Chilli Paneer | a quick-fix recipe

I had this slab of paneer in my fridge which I wanted to finish off. Not in a mood to go for any elaborate recipe, I was contemplating on going for my 20 mins Paneer Butter Masala. But I had not any tomatoes and just one onion in my pantry! My weekly shopping was pending and I was left with just a limited stock to dish out my lunch!

So with one onion, a few capsicum and some green chillies and of course a slab of paneer, here is what I managed to dish out :) 

This simple Chilli Paneer, goes really well with Jeera Rice or a simple Fried Rice. I had some left over from my meal that day and surprisingly, the left over, when re-heated and eaten tasted even better the next day :D Just remember to have serve this dish hot, as the paneer tends to get hard when cooled.

Makes: 1 big bowl

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

Paneer / Cottage Cheese - 200 gms

Onion - 1 medium

Capsicum - 1 small

Green Chillies - 3-4

Corn Flour - 2 tsp

Pepper Powder - 2 tsp

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Soya Sauce - a dash

Salt - to taste

Oil - as needed

Method

• Slice the paneer lenght-wise into thin pieces. Take a mixing bowl and toss in the sliced paneer pieces. Add pepper powder, corn flour, olive oil and a pinch of salt and mix well. Allow the paneer to marinate for about 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, slice the onion, capsicum and  green chillies into thin slices. Keep aside.
• Heat a tsp of oil in a pan and once hot, toss in the marinated Paneer and allow to roast a little for about 5 minutes on medium flame. Occasionally toss around the paneer slices to allow to cook on all sides.
• Take them off the stove and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add in a little more oil (olive or sunflower) and once hot, add the green chillies and onions. Allow the onions to caramelize.
• Now, add in the capsicum and mix well.

• After frying for 2 mins, add in salt and ginger-garlic paste. Stir well.
• Allow the mixture to cook for about 5 minutes on medium flame and then add in about 2-3 tsp of soya sauce and stir well. Toss in the pan-roasted paneer slices and mix to bring all the ingredients together.
• Cook for another 2 minutes and turn off the flame.
• Serve hot with Fried Rice or Rotis.

 


 Tips:

• You can add in spring onions as well to this recipe while you fry the regular onions. And finally to garnish the dish while serving.
• The paneer tend to get hard when the dish cools down, so remember to heat is just before serving.
• Do not add in too much corn-flour, this thickens the consistency of the paneer. We need just enough to give a light coating around the paneer.