Paneer chili

I have tasted Paneer many times in restaurants, but had never tried cooking it at home. When I got recipe requests for Paneer chili and Paneer 65, I bought a pack of Paneer from Indian store here. I made Paneer chili and it was simply superb.
When I searched for Paneer chili, I got many recipes asking for deep frying of Paneer. I wanted to make non-deep fried version. So I followed Shynee’s Mashroom chili recipe with few changes. The final product was simply amazing. Even my husband who does not like Paneer, loved this dish.

Ingredients:
1 cup Paneer chopped into cubes
3-4 green chilies
1 tea spn soya sauce
1 tea spn tomato ketchup
1/2 tea spn ginger-garlic paste
1/2 cup onions slices
1/2 cup capsicum slices
1 tbl spn oil
2-3 strands coriander leaves
Salt

Method:
Heat oil and fry the Paneer cubes till they turn slightly brownish. Take them out.

In the remaining oil, add ginger-garlic paste and onions. Fry till onions turn translucent. Add capsicum, slitted green chilies and fry till they become soft. Add soya sauce, tomato ketchup, salt and Paneer. Mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot as a starter.

Serves: 2
Preparation time : 15mins

147 thoughts on “Paneer chili”

  1. Shilpa,

    I was searching for this recipe and lo behold you have it 🙂 There is a pack of paneer lying in my house I will try this today itself !!

    Thanks for the recipe
    Deepa

  2. shilpa-
    this looks like a nice recipe- i will try it sometime.
    if you ever want to make panir at home, it is quite easy…just heat 1 gallon of milk to boiling, turn off heat and add 1/2 cup of lime or lemon juice. stir once, cover and let sit for 15 min…then pour this through a “cheesecloth” or muslin cloth to collect the curds(save the whey for cooking dishes like mattar panir). tie up the ends and let it hang and drip for 8 hours(overnight). then take this down and press between 2 plates with a weight(kettle filled with water) on top for 4-5 hours. this will give you a high-quality panir…hope you try this sometime! also…if you only let it hang for 30 min, you can make “chenna” for chumchum/dilbahar or for ras gullas or ras malai….i live SO FAR from any store that sells panir that i had to learn to do this at home…:-)

  3. Shilpa this dish reminds me of a restaurant near my home in India…they make the most awesome chilli paneer. I think your version will give me the same results!!
    PS – noticed your recipe in the Missourian..congrats dear

  4. Deepa, Usha, Deepz, let me know if you try this.

    Pelicano, you have a lot of patience to prepare Paneer at home. I never tried it. I am inspired by your comment, so going to try it soon. Thanks.

    Thanks Anjali.

    Thanks Vitz. I didn’t know you like Paneer. Next time when you visit us, I will prepare this :).

    Rooma let me know if you try it.

    Krithika, from all of you, I am learning to take good pictures. May be I have improved a bit :D. Thanks for the comment :).

    Thanks a lot Ashwini. MyMissourian editor mailed me few days back and asked me to send recipes. Thats the first recognition I have got after so much of hard work.
    Hey, let me know if you try this recipe.

    Jasmine, I think you can substitute Tofu. I have tasted Tofu few times in Chinese restaurant but never cooked anything with it. I think it will go well. You can even add Mushroom instead of paneer.
    I used ” Than Kikkoman Regular Soy Sauce”. It is a “all purpose” soy sauce. Infact I was confused to see so many different soy sauces in the grocery stores here, I just picked up one. Don’t know if this brand is good choice or not. But the dish tasted amazing.

  5. cool….I love PCF and will try this out
    my small tip….chopped garlic is more fun than paste provided you love the taste of garlic…not many people do

  6. Thanks for the information. The dish looks superb and thanks for sharing the receipe with us.

    I am going to buy extra firm tofu and let u know how the dish comes out.

  7. i tried it with mushrooms today and it tasted really good. i made with mushrooms and yellow pepper and could n’t control myself from eating more and more.

