This is a spicy and tasty Paneer 65 The recipe makes for a crispy version where batter coated and fried paneer cubes are tossed in a savory spiced mixture of onions, herbs and spices.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Snacks, Starters
  • Cuisine: Hyderabadi, South Indian

Ingredients

  • 200 grams paneer ((Indian cottage cheese))
  • 3 tablespoon Rice Flour
  • 1 tablespoon gram flour ((besan))
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon green chili paste
  • 1 teaspoon garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder (or kashmiri red chili powder or paprika or cayenne pepper)
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon juice (or add as required)
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 5 tablespoons oil (- for frying)
  • salt (as required)
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped onions
  • 2 to 3 green chilies (- sliced diagonally)
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic
  • 6 to 7 curry leaves
  • 1 to 2 dry red chilies (- halved or broken and seeds removed)
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (- optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar (or add as per taste - optional)
  • 2 to 3 pinches salt (or add as needed)
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves ((cilantro) - for garnish)

Method

Marination

  1. Take rice flour, gram flour and cornstarch in a mixing bowl.
  2. Add the following spices & herbs - green chili paste, garlic paste, ginger paste, red chili powder, garam masala powder and lemon juice. Also add salt as required.
  3. Add 4 tablespoons water. Whisk to a smooth paste. You can also add a few drops of natural color. I have used orange natural color extract.
  4. Add the paneer cubes.
  5. Gently mix the paneer cubes with the batter. Cover and allow to marinate for about 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature.

Frying paneer

  1. Heat 5 tablespoons oil in a pan. The oil should be medium-hot. Coat the paneer cubes with the batter evenly and add them to the hot oil.
  2. Keep some space between the paneer cubes so that they don't stick.
  3. Once the base is done, flip and fry the other side.
  4. Flip for a couple of times all the paneer cubes and fry till the outsides become crisp and golden. Remember not to over fry the paneer cubes as then they become dense.If you prefer, you can opt to deep fry the batter coated paneer cubes.
  5. Place the fried paneer cubes on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.

Making paneer 65

  1. In the same pan, heat 2 teaspoons oil on medium-low heat. But note that if there is any extra oil left in the pan from frying the paneer, then there is no need to add this 2 teaspoons of oil.
  2. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
  3. After the mustard seeds, crackle, add chopped ginger, chopped garlic, green chilies chopped diagonally, dry red chilies and curry leaves. Stir and mix well.
  4. Then add 3 tablespoons of chopped onions. Stir and sauté the onions till they turn translucent and soften.
  5. Add salt and ¼ teaspoon sugar. You can skip sugar if you want. I added a bit of sugar as then the paneer dish tastes good.
  6. Stir to combine well. Add the fried paneer cubes.
  7. Mix and toss the paneer cubes with the rest of the sautéed ingredients. Check the taste and add more salt or green chilies if required. Switch off the the heat.
  8. Lastly add chopped coriander leaves. Stir and mix.
  9. Serve paneer 65 hot as a starter with a chutney or dipping sauce or with some roti, naan or bread.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.