Indian Fried Cheese in Chili Gravy
Paneer is a compressed form of fresh cheese. It is available in cheese shops, Indian/Pakistani grocery stores and some supermarkets. It is very similar to farmer's cheese, and I've read that you can use farmer's cheese or tofu as a substitute, although I've never used either of these for this recipe. This is an Indian dish with Chinese influence. You can make it as mild or as spicy hot as you'd like, but at least I hope you'll use the ground red pepper to experience a little "kick" to the recipe. "Heat lovers" can add both the ground red pepper and 2 to 4 fresh hot chilies, which should keep their mouths blazing, their foreheads sweating and their moods happy. Some people make a batter to coat the cheese before frying it, but I've dry coated the paneer, although I've also made batter fried paneer. Both are wonderful, but I give this recipe the edge. Americans and Canadians, at least, would likely call the liquid part a "sauce," but the people of the Indian Subcontinent call it "gravy," and that's groovy by me. Good served with rice or with naan or roti bread.
Ingredients (2 to 3 servings)
To fry the paneer:
1/2 to 2/3 pound paneer, cut into about 3/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper or hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil (more if needed)
To make the gravy:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 green onions (with green), chopped
1 tablespoon grated/minced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 to 4 hot chilies (serranos or jalapeños are good), chopped (seeds removed if you prefer)
1 chopped Roma tomato (or medium tomato) with juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon ground hot red pepper (like cayenne)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (the redder the bedder ... ah, better)
1/2 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch well mixed with 3 to 4 tablespoons water
To fry the paneer: In a bowl, add the cornstarch, flour, ground red pepper, ground white or black pepper, turmeric and salt, mix well. Add the paneer cubes to the dry mixture and gently turn to coat. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Shake excess flour mixture from each paneer cube, then add the cubes to the skillet. Lightly brown the cheese cubes on all sides by frying for a total of about 4 minutes (do not overcook, or the cheese will become tough; just lightly brown it, and the outside will have a slightly firm texture, while the inside will remain nice and soft). Drain the paneer cubes on paper towels. To make the gravy: Have your ingredients lined up and ready to go. You can use the same skillet and just add enough oil to make about 3 tablespoons, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the green and red pepper and stir, then about 1 minute later add the chili peppers and stir, then add the grated ginger and minced garlic and stir well. After about 30 seconds, add the tomato and stir, then add the soy sauce, ketchup, ground red pepper, paprika, and ground white or black pepper, stir very well. Add the rice vinegar, the sugar and the butter, stir until the butter melts, then add the water, stirring well to get everything mixed together. Let the gravy cook until it bubbles, then begin stirring in the cornstarch/water mixture, and let the gravy thicken to your preferred level of thickness.
With naan bread ...
WORD HISTORY:
Paneer (also "panir")-This word's ultimate origin is uncertain, but it goes back to Persian "pynl," which meant "cheese," in general. This then developed to transliterated Persian "panir," which was taken by Hindi/Urdu as transliterated "panir." This was borrowed by English, but I cannot determine when it was borrowed. The "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" says "1954" for first use in English, but I would believe the word to have been around earlier, although perhaps not in great usage. It is still not a terribly common word in American English, but it might be used more in British English because of Britain's colonial connection to India. I would think mainly people with knowledge of foods from the Indian subcontinent or cheese experts are most commonly familiar with it. Other sources do not even give a presumed date for an English borrowing.
Ingredients (2 to 3 servings)
To fry the paneer:
1/2 to 2/3 pound paneer, cut into about 3/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper or hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil (more if needed)
To make the gravy:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 green onions (with green), chopped
1 tablespoon grated/minced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 to 4 hot chilies (serranos or jalapeños are good), chopped (seeds removed if you prefer)
1 chopped Roma tomato (or medium tomato) with juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon ground hot red pepper (like cayenne)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (the redder the bedder ... ah, better)
1/2 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch well mixed with 3 to 4 tablespoons water
To fry the paneer: In a bowl, add the cornstarch, flour, ground red pepper, ground white or black pepper, turmeric and salt, mix well. Add the paneer cubes to the dry mixture and gently turn to coat. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Shake excess flour mixture from each paneer cube, then add the cubes to the skillet. Lightly brown the cheese cubes on all sides by frying for a total of about 4 minutes (do not overcook, or the cheese will become tough; just lightly brown it, and the outside will have a slightly firm texture, while the inside will remain nice and soft). Drain the paneer cubes on paper towels. To make the gravy: Have your ingredients lined up and ready to go. You can use the same skillet and just add enough oil to make about 3 tablespoons, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the green and red pepper and stir, then about 1 minute later add the chili peppers and stir, then add the grated ginger and minced garlic and stir well. After about 30 seconds, add the tomato and stir, then add the soy sauce, ketchup, ground red pepper, paprika, and ground white or black pepper, stir very well. Add the rice vinegar, the sugar and the butter, stir until the butter melts, then add the water, stirring well to get everything mixed together. Let the gravy cook until it bubbles, then begin stirring in the cornstarch/water mixture, and let the gravy thicken to your preferred level of thickness.
With naan bread ...
Paneer (also "panir")-This word's ultimate origin is uncertain, but it goes back to Persian "pynl," which meant "cheese," in general. This then developed to transliterated Persian "panir," which was taken by Hindi/Urdu as transliterated "panir." This was borrowed by English, but I cannot determine when it was borrowed. The "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" says "1954" for first use in English, but I would believe the word to have been around earlier, although perhaps not in great usage. It is still not a terribly common word in American English, but it might be used more in British English because of Britain's colonial connection to India. I would think mainly people with knowledge of foods from the Indian subcontinent or cheese experts are most commonly familiar with it. Other sources do not even give a presumed date for an English borrowing.
Labels: cheese, chilies, English, etymology, Hindi, Indian gravy, Indian recipes, Indian subcontinent, Paneer, Persian, recipes, sauces, Urdu
posted by Randy at 1:13 PM
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