  8. Hi,
    This was the first time i tried something out of paneer.
    it was yummy even my husband liked as he used to hate to buy paneer whenever we used to shop veggies.

  9. Hi Shilpa,
    I know my commemnt will look strange as if i m a boy and that too i m just 18. Actually sumwhat nowadays i started liking cocking so that it’ll gonna help me out as long after my marriage my future wife will be happy. I usualy try some recipies but the result comes definately something else..I jsut now tries to make paneer tikka but..don even say what haas happened to it.. well i’ll try out ur recipie also and i thing wanted to know that when i was frying the paneer pieces the it didnt became soft and if you give me some quick to make recipies and that too with ingridients normally found in the kitchen that it’ll be greta.. Hope to hera from you soon.. if u would like do send them to my id its [email protected]
    Sid

  10. SID, I didn’t understand what you want…you want paneer recipes? or the recipe to make paneer? or some other easy recipes? please clarify.

  11. Shilpa,
    I know how to make paneer, i just wanted to know paneer recipes and also some easy to make dishes if you can provide with than it will be great but the way i see it i think you are having problems understanding and replying to me than its ok, i wont post anymore.ok Take care and happy cooking.bye

  12. Hi
    I tried making it yesterday and u know what my hubby just loved the taste thank u so much,i also tried for the tomato soup n the garlic bread along with it.U know my husband never use to eat food which use to remain extra after we finish our dinner but today morning he told me to pack it for his lunch.

    Once again thank u it was fab.

  13. i am going to try this chilly paneer..today itsel;f i made paneer at home..
    can u please tell me the recepie for veg shewzen noodles.no non-veg pl..
    thanks

  14. Hi,
    The dish is really good.I would louve to try it.But can u please tell me how to fry Paneer without it getting hard.Unfortunately , whenever I try to prepare any paneer dish,in which it requires to be fried,it gets hard (a bit rubbery).

  15. Nilanjana, do not fry paneer for too long. Just heat a little oil and fry them till they become lightly brownish. They get hard when you fry for more time.

  16. Superb Shilpa My mouth started watering after seeing the photo. I am going to try this recipe tonight for dinner.

  17. fantastic site. We live in London and every restaurant serve this. I am definitely going to try this once fasting is over.

    I have just soaked sabudana and will try to make khichadi thanks.

  18. Kshipra Mondkar

    i tried this recipe 2day & it ws just awsome…i`m gonna try it out with mushrooms nxt time….only that i also added a cube of ‘maggie magic cube’ to the given recipe

  19. Shilpa,
    U r absolutely great cook,,i tried many receipes :)I am in UK,,here i dong get good paneer, can you tell me how to make paneer.
    thanks

  20. This is indeed a good recipe. I keep doing this with even Masala Paneer which I buy from the market.

    Tastes good.

    All can try.

  21. Shilpa…

    Thanks for the reciepe, I want to try, but i don’t have tomato ketchup right now at home, instead of that can I use tomato puree

  22. Yogesh Tandulwadikar

    This is too good and absolutely simple to make. I had prepared it last weekend, and believe me, everyone liked it.

  23. hi Shilpa
    your website is simply amazing
    I have recently started cooking regularly and ur website is like a bible i have to go thru it everyday!
    this one was wonderful i tried it and was so simple and tastes gr8
    the only thing i wanted to ask was about the ketchup….i used the hienz hot and spicy but it has a peculiar smell different from the ones in India…do u recommend any?

    Shilpa: Jui, thanks for the kind words. You can use any normal kethup. Hot an spicy and such special flavored ketchups might not be suitable for this.

  24. Hi Shilpa,

    Thanks for the tasty recipe. I tried it yesterday and loved it. It was just restaurant-taste like . I used Maggie Tomato Ketchup and Maggie Chatpat sauce (easily available in the Indian stores) along with Kikoman soy sauce.
    I am amazed by your culinary skills and am motivated by you especially as you are doing so many things at one time. Keep it up!

