I don’t have a high tolerance for spicy food, unless it gets balanced with sour and sweet. That’s exactly what this dish is. It does have a high level of heat from fresh chili but the sourness from soya sauce and sweetness from ketchup makes the sauce incredibly finger licking good.
What is Chili Paneer ?
Chili Paneer is a spicy Paneer dish that have few chunky bite size vegetables and crispy paneer all cooked in a spiced sweet sticky sauce. You can make Chili Paneer dry or Chili Paneer with gravy. Alternatively you can also prepare Chili Paneer with tofu and make the dish vegan. The dish falls under the category of Indo-Chinese food, a preferred kind of food to most Indian palates. As the name suggests, it’s our Indian twist to Chinese food. Although, back in India, most people will often refer to it as Chinese food. Until my first work trip to Beijing, China (which happened several years back), I had no clue how different authentic Chinese food tastes. If you ask me, I love both the varieties just equally.
How to prepare Spicy Chili Paneer?
Paneer: You need to quote the paneer cubes in corn flour and either deep fry or shallow fry to make it golden crispy. Vegetables: Onion, assorted bell peppers, green onions are few of the common vegetables that definitely goes in. I used wax pepper instead of green bell peppers only because I am not a big fan of green bell peppers. Garlic, Ginger, Green Chili: You need to used fresh ginger and garlic for the best flavor. Green chili adds the refreshing heat but if you don’t like too spicy food, than avoid the fresh green chili. Soya sauce: Soya sauce is absolutely a mandate to bring the flavor of the sauce together. It is a quick stir fried dish, so prepping all the ingredients in advance is a good idea.
You can prepare the same dish using boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite size. Or veganize it by using firm tofu.
There is a fair amount of chopping that goes in and once that is done, the dish comes together effortlessly. Paneer tends to get stiff as it gets cold and I prefer to serve the dish right away. You can surely make it in advance; just remember to warm the dish nicely so the paneer softens up again. Spicy Chili Paneer is a very uplifting dish, the heat is balanced with the sweetness and the sticky sauce is finger licking good. I love to pair it with noodles but you can always go with fried rice too. Pair this delicious Chili Paneer with this Vegetable Chow Mein
