Indo-Chinese Paneer Sichuan

Paneer szechuan - Indo-Sichuan style paneer

Veryhuman/Wikimedia Commons

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

Indo-Chinese or 'Chindian' food is a product of the huge Chinese community that lives in India. The delicious flavors of their food have been taken and adapted with Indian ingredients, to the Indian palate. This easy recipe uses previously prepared Indo-Chinese Sichuan (Szechuan) sauce that can be made ahead and stored in your fridge for future use. You can make your own paneer if you can't find it in the local market. Paneer Szechuan can also be served as an appetizer, simply omit the gravy if that's what you would like to do. Serve this tasty vegetarian dish with fried rice or noodles

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds (750 grams) paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes

  • 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 1 dash salt, or to taste

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • Cooking oil, for deep-frying

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or canola or sunflower cooking oil

  • 3 spring onions, bulb and leaves chopped coarsely

  • 1 cup Indo-Chinese Szechuan sauce

  • 1 large green bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped into 1-inch squares

  • 2 cups vegetable stock

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch, for thickening gravy

Steps to Make It

  1. Start to heat the cooking oil for deep-frying. The temperature should ideally be between 338-356 F.

  2. While the oil is heating, put the flour, cornstarch, salt to taste and pepper into a large mixing bowl. Add a little water at a time to the mix to make a medium thick batter—the same consistency as pancake batter. Mix well till there are no more lumps and the batter is smooth.

  3. Add the paneer cubes and stir to coat them well with the above batter.

  4. Once the oil is hot, gently add a few battered cubes at a time and fry till crisp and golden in color. Drain well and remove from the oil. Keep aside on paper towels for later use.

  5. In another pan or wok, heated on high, add the 3 tablespoons vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil. When the oil is smoky hot, add the spring onions (reserve a little to garnish the dish later). Sauté for a minute.

  6. Now add the Indo-Chinese Szechuan Sauce and chicken stock. Mix well. Cook for 2 minutes.

  7. Omit this step if you want the dish to be a dry one or would like to serve it as an appetizer: Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water and stir to mix well. Make sure there are no lumps in this mixture. Pour into the above gravy and stir well. The gravy will start to thicken. Once this happens, turn off the heat.

  8. Now add the previously fried cubes and the chopped bell pepper to this gravy. Stir well to coat all the chicken and peppers with the gravy. Spoon into a serving dish, garnish with reserved, chopped spring onions and serve.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
735 Calories
62g Fat
20g Carbs
24g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 735
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 62g 80%
Saturated Fat 18g 92%
Cholesterol 87mg 29%
Sodium 1381mg 60%
Total Carbohydrate 20g 7%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 24g
Vitamin C 17mg 84%
Calcium 733mg 56%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 387mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)