How to Make Chilli Paneer Gravy - Easy Step by Step Recipe

Learn how to make chilli paneer gravy, one of the vegetarian highlights of Indo-Chinese cooking. The dry chilli paneer recipe is often served as as a starter while the gravy version makes a great side dish for fried rice or vegetable noodles.

For all paneer lovers out there, this one's for you, especially if you also love Indo-Chinese food. I am yet to meet an Indian that says no to this cuisine but over the years, I have come to realise how much hidden calories these dishes contain. Of course, when eating out once in a while calories are not in my list of things to think about (my mind is busy enough, thank you very much) but when cooking at home, I try to tone down the oil and deep frying a bit if I can. Please note this doesn't apply to pooris and such.

{Check out how to make paneer at home}

Coming back to chilli paneer, I love both the dry and gravy versions and recently I made this chilli paneer gravy to pair with mushroom fried rice (recipe coming soon). I must confess that cooking Indo-Chinese food consistently well is hard for me and I do have my misses here and there. While I have more or less mastered gobi manchurian by now, I have inconsistent results with other recipes which explains why they haven't shown up here yet. This chilli paneer gravy though, it's a winner!

Read on for the recipe of chilli paneer with gravy and check out all Indo-Chinese recipes if you love them like us.

CHILLI PANEER WITH GRAVY

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups of paneer, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp of cornflour
1 tbsp of plain flour or maida
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
A fat pinch of salt
2-3 tbsp water
Oil as required
For the sauce:
3 stalks of spring onions
1 tsp of minced ginger
1.5 tsp of minced garlic
1 tsp soya sauce
3-4 slit green chillies (adjust to taste)
1/2 cup cubed green capsicum (bell pepper)
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
Salt if required

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the cornflour, plan flour, salt, minced garlic, pepper powder, and water in a bowl. Mix without lumps to form a light batter.

2. Add the paneer cubes to this and mix well to coat. If using frozen paneer, defrost until just cold and follow this step. If using freshly made paneer, refrigerate until a bit firm and then use, otherwise the paneer may crumble.

2. Heat 2 tbsp oil (or as required) in a pan and shallow fry the paneer pieces until light golden brown. Drain into paper towels and set aside until needed.

3. In the same pan, (add more oil if required), add the sliced spring onions, ginger and garlic. Saute until the ginger and garlic turn fragrant.

4. Now turn the flame to high and add the soya sauce. Let it cook on high heat for 5-6 seconds and lower heat back.

5. Add the chillies and capsicum and cook for 3-4 mins until the capsicum turns a bit soft. It should still remain crunchy mostly.

6. Add 1.5 cups water to this and bring to boil. Meanwhile, mix the 1 tsp cornflour in 1 tbsp water to form a thick mixture.

7. Gently pour this into the boiling water and lower flame completely.

8. Add the paneer pieces and turn off the flame. The gravy will thicken considerably on cooling so don't cook it further than this. Add salt only if required since you have salted the paneer pieces and the soya sauce will be highly salted too.

Enjoy chilli paneer gravy with some egg fried rice or noodles with vegetables for a delicious meal.

Gobi Manchurian Recipe - Gobi Manchurian Gravy Recipe Step by Step

Learn how to make Gobi Manchurian with Gravy, a popular and much-loved Indian-Chinese vegetarian recipe. The dry version of Gobi Manchurian is crispy and delicious, often served as a starter while Gobi Manchurian in gravy form is a great side dish for Indian Fried Rice and Indo-Chinese Noodles.

I absolutely LOVE gobi manchurian and have tried it in more restaurants than I can count. It's usually my test dish to see how good a restaurant is and I have come across a wide variety of manchurians in my quest - the bright red coloured ones (umm, no thanks), the crispy ones with a perfectly soft cauliflower floret inside (yes please!) and everything in between. My mom makes a mean gobi manchurian - which is very similar to how she makes chilli fish - as does my sister. This recipe is based on both of their versions with a couple of tips and techniques to make the perfect gobi manchurian at home, added by yours truly. My dry chilli chicken recipe is pretty popular too, in case you want to take a look.

