When we talk about iconic dishes, one of the iconic Indian-Chinese dishes is Chilli Paneer. Now a traditional Chilli Paneer has got a lot of oil, a lot of Ajinomoto, and, most importantly, a very unhealthy coating of carbohydrates around the paneer. But it should be all about health and fun balance. Here, you will learn to prepare a tasty and healthy version of Chilli Paneer.
Ingredients:
The golden rule of Chinese cooking, it’s always about the ingredients. The cooking process is simple, but you should always be sure about the ingredients. The ingredients to be used are:
2 Tbsp Chopped Garlic
2 Tbsp Chopped Ginger
Two sliced chilies (according to your taste)
Whole onion
½ Capsicum
1 Tsp Corn Starch
1 Tbsp pepper (optional)
1 Tbsp vinegar
2Tbsp soya sauce
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tsp raw honey (healthy in place of sugar)
Spring Onions (for garnish)
We know Chinese cooking can get a little intimidating because of the number of ingredients, but once you get your ingredients right, the cooking is super simple.
Recipe
Preparation Of Paneer: In a traditional Chilli Paneer, we have got a coating of flour or corn starch, which is deep-fried to make it all crispy. Still, we are trying to go for a healthier version of Chilli Paneer, so we are going to take one Tsp of oil and place the fresh paneer on any non-stick and allow them to get some color and crispiness. Look for the golden brown tinge on each side of the cubes, and your paneer is good to go.
Preparation of Sauce: Get the Corn starch and mix a little bit of water in it. This mixture of corn starch and water is the natural thickener for the sauce that will be used eventually.
Cooking Procedure:
- Initial Steps:
- The golden rule if Chinese cooking, start with a scorching flame and get your pan very hot. Then, the process is as follows:
- Put a Tbsp. Of oil, if you want, you can go with less. Now cut the top part of the spring onion and fry it, add the green part for some colors and flavors.
- Go in with finely chopped garlic. Keep in mind, the more garlic you put, the more Indiana it will taste. So use it according to your taste.
- Next, you can go in for ginger, Indian-Chinese generally has equal parts of ginger and garlic.
- Then, Chilli is chopped but again, entirely according to your taste.
- Go in with the bell peppers of capsicum and chopped onions. It would help if you had a crunch in both the bell peppers and onions, that’s why we didn’t add them in the beginning.
- Season the onions to help them start sweating and put a little pepper, according to your taste. Keep tossing it about, let the flavors combine.
For Preparing The Chilly Sauce:
- Now, time for the wet ingredients. Start with water to deglaze the warmth and combine the flavors better; that’s when we can go in with two caps of soya sauce and just let the dark goodness do its magic.
- Keep in mind the soya sauce is super salty, and they season the whole dish, so there’s no need to add extra salt.
- To balance out the saltiness, add raw honey, it’s raw, that’s why it is not that sweet. If you are going with regular honey, use ½ Tsp.
- Next, Go in with corn starch water to thicken up the whole dish. Also, put a little more water to deglaze and combine the flavors even better. The thicker sauce is more pleasant to eat.
Final Preparation:
- Once you feel like the sauce is prepared, go in with the prepared paneer and make sure the sauce coats it well. If you want it saucier, add a little more water and if you don’t, toss it and mix it up, and you are good to go.
- Next, go in with just a dash of vinegar, not to take it into an acidic direction, and finally add the ketchup to make it a bit of spice and sweetness.
Note:
Keep in mind, in Chinese cooking; the flame is high and hot, so keep tossing and mixing it; otherwise, the ingredients are going to get burned.
The Chilli Paneer offers you so much crisp and taste; by making it healthy, you could get a perfect dish for yourself and your loved ones.