paneer manchurian dry

INGREDIENTS

for frying paneer

250 grams paneer/cottage cheese, 8 to 9 ounces paneer
2 tbsp corn starch
½ tsp black pepper powder or white pepper
½ tsp red chilli powder or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp sugar (optional)
½ tsp salt or add as required
3 tbsp oil

for the sauce:

1.5 to 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
½ tbsp soy sauce or add as required
¼ tsp black pepper or white pepper
½ tsp rice vinegar or apple cider or regular vinegar
½ tsp red chilli powder or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ cup water
⅓ cup onions or spring onion whites diced into 1 inch squares
½ cup capsicum/bell peppers diced into 1 inch squares (any color - red, green or yellow)
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp finely chopped garlic/lahsun
1 tsp finely chopped green chilies
1 to 2 tsp finely chopped celery (optional)
salt as required

step by step dry paneer manchurian recipe below:

1. first chop the onions and bell pepper into 1 inch squares. finely chop the ginger, garlic, green chilies and celery. keep aside. skip celery, if you don’t get it. you can also use spring onion/scallions instead of onions. red or green or yellow bell pepper/capsicum can be added

2. then dice paneer in cubes. pat dry them with a clean kitchen towel. then add them to a mixing bowl.

3. add ½ tsp red chili powder, ½ tsp black pepper powder, ½ salt and 2 tbsp corn starch.

4. gently shake, toss and mix. everything should be well mixed. you could also mix the corn starch and the spice powders first and then add the paneer cubes to it.

5. heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan or kadai or wok

6. add the paneer cubes. the oil should be medium hot. if the pan or wok is small, you will have to fry the paneer in batches.

7. flip and pan fry so that all the sides get cooked evenly. for a crisp version, you will need to shallow fry or deep fry the paneer cubes

8. pan fry till the paneer cubes are light golden. don’t fry for a longer period of time as the paneer cubes might become dense. use good quality and fresh paneer.

9. drain the pan fried paneer cubes on kitchen paper towel

fried paneer for paneer manchurian recipe

10. in the same pan in which the paneer cubes were pan fried, add the chopped onions, bell peppers, ginger, green chilies, garlic and celery.

11. stir well

12. whilst the veggies are getting stir fried, in the same bowl in which the paneer cubes were mixed, there will be leftover corn starch & spice powder mixture

13. add ¼ cup water to this leftover corn starch & spice mixture. make a smooth paste. you will only get the above dry mixture if the paneer cubes were dry. if the paneer cubes are moist, then you will need to make a separate corn starch paste. for this, dissolve 1 tbsp corn starch with 3 tbsp water.

14. meanwhile, on a medium flame stir fry the veggies till the bell peppers are half cooked

sauting bell pepper for paneer manchurian

15. add ½ tbsp soy sauce.

soy sauce to make paneer manchurian recipe

16. add tomato ketchup. about 1½ tbsp tommoto kethup is just sweet. for an extra sweetness, 2 tbsp tomato ketchup needs to be added.

tomato ketchup for dry paneer manchurian recipe

17. stir.

18. then season with salt, red chili powder and black pepper. add less salt as both soy sauce ,tomoto kethup and the above corn starch paste we made, already has salt in them. you can also add about ½ tsp of sugar