Paneer manchurian

Paneer manchurian is a Indo chinese appetizer made with fried paneer & manchurian sauce. Manchurian dishes from Indo chinese cuisine are a favorite among many. Gobi manchurian, mushroom manchurian, veg manchurian and chicken manchurian are some of the most known varieties.

Paneer manchurian is similar to Chilli paneer but the sauce made here is different. In this recipe, no chilli or chilli sauce is used and the proportions of other ingredients are different which tastes entirely different from chilli paneer.

To make paneer manchurian, Indian cottage cheese aka paneer is batter fried first and then added to manchurian sauce. The recipe shared here is a semi gravy version and can be served as a starter or as a side with some noodles or fried rice.

Paneer manchurian is best served hot and immediately out of the pan.

You can also pan fry or grill the paneer and avoid deep frying. If you wish to avoid the corn flour & all purpose flour, just skip the flours.

Pan fry the paneer in 1 tbsp oil until golden. Just prepare the manchurian sauce & add them.

We love the semi dry version of paneer manchurian so I have shared the same here. To make a gravy version just double the ingredients mentioned for sauce in the recipe.

For more Paneer recipes
Malai kofta
Paneer tikka
Paneer lababdar
Achari paneer
Paneer do pyaza

How to make paneer manchurian (stepwise pics)

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying.

2. To a bowl add
¼ cup all-purpose flour  (prefer organic flour)
3 tablespoons corn flour (corn starch or rice flour)
¼ teaspoon salt 
½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder. (I just used it for color).

3. Mix well. Pour water little by little and make a batter that is neither too thick nor too thin.

4. Add 200 grams paneer cubes.

5. Coat them well with the batter.

Frying paneer

6. When the oil is hot, check if it is hot enough by dropping a small portion of batter to it. It should rise without browning. This is the correct temperature. Coat each paneer cube in batter and gently drop one after the other to the hot oil. You can drop them using a spoon or fingers.

7. Do not disturb for a few minutes. When they turn light golden, stir them and fry until golden and crisp. Remove them to a steel colander once done.

8. Add 1 teaspoon corn flour (corn starch) to a small bowl and mix it with 1/2 to 3/4 cup water. You can replace corn flour with arrowroot powder. Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture. Set this aside.

Making paneer manchurian

9. Heat a pan or wok on high heat with 1 tbsp oil in it. Saute ½ to ¾ tbsp ginger and ½ to ¾ tbsp garlic for a minute.

10. Add ¼ cup chopped spring onions. Saute for a minute.

11. Add ¼ to ½ cup capsicum and saute for another 1 to 2 mins. Then pour 1½ tbsps soya sauce. I have used organic soya sauce. If using dark or light soya sauce you will have to adjust accordingly as per your preference.

12. Next add 2 tablespoons tomato sauce and 1 teaspoon sugar. You will have to skip or add more sugar depending on your sauce. Mine was slightly sweet and sour, so 1 tsp works out well.

13. Lower the heat. Stir the corn flour mixture with a spoon and pour it to the pan. Mix it well. Add more water if needed to bring it to a consistency.

14. Check the taste at this stage. Add little salt, ½ to ¾ teaspoon black pepper and ½ to ¾ teaspoon vinegar. You can skip vinegar if the mixture already has an hint of sourness. I used apple cider vinegar.

15. Cook the sauce stirring continuously until it thickens a bit. This will just take a minute or two. The sauce thickens further after cooling, so when it is slightly thick but still of pouring consistency, turn off the stove.

16. Let the sauce cool down a bit, then add fried paneer. Mix it well to coat the paneer with manchurian sauce.

Serve paneer manchurian hot and immediately after preparing.

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