I was making a few fundamental mistakes when preparing cauliflower manchurian at home.
- batter too thick: when the batter coating the cauliflower is too thick, the manchurians become too thick and gloopy especially when making the gravy version. It also turns soggy on cooling down and nobody likes a soggy gobi manchurian

- adding cornflour to the gravy part of the manchurian: it was a quite a revelation when I fixed this issue. More details in instructions below
- using the right sauces, especially soya sauce. Let's face it, gobi manchurian is an Indian dish so using a Chinese or Thai soya sauce may not work well. I obviously haven't tried them all but the ones I have tried make it sub-par so I make sure I buy an Indian brand like Ching's Secret. Arguably, these are not good for you but for us, the consumption is roughly 1 tsp every 2-3 months so I have decided it's ok.

Ok, on to the recipe now. If you are taking the trouble to make Gobi Manchurian at home, please also make some vegetable fried rice, egg fried rice, or vegetable noodles to go with it. Your taste buds will thank you for it. Here's a list of all Indo-Chinese Recipes on Edible Garden, in case you want to check it out.

Ok, now really on to the recipe!

GOBI MANCHURIAN GRAVY RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of cauliflower (gobi) florets
1 cup of oil, for frying (+ 1 tbsp for sauce)
For the batter:
1/2 cup of maida or plain flour
1/3 cup of corn flour (corn starch)
1 tsp of minced ginger
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/4 tsp of pepper powder
A pinch of red chilly powder
Salt
For the sauce:
1/2 cup of cubed capsicum (green bell pepper)
1/2 cup of cubed onions (purple, not white)
1 tsp of soya sauce
1/2 tsp of green chilli sauce (optional)
1 tsp of tomato sauce or ketchup
1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
Chopped spring onions or coriander leaves for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. First step is to boil the gobi florets in salted water. It's important not to overcook them though, make sure the pieces are cooked yet firm and hold their shape. Drain in a colander once done and set aside.

2. While the gobi is cooking, you can make the batter. Mix together the ingredients under "for the batter" and add salt. The consistency, again, is important. Make sure it's loose enough to coat your cauliflower florets but also drips a bit and doesn't stick on in a thick layer. The below pictures should give you an idea.

3. Drop the batter-covered gobi in hot oil and fry until golden brown. Taste-test one piece to make sure the flavours are all fine and there's enough salt, just be careful not to snack on them all!

4. Keep the fried gobi pieces on a plate lined with a paper towel until needed.

5. Time to make the sauce now. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add the onions, capsicum (please pretend that my giant green chillies are capsicum), and ginger garlic paste. Saute until the onions and capsicum turn soft and pink. The goal is to keep this way and not let them overcook, roast, etc.

6. Next, turn heat to high and add the sauces - soya sauce, tomato sauce, and green chilli sauce (if using). Saute briskly until they are mixed well, about a min. Lower heat down again.

7. Add the fried gobi pieces along with 1 cup water. You can add salt in the very end since the soya sauce has salt and you have already salted the fried pieces. When the water comes to a slow boil, remove from flame and set aside. The sauce will thicken further on sitting.

As mentioned above, I used to add water mixed with 1 tsp corn flour in the past to make the sauce for manchurian but find that omitting the cornflour yields a much looser and nicer sauce than the thick, gloopy kind I get when adding corn starch. However, if you find your sauce too watery, put the pan back on the flame and add 1/4 cup water mixed with 1 tsp cornflour.

Garnish with fresh spring onions or coriander leaves. Serve immediately as a side dish for fried rice, noodles, or any Indo-Chinese main dish.

For Gobi Manchurian (Gravy) recipe in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Urdu, etc, please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.

Chicken Majestic - Andhra Style Indian Chicken Starter Recipe

I first tasted and even heard about Chicken Majestic at a friend's place where she served it as a starter. It tasted amazing and the highlight was how tender the chicken pieces were. Chicken Majestic is apparently a very popular starter with chicken particularly well known in Andhra. Although I lived in Hyderabad for a couple of years, I had never come across this particular dish, what a shame. While Chilli Chicken will always remain a personal favourite chicken starter, chicken majestic is a great variation and a welcome change from the usual dishes like chilli chicken or South Indian chicken 65.

There's a secret to why the chicken pieces are super tender - it's because they are marinated in buttermilk for a few hours. The recipe is also a nice blend of Indo-Chinese and Indian with Chinese sauces and Indian spices and curry leaves. You can adjust the the spice levels to your preference and while the preparation time may seem quite long, it's a great make-ahead recipe which makes an amazing chicken starter for your guests when you are entertaining.

