Paneer 65
Yoghurt and spice marinated paneer cubes stir fried with spices
Paneer 65 is actually a vegetarian version of the famous Chicken 65! There are many tales around how the dish got its name but the most popular and accepted tale is that it was Item no. 65 on a restaurant menu in Chennai! Whatever the origin, it stands today as a strong challenger to the ‘king’ – the Indianized chili chicken! So here is the Paneer version of the same. It does have a lot of ingredients and some cooking but believe me, the result is well worth all the trouble!
- Serves: 4
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes
- Cooking Time: 25 minutes
- Difficulty: medium
- Tag: Dinner for Two, Diwali, Eid, Gluten Free, Holi, Indian, Kitty Party, Lohri, Lunch & Dinner, Main Course, Paneer, Picnic, Sunday Lunch, Vegetarian, Wedding & Anniversary
Ingredients:
For marination:
- 300 grams paneer
- ½ cup yoghurt
- 4 tablespoon rice flour
- 1 tablespoon chickpea flour (besan)
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon green chili paste
- 1tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 ½ tsp kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- 1tsp lime juice
- ½ tsp orange red food colour
- 2 cups oil for frying
- salt to taste
For the tempering:
- 3 tablespoon sliced onions
- ½ teaspoon chopped ginger
- ½ teaspoon chopped garlic
- 10 curry leaves
- 4 whole dry red chilies
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1tbsp oil
- 1tbsp melon seeds
- 2tbsp coriander leaves to garnish
Method:
- Cut the Paneer into 1 inch cubes.
- Cu the onion into slices.
- Mix together the rice flour, besan and corn starch in a mixing bowl.
- Add green chili paste, ginger garlic paste, sugar, red chili powder, lime juice and salt as required.
- Add a few drops of the food colour, yoghurt and whisk to make a smooth paste. Add a little water if required to obtain a smooth paste.
- Add the paneer cubes.
- Gently mix the paneer cubes with the batter. Cover and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a deep pan.
- Coat the paneer cubes with the batter and add them to the hot oil.
- Fry the paneer in batches till the outsides become crisp and golden.
- Drain the fried paneer cubes on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan.
- Add in the mustard seeds and allow to crackle.
- Add the chopped ginger, chopped garlic, broken red chilies and the curry leaves. Stir well.
- Add the sliced onions. Saute the onions over medium heat till they are translucent.
- Add salt , sone more red chili powder, garam masala powder and any left over marinade and the fried paneer cubes.
- Mix and toss the paneer cubes till it is well coated with the cooked marinade and spices.
- Garnish with melon seeds, chopped coriander leaves and serve.
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