    Arati

  25. Hi Shilpa,

    As I mentioned above the recipe turned out really well for me. I observed one thing though and wanted to share with you.
    We put slit green chilies and capsicum in this but once cooked it becomes difficult to identify the chili from capsicum pieces while eating. I would suggest using yellow or red capsicum for that or let me know if you have any other option in mind.

    Thanks,
    Arati

    Shilpa: Arathi, after the dish gets ready, I sometimes remove the green chilies before serving(just need to remember how many pieces I had put in). Cut the capsicum into square-slightly bigger pieces to avoid confusion. I haven’t tried with red/yellow capsicum, not sure how they will turn out.

  26. Hi Shilpa I tried this dish and it was was good at taste but the paneer got a bit hard after some time cud you please tell me for how long shud I fry the paneer and also please tell me whether I shud use a frying pan for shallow fry or a Kadhai for deep frying.
    Thanks & God bless.


    Shilpa: Any shallow frying pan should be fine for this. Just put some oil and fry the pieces for about 3-4mins till they get a brownish coating on all sides. They should not fried for too long. Hope this helps

  27. Dear Shipa,

    This is a wonderful recipe and the taste reminds me of the Indian Chinese that I used to have as a child. My husband who is Australian loves the dish and we have it very often.

    Keep up the good work..

  28. Hi Shilpa,
    Some of your recipies remind me of my konkani cuisine. Are you konkani by any chance?

    Shilpa: Yes, I am a Konkani.

  29. Hi Shilpa… I tried paneer chilli and it was cool but guess what! Paneer melted too soon 🙁 Could you help me out how to cook paneer without melting?
    Regards,

    Shilpa: Fazila, you have to gently keep mixing paneers and it should not be fried for long. Just fry till they get a slight brownish color(hardly takes 5mins)

  30. wow! quite a few people respond to your blog…that’s nice 🙂
    This is the first time I’m checking out this site.Hope to try out something soon.

  31. i tried many times paneer at home, but each time failed. paneer gets melt i means breaks into pieces. Dont get usual shape those found in d restuarant.

    Shilpa: Is your hard enough? I mean, if you are making it at home, try to press it with hand and refrigerate for sometime before using it. Do not fry the pieces for long time. And while frying, do not keep stirring it with spoon, that breaks the paneer. Just stir once or twice very gently.

  32. Shilpa,
    Thanks for your ur informaiton on Paneer. Pl. accept my heartiest appreciation to you. Your blog is really wonderful.I got many useful information from your site.
    Pl. if possible give recipes which v can have it during fasting days.
    thanks again
    sada

  33. All eggless cake recipes are supurb…….can you tell me how to make paneer at home? i have never tried. This will be first time if you give me recipe.

  34. Shilpa Aunty, This recipe was fantastic and so easy!!! Its the first time I’ve ever tried anything from your website and the result was fabulous! Now I plan to use your website for almost everything I make!
    Could you please let me know if you have any recipes on Maharashtrian Aamti

    Shilpa: Karthik, I will be posting few soon.

  35. Hi Shilpa,

    I found your website by mistake. I am glad i made this mistake. What a gem!! I tried your recipe for Paneer Chilli only substituting it with Tofu. It turned out great. My husband loved it. Thanks and keep up the good work.

  36. Hi Shilpa,

    Just today I came across you site while i was trying to look for Chilli Paneer’s recipe. And I am amazed to see this informative site.

    Couldn’t stop appreciating your work. I really wonder where you find time and energy to prepare dishes and publish the recipes apart from your personal and official life. Hat’s off to you.

    Happy Dussera.

    Regards,
    Subba

  37. Shilpa,
    I made this with firm tofu as a starter for a Indo-Chinese dinner. Superb.
    I cut the tofu into cubes and baked for 30mins at 375F, that made it springy and less vulnerable to breaks when mixing in the sauce.

  38. This looks absolutely tempting. My husband loves food and iam trying every single thing on him.Iam gonna try it out and am sure he will love it and me too.

