Have you ever really disliked something - almost held a grudge against it, and then been proven completely and miserably wrong? Have you ever had your assumptions and pre-held beliefs proven as a misconception? It takes a very good cook to make you fall in love with something you've always disliked, but with this sweet and sour 'chilli' paneer, I was proven to be very, very wrong about paneer.
Let me tell you all something. I've never really been a fan of paneer. My Mother never cooked it, and on the few occasions I ate it somewhere outside, it was always flavourless, rubbery and just generally off-putting. When it was on the menu of my Waleema, I wasn't too excited. However, on the day, I heard compliments about how tasty the paneer was, so I decided to put a few cubes on my plate to try. 'My word', I thought, 'this is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!'.
I kid you not, I must have had three entire naans with that chilli paneer. Did I even care I was the bride? Nope. Did I care that I must have called the waiter to bring me more chilli paneer about 5 times? Nope. Did I even care that my husband ate way less than me? Oh not at all! I didn't try the chicken tikka or the chops - I don't even remember what else was on the menu. All I literally remember about my Waleema is the lip-smackingly delicious chilli paneer.
Me and my Mother would continue to rave about the chilli paneer weeks after my Waleema. Remember the chilli paneer we had at Panna's? Amazing. We need to go there again. Maybe we can celebrate my first anniversary there? Do you think we can get them to home deliver to us? Chillipaneerchillipaneerchillipaneer!
3 months after my wedding, my husband went to Pakistan for 2 weeks and I stayed at my Mother's home during that time. It was whilst we were having another chilli paneer rave that I decided I was going to try my hand at a recipe. I consulted one of my chachis who suggested some of the spices that must have been in it, and I then set off to the kitchen. And - my luck! The first batch only needed ever so minor tweaks and the second batch was almost replica of the chilli paner I had been dreaming about! To date, that must have been the least amount of time I spent in the kitchen trying to mimic another recipe! I don't think I can get a closer copy of the chilli paneer at Panna's without asking the chef! Can you imagine the sheer happiness I must have felt?
I must have then made 3 batches of the stuff over the next 48 hours then continued to make it for weeks whenever I could get my hands on some paneer.
Before I hand over the recipe to you, let me give you some background information on this dish. This dish is known as an 'Indo-Chinese' dish, meaning it's a fusion of Indian and Chinese cuisine. The sauce for this recipe can be used for a variety of dishes, including prawns, chicken, noodles, various vegetables etc - it's an amazingly versatile sauce! The real name for this dish is 'Chilli Paneer', but what strikes me is that chilli isn't the predominant flavour of this dish; it's the typical Chinese 'sweet and sour' taste that really comes through! The chilli can of course be adjusted to your taste, however I prefer to let the heat take a backseat in this recipe and let the flavours from the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar do most of the work!
Now that I've raved about the chilli paneer (as usual), here is the recipe! This goes best with fresh naan or on it's own to eat with a fork.
Enjoy, with love x
📋 Recipe
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 6 tablespoon (90 g) tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 0.5 teaspoon red chilli powder adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- 0.5 cup (125 ml) water
Remaining ingredients
- 10 oz (275 g) paneer cubed
- 1 cup (150 g) finely sliced spring onions or onions thinly sliced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- oil for frying
- ½ green capsicum sliced into long strips
Instructions
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside
- In a pan, deep fry the paneer cubes for 3-4 minutes, till they brown lightly. Remove and set aside.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoon of the oil from the pan. To this, add the sliced spring onions (or onion) and garlic and sauté on a medium heat, till the onions are light brown - about 7 minutes.
- Add the sauce to the pan. Bring to a boil and cook till it thickens slightly - about 4 minutes.
- Add the fried paneer cubes and capsicum slices into the sauce. Stir to coat the paneer and capsicum in all the sauce and allow it to simmer uncovered over a medium heat until the paneer is warmed through and the sauce has thickened to your liking.
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Mayya
I made this and it was sooo yummy. I preety much used all of Fatimah’s ingredients just not the vinegar, sugar or water. As i replaced that with mango chutney. But omg it smelt and tasted sooo good. Im not a big paneer fan but this dish has got me crazy for paneer. Lol thanks
Lady Bourne of Kidsgrovia
I bloody love this recipe and have made it quite a few times now. Absolutely brilliant since we became vegetarian, though I can't imagine a meat eater wouldn't be equally impressed! Thankyou x