Chilli Paneer

Paneer is a cheese normally made by adding citric acid or lemon juice to milk to curdle. The curdled mixture is then put in a muslin cloth to get rid of the moisture present in it. It is then compressed by adding a weight on top to give a block shape. Or we can get it processed from supermarket, already made in blocks. Paneer on its own is tasteless and doesn’t have any flavour. But when it is it prepared in specific ways, it is so tasty that you will have an unending craving for it.
My husband loves Paneer; I came to about it from him for the first time! Whenever we go out and spot paneer, he picks one and asks me to make something out it. I have prepared quite few dishes before with paneer, but we were not at all happy with the result. It used to be disappointing at times and I always think I would never prepare a dish that has paneer in it again. But I still keep trying because that’s the way to learn I suppose. Well, I had this block of paneer sitting in the fridge for some weeks and have been approaching its expiry date. So I thought I had to make something out of it that I have never tried before….I started searching for the recipes and finally came up with the Chilli Paneer that I spotted on http://www.pachakam.com/ and thought of giving it a go without much hope. For my surprise, it came out excellent. Here is the recipe that I followed:

Ingredients:
125 gm Paneer
3 tbs Corn flour
1½ tbs Plain flour
2 Green chillies (cut into thin & long strips)
4 large Garlic pods
1 onion, sliced thin
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vinegar
¼ tsp Sugar
¼ tsp Black pepper
2 tsp Soya sauce
2½ tsp ketchup
1 tbsp Chilly sauce
4 tbs water
Oil for deep frying

Preparation:
1. Make a thin paste of plain flour, corn flour and 1/2 tsp of salt.
2. Cut paneer into small square pieces. Dip them in the paste and fry till they become golden in colour. Don’t brown it, it will become hard and lose the texture.
3. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry green chillies, garlic and onion until the onion and garlic turns soft, but not brown.
4. In a separate small bowl mix salt, sugar, black pepper, chilly sauce, tomato sauce, soya sauce, vinegar and 4 tbsp water. Add it to the pan and cook for half a minute.
5. Add Paneer pieces and mix well. Serve hot as a starter,or side dish.