss the leftover chilli paneer with cooked rice, and you have a fantastic one-pot meal.

Aerial shot of chilli paneer in a white ceramic serving bowl on a black background.

More Indian-Chinese Recipes

  • Soya Manchurian
  • Masala Macaroni
  • Dry Chilli Chicken
  • Honey Chilli Potato
  • Chilli Garlic Noodles
  • Chinese Chopsuey
  • Chilli Mushroom Gravy
  • Vegetable Hot Garlic Sauce

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If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment and a rating. This helps us grow and reach other food lovers like you.

Aerial shot of chilli paneer in a white ceramic serving bowl on a black background.

Chilli Paneer Recipe

Chilli Paneer is a fusion Indian-Chinese main course dish. Follow my tips and tricks to make restaurant-style chilli paneer gravy at home.
5 from 5 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 329kcal
Author: Hina Gujral
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Chinese Wok
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Ingredients

  • 200 gram paneer (cottage cheese), cut into cubes
  • 1 Cup diced onion
  • 1 Cup diced capsicum
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoon chopped spring onion
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour (corn starch)
  • 1 Cup water

Ingredients For Sauce:

  • 4 dry red chilli (sabut lal mirch)
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 1 tablespoon garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped onion
  • ¼ Cup hot water
  • 2 tablespoon tomato ketchup

Ingredients for the marinade

  • 4 tablespoon corn flour (cornstarch)
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (maida)
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Prep Work:

  • Soak paneer block in lukewarm water for 5 – 6 minutes. Later, cut into cubes. Marinate the paneer cubes in corn flour, all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Mix nicely to coat each paneer cube with the flour mixture. Add a tablespoon of water if the marinade is too thick. Set aside.
  • Prepare my secret sauce. Soak dry red chili in hot water. Cover and set aside for 5 – 6 minutes for chilies to soften a bit. Later, blend the chilies along with soaked water, ginger, garlic, onion, and tomato ketchup to a smooth sauce. Set aside.
  • Make a paste of cornflour and water. Mix nicely to make a lump free mixture. Set it aside till required.

Prepare Chilli Paneer:

  • Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Shallow fry the marinated paneer cubes until light golden in color and crisp from both sides. Do not turn the paneer cubes again and again while frying. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  • In the same pan add ginger and garlic. Stir fry for a minute. Add onion, and stir-fry over a high flame for 1 – 2 minutes or till onion soften a bit.
  • Add the capsicum and sauté for a minute or so.
  • Next add vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce, salt, and mix nicely.
  • Now, add the cornflour paste and stir the sauce continuously to avoid any lump formation.
  • The sauce will start thickening now. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly
  • Once the sauce thickens, add fried paneer cubes. Stir to combine. Allow the sauce to simmer over low heat for 5 – 6 minutes for paneer to absorb the flavor.
  • Garnish the chilli paneer with chopped spring onion greens.
  • Serve Chilli Paneer with fried rice.

Recipe Notes:

  • Recommended Equipment: Wok ( buy it here )
  • Do not deep-fry the marinated paneer cubes as they become chewy and hard. 
  • You can prepare my secret chili sauce in advance and store in the fridge. Or the leftover sauce can also be stored in the fridge. 
  • The chili sauce is spicy. Hence, taste it and then add to the gravy accordingly. We love spicy food so add the entire cup. 
  • To adjust the consistency of the gravy add more water if required. 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 424mg | Potassium: 196mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 178IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 266mg | Iron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Charu says

    May 23, 2020 at 2:41 pm

    Very different recipe. I tried it many times!

    Reply
    • Hina Gujral says

      May 25, 2020 at 11:33 am

      Thank you for your valuable feedback.

      Reply
  2. Shruthi says

    May 24, 2020 at 11:07 pm

    Loved the recipe! Thank you 🙂

    Reply
    • Hina Gujral says

      May 25, 2020 at 11:33 am

      Glad you like it!

      Reply
  3. Manisha says

    June 03, 2020 at 2:26 pm

    Tried this recipe . Came out very well . Didn’t have whole red chillies so substituted with Ching’s red chilli sauce. Thank you so much for the recipe!!

    Reply
    • Hina Gujral says

      June 03, 2020 at 6:36 pm

      Great! It is always best to substitute with available ingredients.

      Reply
  4. Ruchi says

    July 09, 2020 at 1:33 pm

    Perfect. My mom tried this recipie for the first time and it came out so delicious. LOVED IT !!

    Reply
    • Hina Gujral says

      July 09, 2020 at 5:33 pm

      thanks a million. I am so happy that your family loved the recipe.

      Reply
  5. Javeriya Shah says

    August 02, 2020 at 2:04 am

    It’s so delicious , my mouth is watering just at the thought of it , amazing definitely trying .

    Reply
    • Hina Gujral says

      August 03, 2020 at 11:55 am

      Great! So happy that you liked the recipe.

      Reply
  6. Taste the Fun says

    September 17, 2020 at 11:23 pm

    I have tried it at my home. It was delicious so much that I can’t confer it in words. Appreciative to you for such a brilliant sharing.

    Reply
    • Hina Gujral says

      September 18, 2020 at 11:50 am

      Thank you so much for your feedback!

      Reply
  7. Gauri verma says

    October 01, 2020 at 2:32 pm

    Loving it…how can we make it in advance..like for dinner party…can I make it 3 to 4 hours early..thanks

    Reply
    • Hina Gujral says

      October 01, 2020 at 5:57 pm

      Yes, absolutely. Last-minute simply reheat it in a pan or microwave. It might thicken a bit add little water while reheating.

      Reply
  8. Alka says

    October 20, 2020 at 9:38 pm

    This turned out to be awesome. I think the key was chilli sauce. Can you please confirm why vinegar changes the taste of the dish so differently? Anything specific to consider while using Vinegar?

    Reply
    • Hina Gujral says

      October 21, 2020 at 11:52 am

      Glad you like it. But I didn’t understand the question. What change vinegar made to the dish?

      Reply
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Hello, I’m Hina Gujral.

Banker to Blogger. Married to a like-minded food lover. Mother of a food critique pug – MOMO.

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