CHICKEN MAJESTIC RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4-6
Recipe adapted from: Vahchef

Ingredients:
200 gm of chicken breast, cut into long strips
2 tsp of coriander powder
2 tbsp of corn flour
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/4 cup of buttermilk
1 egg
1.5 tsp of ginger garlic paste
3-4 green chillies
1 tsp of soya sauce
A fistful of curry leaves
1 small bunch of mint leaves (I didn't have any)
1 tsp + 1 tbsp of oil
3 tbsp of plain yogurt / curd
2 tsp of minced garlic
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

How to Make Chicken Majestic:

1. Marinate the chicken pieces in buttermilk and salt for 4 hours. Leave it in the refrigerator while you marinate.

2. To the same bowl, add the egg, corn flour, ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp oil and leave it to marinate for another hour.

3. When ready to cook, heat the 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add the chicken pieces. Saute until the pieces brown nicely and get fried. The original recipe calls for deep frying but I found saut�ing is quite effective too since the chicken is very tender after marinating.

4. After the chicken is browned and fried, drain and set aside.

5. In the same pan, add the minced garlic and green chillies. Saute until lightly browned and add the curry leaves and mint leaves, if using.

6. When the curry leaves are wilted, add all the masala powders - chilli powder, coriander, jeera, and turmeric.

7. Saute for 5 seconds without burning and add the plain curd. Stir around quickly and add soya sauce and the fried chicken pieces. Mix well until the ingredients are well coated.

8. Keep sauteing until the chicken is cooked fully and the masala turns a lovely brown.

Serve Chicken Majestic as a starter or with rice and gravy. Tastes great either ways.

Sesame Tofu Recipe with Hot & Sweet Sauce - Step by Step

TH and I both like tofu so I really have no excuses for not cooking with it more often. For the longest time, I wasn't able to recognize extra firm tofu in the Singapore supermarkets but finally figured out that it's labeled Tau Kwa. Tofu is super absorbent and takes in flavours beautifully no matter what you cook with it or cook it in. When we go out, especially for a non-Indian meal, we find ourselves with some side dish with tofu in it, especially in a Thai meal.

The moment I saw this gorgeous sesame tofu recipe, I wanted to try it. Some of the original ingredients are not always what I have in hand or use much so I substituted with my own variations and it still tasted great. Generally, I am not a fan of mixing sweet in a savoury dish but honey-based sauces are always an exception.

I am positive this would taste just as fabulous with paneer substituted for tofu and and as a side dish for vegetable fried rice or egg fried rice. Yum!

HOT & SWEET SESAME TOFU RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 2
Recipe and photo adapted from: Use Real Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 block of firm tofu
• 1/4 cup of cornflour / corn starch
• A pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp of white sesame seeds
• A small bunch of spring onions/green onions

For the sauce:

• 3 tbsp of honey
• 1 tsp of soya sauce
• 1 tsp of vinegar
• 2 tsp of red chilli flakes
• 1 tsp of freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp of freshly grated garlic
• 2 tsp of sesame oil
• 1/2 cup of oil, more or less, for shallow frying

How to Make Sesame Tofu:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan.

Simmer on low heat until it starts to bubble up a bit. Continue to simmer for 2-3 mins and then turn off flame.

3. Now we need to fry up the tofu. If your tofu came packed in water, drain completely and press between kitchen towels to extract extra moisture. Cut into bite-sized cubes and dredge in the corn flour until fully coated.

4. Heat oil for shallow frying in a pan and add the tofu pieces in small batches making sure they don't overlap at all. Fry until light golden brown, drain and continue until you are done with the entire lot. Drain on kitchen towels to absorb the extra oil.

5. Add the fried tofu to a wide bowl and pour the sauce on top.

6. Top off with the sesame seeds and chopped spring onions.

Toss well to coat.

Sesame tofu is best served hot and immediately. If you expect it to be a while until you can serve it, keep the fried tofu and sauce separately, warm the sauce, and then do the mixing and tossing. The tofu pieces will remain crisp and the sauce gives a lovely sweet, hot, tangy, crunch to the entire dish.

Note:
The original recipe called for tamari instead of soya sauce I used, rice wine vinegar instead of the regular white vinegar I used, and Chinese sesame oil whereas I used gingelly oil or Indian sesame oil. As mentioned, I still loved the end product although my sauce was thicker since I added lesser honey.

Featured Props:
Brown flat plate and dark peach bowl both from Kappabashi Street, Tokyo.

Chilli Fish Recipe - Indian Chinese Chilli Fish Recipe

Chilli Fish is one of amma's specialty Indo-Chinese Recipes. Like I mentioned in the fried rice recipe post, amma is an expert in making manchurian and related recipes. There's really no secret sauce (literally!) to her recipes, they just work excellently and this Chilli Fish is no exception. Maybe those of you who are off lent tomorrow can try Chilli Fish for Easter lunch?

