Paneer Chilli

The people of Northern India consume alot of Paneer. Any time we eat out at restaurants, most of the vegetarian menu is filled with some form of paneer starter or entree. It's okay to eat it occasionally, but I do not think I am game yet for eating it almost every single day.

The past couple of times I have made paneer at home, it turned out pretty good. The one thing that we wanted to change was to shallow fry the paneer pieces before adding to pan. Today, I made a drier version than usual just to experiment with. It will be served with Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice (See recipe in next post.)

200 gm paneer, chopped in cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 green chilies, chopped
2" piece ginger, grated
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp paneer masala
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp ketchup
1 tsp soya sauce
Salt to taste
1 tbsp corn starch
Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. First, cube the paneer and shallow fry both sides of the paneer cubes in 1 tbsp oil in skillet. Drain and remove fried paneer from pan. Keep aside.
2. Using remaining oil, add the chopped green chilies, ginger, and garlic to pan and stir fry for 20 seconds. Then add the onions and saute until golden brown.
3. Next add in the bell peppers and close lid to cook until bell peppers are soft.
4. Add in the ketchup, soya sauce and dry spices and close lid to cook.
5. Finally, add in the paneer cubes. Mix well to make sure all cubes are evenly coated with spices. Add a splash of water. **
6. Mix the corn starch with 3 tbsp of water to form a thin paste. Add the paste to the gravy to thicken the sauce up, cover lid, and continue to cook on medium flame for about 3-4 minutes.
7. Garnish with lemon juice , chopped green onions and chopped cilantro, remove from heat and serve hot.

** If you prefer your chili paneer to have gravy add about 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce or 3-4 tomatoes and add in Step 5.

I was sick and was not in the mood to eat dinner,. While I was eating my toast, Bhavnesh enjoyed the paneer chili. He said that it turned out alright. He prefers the original way I made it - Tangy Paneer.