  39. Shilpa, last evening tried this dish and it came out so tasty. I somehow had given up on these cause we never get the proper taste when prepared at home but your dish which actually was so simple, turned out to be a perfect starter. thank you.

  40. I have tasted chilli paneer with different taste in different hotels I have tried last time with conflour but not made with proper taste just seen your preparation will try.Thanks

  41. hi shipla – have a query .we ever i fry paneer , it comes too hard. – same is the case when i tried paneer butter masala .should the fried paneer be soaked in warm water before adding to the gravy. pls do let me know cause me n my husband love paneer dishes – but paneer never remains soft if fried , and becomes too soggy if not ! 🙁

    Shilpa: Priya, I usually fry paneer just till the outer edges become brown. That way they dont become too hard. Do you use homemade paneer?

  42. no shilpa- i use ready made paneer cubes. do they have to be shallow fried or deep fried ?

    Shilpa: Priyam, shallow frying should be enough. But I fee, you should try once by making paneer at home. I guess the frozen paneer might be the culprit(not sure).

  43. This is our hot favorite! whenever we crave paneer, we just dish up the paneer with soy sauce, chillies, capsicum and onions:) your’s looks great Shilpa!

  44. i know this recipe and this is our favourite. add chopped tomatoes at the end and kasuri methi as well ,then taste it .so this would be another recipe.
    thanks

  45. Hi,
    a sugstion for frying paneer for chilly paneer….
    take maida and cornflour powder of equal quantities,add a little salt,garlic(optional) n black pepper,mix with water to make the paste…
    dip paneer into it n thn fry thm…
    i hope u all will like it.
    regards
    shilpa

  46. Hi Shilpa,
    came across u’r website a few days back,and already i am abig fan.I am an out and out foodie and seeing so much of our aamchegele food makes my mouth water:)
    Paneer is another favourite, can i make this dish without frying the paneer?My mil has high chol. so trying to cut down on oil.

    Shilpa: Yes Poornima, you can make it without frying. In this recipe, it is not deep fried, so it won’t take much oil even if you decide to fry it.

  47. Hi Shilpa,

    A suggestion for softer paneer…
    after deep-frying paneer, put the pieces in a bowl of cold (not chilled) water, and remove them after 2-3 mins. Squeeze out the excess water softly..and use.

  48. I made this for valentines’ day last week as a starter with home-made paneer….fantastic…so simple yet amazing results!

    Thank you!

    Sanj

  49. After frying panir, put it immediately in bowl of room temp water.Then take it out drain it of the water for a few minutes on wipe paper or muslin cloth and then put in the curry.

    The oil if replaced by water and then drained makes the panir more receptive to the curry or gravy you are putting it into.
    Also fried hot panir tends to get very hard and a bit chewy if left by itself

  50. Hi !

    I tried Paneer Chilli at home. B’coz I really love it. Fried Paneer wa s not so soft. Why? what care should we have to take to make it more soft…Taste was good..but Paneer was too hard to eat.

  51. saumya venkatesh

    hi shilpa
    i am one big fan of ur recipes.
    have tried poli,pesarattu n lots of other recipes from u
    obviously,they tasted heavenly..thanks a lot shilpa
    i want to know how to cut n fry paneer
    i stay in bangalore,buy paneer from supermarkets n store in d fridge
    i find it difficult to cut paneer bcoz it s very hard n they dont come out square in shape
    secondly when i fry they splutter n are nt even in colour
    plz help assap i am planning to try it this weekend
    bye

  52. Hi Shilpa
    What a fab recipe! I have tried it many times and each time it has been a hit!
    A couple of small changes I made are:
    -Fry the paneer and leave in warm/hot water until needed, this keeps it soft
    -add sliced celery, when adding peppers. I noticed this at a local restaurant, which gives the dish a crisp texture.
    -The final touch they give by adding some raw spring onions & green chillies at the end as a garnish.
    Many thanks Shilpa, this is one of the dishes I make most frequently by family demand. It’s a No.1 hit!!
    Sonia

