A tribute to Desi Chinese!

Chilly Paneer/Paneer Chilly

I believe that one of the best things Indians have done is created our own version of Chinese cuisine. And I'm sure I can find about five hundred thousand people (or more!! :D ) who will vouch for this statement. Yes, the Chinese dishes that we get in India - at roadside shacks, to your local restaurant, to high end fine dining places are of such exemplary taste and variety that it will leave even the inventor of Chinese cuisine baffled!

You are a vegetarian? No problem. We have modified the chicken and duck dishes and come up with gems of dishes using cauliflower, baby corn, mushrooms and even the "Oh so Punjabi" Paneer! What's more? I did not know for a really really long time that there is no dish called "Manchurian" in authentic Chinese cuisine. That revelation left me gaping for a whole minute, cos Chinese means Gobi Manchurian (GM)to me! Gobi Manchurian is an all time personal favorite for me. I miss the ease of getting GM in US, versus India, where it is available more easily than you find Starbucks here(or Dunkin for Boston-ians)! So, the first time I went back to India, my dad got GM packed to the airport!! At 2.30 in the night I had 4 bewildered people staring at me as I gobbled it up! ;)

Before this post goes totally off track (that's what the thought of GM does to me ;) :D ), coming to the recipe at hand! I think Chilly paneer is like the ultimate tribute to Indo Chinese fusion! Paneer, as I said is totally Indian, this is magically transformed into Chilly Paneer - heaven for a vegetarian who loves spicy food! So, when I had a chunk of Paneer and the weather was cold, with threats of snow - I decided that there is no better fried food for this occasion than Chilly Paneer. It does take some effort- especially the deep frying part is a pain for me! :P But the end result is tohotally worth it! :)

This is for chilly paneer as an appetizer - a dry item. You can increase the quantity of sauce to make it like a gravy dish/side for rice/noodles. 

What you need:

Paneer : Cut into cubes - about 2 cups

Maida for batter

Corn starch - 2tbsp

Salt

Pepper powder

Oil for deep frying.

For sauce:

Onion sliced

Capsicums(Bell peppers) : sliced - 1 cup
Green chillies : sliced - as hot as you want it!
Garlic finely chopped - 2 tbsp(or less as per taste)
Ginger - 1tbsp (optional)
Tomato ketchup 4-5 tbsp
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Vinegar - 1 to 2 tbsp
Chilly sauce or red chilly powder (optional)
Pepper powder
Sugar - 1tbsp or less, depends on how sweet our ketchup is.
Chopped spring onions(scallions) or chopped cilantro for garnish.

Method:

Make a batter by mixing Maida, salt, water, corn starch and pepper powder. If you wish, add some chilly powder to this too. Some people prefer to add egg in this batter to make it crispy. The batter should be such that it gives a light coating to the paneer and not a thick coating.
You could skip the maida and just used corn starch + egg for the coating. I prefer the maida coating as it absorbs the sauce very well.
Coat the paneer pieces with this batter and deep fry in oil. Keep aside.

In a bowl, mix together tomato sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, chilly sauce, sugar and salt. Taste this mixture and adjust seasonings so that its good enough for the amount of paneer. Keep in mind the chillies and ginger that will be added to the sauce.

In another bowl, mix about 1 tbsp of corn starch with some water.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok. Add chopped garlic, ginger and chillies.

Next add the chopped onions and fry for about a minute or 2.

Add the bell peppers, saute for a minute.

Next add the sauce mixture and cook for a minute.

Add the corn starch mixture and cook till texture of sauce turns glossy.

Add pepper powder.

Put in the fried paneer pieces.

Garnish with cilantro/scallions.

Serve hot, eat immediately! :)