We also make the same dish with Prawns and call it Chinese Fried Prawns. That's a dish from my childhood that I have fond memories of. You can serve the batter-fried prawns with ketchup as a starter or go on to make Chilli Prawns with it following the recipe below. Either ways, it's delicious. PS: the pic above is of Chilli Prawns.

Although Indo-Chinese sauces are easily available in Singapore, I find that the Indian brands like Sil or Ching's Secret (I am guessing that's an Indian brand) seem to work better for me and taste more "authentic" like you get in Indo-Chinese restaurants in India.

I have had a few failures when making manchurian and chilli something but after this Gobi Manchurian recipe, flops are history. I learnt from the best (my sister makes amazing manchurian too) after all!

Interested in a Chilli Chicken Recipe instead?

INDIAN CHINESE CHILLI FISH RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients:

• 250 gm of cut into small cubes, deboned fish (any fish with a firm flesh would do, or use deveined prawns)
• 3 tbsp + 1 tsp of cornflour / corn starch
• 3 tbsp of maida / plain flour
• 1 tsp + 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp of black pepper powder
• 1 capsicum / bell pepper, cubed
• 1 onion, cubed
• 1/2 to 1 tbsp of soya sauce
• 1 tsp of green chilli sauce
• 1 tsp of tomato sauce
• A small bunch of spring onions or coriander leaves, chopped fine

How to Make Chilli Fish

1. Make a thick batter of 3 tbsp cornflour + flour + 1 tsp ginger garlic paste + salt + pepper powder + water
2. Dip the fish pieces in this and shallow fry in oil until golden brown (in small batches without crowding the pan)
3. Drain and set aside
4. In the same oil, add the onions and capsicum. When the onions start to turn pink, add the ginger garlic paste and saute until fragrant
5. Turn heat to high and add the soya sauce, chilli sauce and tomato sauce (keep them ready by your side to prevent the rest of the dish burning)
6. Mix well and reduce heat. Add the fried fish pieces
7. Mix well and cook on low heat. Meanwhile, mix the 1 tsp cornflour in 4 tbsp water without lumps. Add to the fish mixture and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the fish
8. Add chopped coriander leaves or spring onions and remove from stove
9. Serve hot with fried rice

Dry Indian Chilli Chicken ~ Indian Chilli Chicken Recipe

Chilli Chicken is probably one of the dishes I crave the most on odd days. There are some restaurants that serve good Indo Chinese food in Singapore but they usually leave me feeling dehydrated because of the amount of oil and MSG they use.

This is a super simple version that I cooked at a friend's place. The two non-vegetarians at the table really enjoyed it. If you love similar dishes, check out this Chilli Fish recipe, a South Indian favourite - Chicken 65, and Chicken Majestic, a spicy chicken starter from Andhra.

Indo Chinese Dry Chilli Chicken Recipe
Serves 4
Adapted from: KhanaKhazana

Ingredients:
500gm boneless chicken pieces, cut into small cubes
1 onion, cut into cubes
1/2 of a green capsicum / bell pepper, cut into cubes
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 tsp white vinegar
1 tbsp green chilli sauce
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2-3 green chillies, slit (we used the large red chillies that have lesser heat)
1 tsp dry red chilli flakes or Kashmiri chilli powder, for the red colour
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp all purpose flour or maida
1 egg (optional)
Salt to taste
A pinch of sugar (optional)
Oil
Spring onions for garnish

How to Make Chilli Chicken

1. Marinate the chicken in 1/2 tbsp soya sauce, egg, salt, pepper, flour, cornflour, half the garlic and half the green chilli sauce for atleast 30 mins. Leave it for an hour or two if you have the time.

2. Heat a shallow pan with about 1/4 cup oil and lightly fry the chicken pieces until golden brown. Set aside.

3. In the remaining oil, add chopped garlic and the chillies and flakes and fry for 2 minutes. Next, add the onions and capsicum and fry until soft (2-3 mins). Add vinegar and mix well. Top off with the fried chicken and the remaining quantities of ingredients used to marinate (1/2 tbsp soya sauce, 1/2 tbsp green chilli sauce, salt, sugar, and pepper).

4. Stir all the ingredients until well combined and fry for another 3-4 mins. Garnish with some chopped spring onions and serve hot. 