  53. Hi Shilpa
    What a fab recipe! I have tried it many times and each time it has been a hit!
    A couple of small changes I made are:
    -Fry the paneer and leave in warm to hot water, squeeze and use, this keeps it soft
    -add sliced celery, when adding peppers. I noticed this at a local restaurant, which gives the dish a crisp texture.
    -The final touch they give by adding some raw spring onions & green chillies at the end as a garnish.
    Many thanks Shilpa, this is one of the dishes I make most frequently by family demand. It’s a No.1 hit!!
    Sonia

  54. Hi shilpa,

    i tried this recipe of yours with frozen paneer, thawed it as instructions on the paclage n then followed ur method….result: mindblowing!!!!!!!!!…will surely try this with fresh paneer for sure……ever since this has been a staple starter in my home!!!!!!!!!!

    Thanks again,

    Veda

  55. hi ur receipes seems to b very interesting. going to try ur ragada patis today. can u send me ur receipe for palak paneer/ thanks with lots of luvs raji

  56. hi!!!!!!!
    this is a gd recipe…. it turned out well….i wonder if u can help me with some quick gravy that can be had with khichdi or pulav……….i was used to making dahi kadhi ,but now since we have moved to stay in a very cold region ,making of curds at home is not possible as it takes two to three days to set home made curds and then it s taste is not appealing.

    thanks ,
    Meghna

  57. Shipa,
    This s the first time am visiting the site and this the first recipe which i ve tried in my kitchen with reference of a site.Wow, its mind blowing experience for me dear.Thnx a lot for sharing this recipe.
    I will be very thankful to you if u could post Panneer Matar masala.once again a big thnx for u.

    Regds,
    Sumi

  58. Shipa,
    This s the first time am visiting the site and this the first recipe which i ve tried in my kitchen with reference of a site.Wow, its mind blowing experience for me dear.Thnx a lot for sharing this recipe.
    I will be very thankful to you if u could post Paneer Matar masala.once again a big thnx for u.

    Regds,
    Sumi

  59. shilpajeee ..
    thnx for the easy recipe …. it makes life easier u see ..
    trying to help wifey with the food department .. and this one did wonders u wont believe 🙂
    thnx again

  60. What I do is add a teaspoon of cornflour mixed in about 3 tablespoons of water and allow to thicken when still cooking. This gives some tangy gravy. I also use finely chopped ginger and garlic instead of the paste. It adds tothe crunchy taste.

  61. Hi Shilpa,

    I appreciate your efforts for sharing the recipes. Paneer chilly is one of my favorite dishes. I make it in a similar way as you have shown. I like to add a few methi seeds and cumin seeds to the oil before adding the garlic and ginger paste. May be you can try it sometime and let me know whether you liked it.

  62. Ranjani Narayan

    Every time I make any paneer dish, instead of deep frying the paneer I just put the paneer on a greased microwave safe plate and micro wave it on high for 5mins with a 10sec break after each minute. Just run this under cold water and paneer will taste as good as deep fried……….:-)

  63. Paneer chilli recipe is v nice and simple to follow, v quick and time saving. Thanks for showing ways to keep husband’s taste buds happy 🙂

  64. shilpa..

    i tried this recipe and it came out very well.. my husband loved it.. Thanks for sharing.. Btw do you have recipes for authentic ayengar bakery items.. 🙂 i miss all those snacks here..

  65. I AM A LOVER OF PANNER ITEMS. WHEN I VISITED PATIALA I HAD CREAM PANNER AT A RESTAURANT CALLED “CHAWAL’S “. I TRIED TO MAKE THE SAME DISH AT HOME BUT I COULD NOT GET THE TASTE. CAN YOU PLS SEND ME THE RECIPE FOR THE SAME.

  66. I make this dish the almost the same way except for frying the paneer.
    I just heat my tava and put the paneer , the fat in the paneer browns it really well.

