One of my favourite things to eat is Chilli Paneer! Paneer is an Indian cheese made from curdling milk, the solids are squeezed to remove all liquid and subsequently used in cooking. For many Indians who are strict vegetarians, paneer forms an essential part of their diet being a good source of protein. On its own paneer really doesn’t taste of much, which is why it is so important to season it when cooking. This dish is more of an Indo-Chinese inspired dish, it’s roots lie in a fusion of Indian and Chinese cooking which is why it has flavours that are familiar to both camps. My children and husband love this dish and when I cook this there are very rarely any leftovers.

There are lots of ways to cook this dish and this is just my way. It’s bursting with flavour and depending on how you like your chilli paneer, you can make it as spicy as you want. I have used bell peppers of different colours to make this dish really colourful but you can use just one colour or two if you prefer. If you wanted to experiment with different types of vegetables in this dish I would recommend using something that cooks fairly quickly at high heat; mange tout, baby sweetcorn or courgettes are good alternatives. The sauces I use in this recipe should be readily available to most of you, the one that could possibly be difficult to get hold of is the Worcestershire sauce, if this is the case simply replace using balsamic vinegar or a sharp/sour sauce. The spice I love using to give my paneer a unique flavour is a blend of five spices (cumin, fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds, fennel and nigella seeds) which is called Panch Puran in Bengali/Indian. It is used a lot in Bangladeshi and Indian cooking to add flavour to dishes. I buy the mixed seed blend and grind at home but this should also be available as a ground spice at good Indian grocery stores. Once you’ve tried this dish and realise how tasty it is, you’ll wonder how you ever went without!

Serves 4 – 6

You will need:

1 block of paneer (approx 180 – 200g)
1 tsp Bolsts curry powder
1/2 tsp ground Indian five spice (panch puran)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp crushed garlic (1 for marinating paneer, 1 for cooking)
oil
1.5 peppers (use 1/2 of each colour to give this dish colour)
1 red onion
3 green chillies (use 5/6 for a spicy chilli paneer)
3 – 4 spring onions
3 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp worcester sauce

Method:

This is what the Panch Puran looks like in whole form (bottom right photo). I simply grind it and store in an airtight container for use in my cooking.

Cut your paneer into equal sized cubes.

Add 1 tsp of crushed garlic, 1 tsp Bolsts mixed curry powder, 1/2 tsp panch puran and 1/2 tsp salt to the paneer cubes. Avoid adding too much salt at this stage as the sauces contain salt also. Mix everything well.

Heat a generous amount of oil in a large shallow pan.

Gently fry your paneer cubes till golden brown, turn occasionally to achieve a uniform colour. The paneer smells so good when frying, I usually pinch a few pieces at this point!

While the paneer is frying chop your peppers and red onion in big chunks. Finely slice 3 green chillies; if you want a spicier chilli paneer (this is very mild) double the amount and add 6 green chillies or go for scotch bonnet if you want it really fiery….

….and lastly slice 3 – 4 spring onions.

Once the paneer cubes are a golden brown colour, remove from the pan and reserve back in the bowl you mixed them in. Turn off the heat while you prepare the sauce for the chilli paneer.

In a clean bowl add 3 tbsp tomato ketchup….

….3 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce (can be either light or dark, both work fine) and 1 tsp Worcester sauce. Mix the sauces together and leave till required.

In the same pan you used to fry the paneer cubes, add a little more oil and heat well. Keeping the flame high, add the peppers and red onion, followed by the remaining 1 tsp of crushed garlic and the 3 sliced chillies.

Cook over a high heat for a couple of minutes like you would a stir fry, stirring to prevent burning.

Now add the fried paneer cubes, immediately followed by the mixed sauce we prepared earlier. Mix everything well and cook over a high heat for no more than 4 – 5 minutes, you want the onions and peppers to remain crunchy.

Lastly, add your chopped spring onions. There’s no need to cook the spring onions as the heat from the dish/pan will soften them, remove from heat after adding and stir through.

It’s ready! Serve your Chilli Paneer hot as a starter or as a main, with a plate of pilau/rice, naan or even chips. This is also a great dish for Iftar and makes a nice change from all the usual things we eat.

Bon Appetit! ??

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