Paneer in Hot Garlic Sauce
Soft air fried chunks of paneer in a spicy garlicky indo chinese sauce. Serve with jasmine rice, fried rice or noodles.
Ingredients
- 150 g (~5 oz) paneer cut in 1.5 inch pieces
- 1 .5 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ tablespoon red chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For The Hot Garlic Sauce
- 2 tablespoon oil
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely chopped
- 4 to 5 tablespoon hot garlic sauce recipe here, or use Sriracha/Chings Red Chilli Sauce or Schezwan Chutney (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder optional
- 2 tablespoon honey adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1 cup vegetable stock or water
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch make a slurry with 3 tablespoon stock or water
- ½ cup green bell pepper diced
- Cilantro, Scallions etc to finish
Instructions
Air frying the Paneer
- In a bowl add the paneer and all the ingredients listed under "for air frying the paneer", Using your fingers, lightly coat the paneer chunks. If needed you can add 1-2 tablespoon of water but dont make too runny.
- Layer the paneer in a single layer in your air fryer basket/tray. Air fry at 400F for 10-12 minutes or until paneer edges are slightly crispy. Once done, let cool in the air fryer rack or basket while you work on the sauce. Tip:- If you want, you can shallow or deep fry the paneer if you wish. Make a little wet batter in that case by using ¼ to ⅓ cup cornstarch and 3-4 tablespoon water.
Make The Hot Garlic Sauce
- In a wok or any wide pan, heat up the oil and add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger all at once to the oil. Stir fry on high heat for 2 minutes until translucent.
- Add the hot garlic sauce, soy sauce, honey and salt next and mix together. Stir for 1-2 minutes till you see little bubbles of oil.
- Next, add the vegetable stock and let cook on medium flame. Once the vegetable stock is slightly bubbly, add the cornstarch slurry while stirring regularly and let the sauce cook for 2-3 minutes until it thickens slightly. If you want you can add more cornstarch to adjust the sauce consistency to your liking.
Combine Together
- Add in the green bell pepper and paneer and cook everything on medium flame for another 2-4 minutes. Note :- When you add them together the bell pepper has quite a bite and that how we like it. If you want softer bell peppers, add them first, let cook to softness and then add the air fried paneer.
- Taste and adjust the vinegar, salt and sweetness to your liking if needed. Keep in mind that the hot garlic sauce has vinegar.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro, scallions etc and serve warm.
Notes
- Cut the paneer in not too thick nor too thin square pieces. Too small break down in sauce and too thick taste a bit off.
- Prepare everything before you start making the sauce. Indo chinese cooking is a quick, high heat cooking and prepping will help maintain the taste and texture of the sauce and final dish.
- If you cook asian or indo chinese dishes frequently, I highly recommend investing in a wok. You will be surprised by how better your dishes will taste.
- Make a Thick Sauce- And serve as a delicious paneer starter/appetizer at your next party. Skip the vegetable stock & cornstarch in the recipe.
- Make it Less Spicy- You can reduce the quantity of hot garlic sauce.
- Make it Vegan - Use tofu instead of paneer and check to make sure that the vegetable stock is vegan friendly, else use water.
- Mix in Vegetables - Add blanched vegetables like carrots, green beans, mushrooms, baby corn to the sauce along with paneer.
Nutrition
Calories: 281kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 7gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 1150mgPotassium: 153mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 517IUVitamin C: 28mgCalcium: 205mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!