By Zainab Shah
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- 4(386)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Served at restaurants on both sides of the Pakistan-India border, this spicy, sticky paneer’s popularity is testament to China’s culinary influence on the region. The word “dry” in the title references the preparation’s consistency compared to more saucy, gravy-rich dishes. Coating paneer in batter then frying it gives the mild fluffy cheese a crispy crust, then tossing it in a thick chile-soy sauce imbues it with salt and heat. Onion and bell pepper provide just enough fresh, sweet relief until the next bite. The dish forms a deluge of pleasurable textures and fiery flavor in 30 minutes. If you’d like, you can substitute tofu for the paneer and skip the batter frying.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 3tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- ¼teaspoon Kashmiri red chile powder (or other mild red chile powder)
- 1pound paneer (store-bought or homemade), cut into ¾-inch cubes (see Tip)
- 2tablespoons soy sauce (preferably dark soy sauce)
- 2tablespoons ketchup
- 1tablespoon rice vinegar
- ¼cup vegetable or other neutral oil
- 3whole dried red chiles (such as dundicut or Thai), stems removed
- 3fresh green Thai or serrano chiles, sliced
- 1tablespoon garlic paste or freshly grated garlic
- 1teaspoon ginger paste or freshly grated ginger
- 1bell pepper, halved, seeded and cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 1medium onion, halved and cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 2scallions, sliced
- Rice (optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
313 calories; 19 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 884 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a large bowl, mix flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon black pepper and the Kashmiri red chile powder with ¼ cup water to form a smooth, thick paste. Add paneer and, using your hands or a spatula, coat evenly.
Step
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In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar and remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch; set aside.
Step
3
In a large frying pan or wok, heat the oil for 45 seconds on high. Add paneer pieces and fry undisturbed until paneer starts to change color, 10 to 30 seconds. Flip to fry the opposite side until paneer starts to turn golden, 10 to 30 seconds more. Remove paneer pieces and set aside.
Step
4
To the same pan, stir in dried red chiles, fresh green chiles, garlic and ginger; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in bell pepper and onion and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until onion and bell pepper soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
Step
5
Return the paneer to the pan and stir until everything is thoroughly mixed. Stir the soy sauce mixture then pour it into the pan. Cook, stirring, until the sauce evenly coats the paneer, onion and bell pepper, about 3 minutes. Top with additional black pepper and the scallions. Serve with rice or on its own.
Tip
- If you’re using store-bought paneer, soak the cubes in warm water for 10 minutes for a light and fluffy texture.
Ratings
4
out of 5
386
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Cooking Notes
Susan
To make about a cup of paneer (although it’s easy to multiply), bring a quart of whole milk to a boil. Remove from heat. Add 2 T. white vinegar. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Pour into a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Gather the cheesecloth in your hand and gently squeeze to remove the excess whey. Transfer the "bag" of curds to a small plate. Put another plate on top and put a weight (like a big can of tomatoes) on top. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. It will be firm enough for this recipe in an hour.
Durham
This is a very easy and tasty dish! Even my kids loved it (I made it less spicy than the recipe). One of the best dishes I've made from this website.
Lili
I made this with only things in my pantry, so thus:Used halloumi instead of paneer. Worked great. Will definitely try it with paneer too though when I can.Didn't have any dried chilies so I used red pepper flakes. Used red jalapenos for the fresh. Subbed chopped tomatoes for ketchup. No ginger :( It's still so delicious! 10/10. Will make again with the proper ingredients! The paste to coat the cheese is delicious and makes it really crispy and golden.
Mason
I’m gonna try baking this tonight and see how it goes. Using extra firm tofu.
Bink
I love this, very similar to Gobi Manchurian. I do extra bell peppers and onions and I substitute queso blanco for the paneer, which is hard to find around us. The queso blanco holds up to pan frying and has a delicious texture.