    My mama does it this way to cut any extra fat ..

    Just thought I would share it with you..

    Thanks

  67. I am sure its yummy…and so easy.
    I think adding spring onions will enhance this dish even further…I am surely gng to try it.
    I wondered shilpa, how did coriander go with soya sauce flavour? Let me know..that’s sounds big time fusion for me…
    cheers
    anupama

    Shilpa: You can try it Anupama. I liked the flavors.

  68. hi there,

    thanxs a bunch for this recipe. i love paneer and was a bit fed-up with palak paneer so ur chili paneer recipe was heaven sent. i made it yesterday n it came out fantastic, nice n pungent. the only adjustment i made was- i fried the onions, ginger-garlic,soya sauce,ketchup,capsicum etc.. first n kept it aside. when my hubby n i were ready to eat i fried the paneer for 3 mins n added them to the onion-capsicum mixture on fire for 3mins . we ate the dish after 20-25 mins n the paneer was still soft. i absolutely loved it. so all u guys who hv a problem with paneer getting hard try my way maybe it will help!
    -thanxs for the recipe.

  69. These are great reciepies.. i am trying your style phulkas today..
    I stay in canada where we do not get Paneer, how can we modify this to Tofu?. I am going to try replacing panner with Tofu as is.. let us see how this turns up!.
    Please do post any tofu reciepies..

  70. I really loved the receipes! Will try it out!Im a pure veg-n wanted how to make eggless cakes!Thanks for that.Ive been gifted a microwave oven, but i dont know what all i can make-will start with the cake!

    bye aditi

  71. I tried preparing almost all receipes. Some were tasty and some not much. I want u should help out in other various receipes.

    Thank u.

  72. I usually make Paneer Mattar (Peas). I am going to try your recipe. When I try to fry the Paneer with little oil, water oozes out of the paneer while frying it in oil. Are there any precautions to be taken while frying Paneer in oil.

  73. hi,
    i lately discovered this website…had i known about it during the first few months after marriage…my hubby would’nt have suffered!i am very fond of cooking and trying out new recipes but was looking at websites that were’nt offering great ones…i heard about your website from my friend and i tried out paneer chilli yesterday and it was a big hit!my hubby loved it..i am looking forward to trying more of your recipes…thank you!

  74. hi shilpa,
    this looks like a very quick receipe of paneer. my husband ,amit loves paneer and i tried this receipe. he was very happy.
    thnks and keep writingg
    sakshi

  75. hi shilpa
    i tried your chilli paneer and i tried the same recipe with tofu.Both results were excellent.just wanted to let you know.looking forward for more yummy recipes
    sindhu

  76. Shilpa, I made this yesterday and turned out awesome.
    It was a delicious evening snack yesterday for us.
    Thanks for the recipe.

  77. Hey Shilpa,

    First of all we want to thank you for this awesome blog that you have here!

    My husband is a big fan of yours & he wants to meet you some day 🙂 He was the one to introduce me to your blog. He used to live in Florida for 3 yrs & has relied on your receipes since then. I have no complains as he loves to cook & thanks to your receipes i am treated with great food at times!
    Now we are in Oxford, MS we still havent stopped checking your blog!

    Your maaps are perfect! We dont have to make any changes which we do for other receipes.

    Thanks agan!

    TC (hope to meet you sometime)
    Regards,
    Kartick & Shilpa Shirur

  78. thanks for the recipe. i tried making and it came out real gud!! now i try the similar recipe with different veggies, i have also shared the recipe with a couple of my frens. they all did try and loved it.

  79. dear shilpa,

    easy recipe. im planning of trying it tomorrow. will let you know how it turns out.

    regards,
    vinaya.

  80. i tried this recipe but the panner was totally stuck to the kadai while deep fryin even on a low flame….how to prevent this???

  81. hai..today i tried this.I didn’t fry the paneer.Instead microwaved for 5 min(someone had mentioned in comments that it works well).But paneer had became too harder.Anyway thanks for the receipe.

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