Schezwan Vegetables Recipe - Indo Chinese Side Dish for Fried Rice

Understandably, you all loved the Chilli Paneer Recipe I posted last week. Of course, frying up something and mixing it in a delicious spicy sauce should be up everyone's alley, no surprises there.

After moving into the new apartment, we had friends over and I decided on an Indo-Chinese menu. I was badly craving some and grabbed the opportunity to cook some up myself. I made the Chilli Paneer, Vegetable Fried Rice and Schezwan Vegetables for some gravy to go with the fried rice.

Schezwan Vegetables Recipe
Adapted from Sailus Food
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 large onion, cubed into 1" pieces roughly
1 carrot, cut into small, thin discs
8-10 french beans, cut into 1? pieces
8 baby corns, each cut into 6 round discs
1 green capsicum, cut into 1" pieces roughly

2 tbsps oil

2 tbsps finely chopped spring onion greens (for garnish, optional)

For The Sauce:
2 dry red chillis, halved
1/4 tsp red chilli pwd
1 tsp crushed garlic (about 6 small flakes)
1.5 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsps tomato puree (or 1 tsp tomato paste)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable stock or water (I used vegetable stock)

How to Make Vegetable Schezwan Recipe:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Cook until soft and transparent - about 3 mins.

2. Add the remaining vegetables with some salt and saute lightly for 3-4 mins.

3. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and add to the cooking vegetables. Let it simmer for 5 mins or until the vegetables are cooked, yet firm. If the gravy is getting too thick, add more water. Adjust salt and add pepper and spring onion greens - and its ready to serve!

Vegetable Schezwan is one of those dishes where the preparation time is higher than the cooking time but the end result is very satisfying and can really help you get rid of your Indo-Chinese craving!

Chilli Paneer Recipe | Dry Chilli Paneer Recipe | Step by Step

Chilli Paneer is an amazing Indian paneer starter dish. Just like every other Indian, I love Indo-Chinese food. Deep fried goodness in a creamy sauce or coated in thick, spicy gravy - what's not to like! I even like the calories that come with it, I am very impartial that way! This Chilli Paneer recipe is one that was born of urgency and necessity. I prefer a dry version of chilli paneer than the kind with gravy so chose to go with that. If you want to make chilli paneer with gravy, I have given options to do that, below.

I make Gobi Manchurian quite often but paneer usually gets made into Palak Paneer or Paneer Butter Masala and hardly ever an Indo-Chinese recipe, that too an appetizer. But it happened on the last day in our previous apartment. I was clearing out the fridge and realised I have a few cubes of paneer left which had to be made into something real soon or they'd die. No self-respecting Indian can kill paneer, trust me!

So they turned into a lovely plate of chilli paneer that gave some well-needed energy to TH and me to resume last-minute packing in full vigor.

Chilli Paneer Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients for Chilli Paneer:
2 cups cubed paneer (I used longer slices)
1 bell pepper / capsicum
2 large onions
4 green chillies, slit
1 tsp ginger garlic paste (use freshly ground paste if possible)
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp green chilli sauce

1 tsp tomato paste / ketchup
2 tbsp + 1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp cornflour + 3tbsp water (make a smooth paste)
Salt to taste

For the Marinade:
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp corn flour / corn starch
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
A pinch of salt
Water

How to make Chilli Paneer:

1. Make a thick-ish paste with the ingredients for marinade. Dunk the paneer pieces in and let them soak in the marinade. It will be instant love, I promise.

2. Add 3-4 tbsp oil in a pan and shallow fry the paneer pieces, turning them over when the cooked sides are brown.

3. Drain and set aside. Its okay to slightly burn a few sides, especially when you are packing to move out of your apartment!

4. In the same pan, add chopped onions, green chillies, and capsicum. Cook until the onions turn transparent - 2-3 mins.

5. Next, turn the flame to high and add soya sauce, green chilli sauce, ginger garlic paste, sugar and tomato paste. Stir-fry on high for about 30 seconds until well blended and turn the flame to medium-low.

6. Add the fried paneer cubes and the cornflour-water paste. Taste and adjust salt (since the sauces will have salt). Stir and cook for another 3-4 mins until the sauce comes around and thickens due to the cornflour.

Serve Chilli Paneer steaming hot as an appetizer! The dry version is  great as an appetizer and the gravy version of Chilli Paneer can be served with fried rice.

For Chilli Paneer recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, please use the Google Translate button on the top right of this website.