Linda
Paneer is really easy to make yourself with milk and lemon juice or vinegar. I don't have exact instructions in my head, but you can Google how to make paneer.
MiKo
Wonder if one could substitute tofu for the paneer?
Barbara Lee
Could this dish be made in an air fryer?
Bink
Even in the “rural south” you should be able to find queso blanco (a great paneer substitute!) Mexican groceries have many types of cheese that work, queso blanco is my favorite, queso de fried would work too but it’s saltier. Halloumi would also work well and Aldi usually carries it, just don’t get the marinated version.
paul
I was wondering the same thing as Shelly so found this: https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/how-to-make-paneer-cubes-at-home/
Richard
According to Grammar-Monster.com: ""Chile," "chili," and "chilli" are all correct spellings for the hot pepper. The spelling you should use depends on whether you are following US or UK writing convention or whether you are Hispanic."
Natalie
Made this tonight!I doubled the sauce recipe, added sambal and a touch of Thai chili sauce. I coated the paneer cubes in the flour-cornstarch mix, without liquid, and baked the cubes at 425° for a half hour. I omitted the fresh garlic and chilis and added the ginger to the sauce. Along with the bell peppers I added bok choy because I had it in my fridge and it was going to go bad. My husband and I really liked it! I want to try this with cauliflower as others have suggested.
Avery
This was tasty and came together super quick (maybe even less than the stated time) but I’d double the amount of sauce, and add more garlic and a bit more ginger.
Kathy
Never had/cooked with paneer before. I made my own. It came out a bit crumbly but ok I think.Ratios seemed off. Even with exactly 1 lb. of paneer I didn't have enough batter to thoroughly coat all the pieces. 3 serranos made this crazy spicy for me (I'd cut down in future). I also didn't think it had enough sauce for my taste. A bit of commercial sweet chile sauce added over my bowl at the end actually improved this a lot for me and cut the heat a bit. Not a repeat for me.
Anna
Incredible recipe! Why did I wait so long to make this?
Amanda
What a great combination of flavors! Used queso de freír instead of paneer and cayenne instead of Kashmiri chile powder. Skipped the dried chiles. The serranos and cayenne provided sufficient heat.
Shreya
Loved it! I added some Maggi hot & sweet sauce to the marinade as well. Super tasty recipe
Andy P
Wow. This was GREAT!!!!
Kimberly Boyer
This was delicious!
Rio S
This was so good! Very quick + utilizes lots of pantry / fridge staples. Plus lots of room for customization and adding extra veggies <3
Robyn
The batter came off my paneer in a goopy mess when I tried to fry it. I used frozen cubed paneer and soaked it in cold water to thaw per package instructions. I’m not sure what went wrong but sadly had to give up.
Mia
This was pretty easy and really good. I baked the paneer at 425 for about 30 minutes and was happy with the result, although frying it would probably get it even crispier. Tofu would also be good I think. I used fresh chilis and doubled the sauce and veggies.
CS
Super easy and delish! It's a regular on week nights. We use extra firm tofu instead and fresh chiles.
JW
45 seconds was was too short to get up to adequate heat. Three or four minutes was much better.
Tooty
Only had about 7 oz of paneer so halved the dry ingredients but used extra peppers and a whole onion. Made the full sauce recipe. My husband and I both loved it. He said it was even better the second day (he ate it for breakfast).
Liza
I had made this with tofu as no paneer locally, while the sauce was delicious the tofu was meh. Then found paneer and tried again... didn't want to fry so baked it at 425 for 30 min as someone else suggested and the cubes turned into rocks, completely inedible. My oven to blame? Or store paneer? We tossed the rocks, cut up some more paneer and just threw it into the pan as is with the onions and peppers, salvaged the meal. But I'm 0 for 2 and won't try again. Your mileage may vary.
michelle
This was so tasty and came together quickly. A 6oz block of paneer was pretty expensive for me so I combined with 10oz of extra firm tofu - worked great and will absolutely be making again!
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