Pan Fried Paneer Recipe

Pan Fried Paneer is a fantastic appetizer you can serve with Mint chutney & Onion salad. It’s also a great side and goes well with dal-rice, curry-rice and even with pilafs & biryani meals. This Pan Fried Paneer comes together under 15 minutes and is going to surprise you with the amazing and delicious North-Indian flavors.

About Fried Paneer

I love making quick side dishes to extend our menu. This Paneer Fry is always my top choice for the simple reason – it is so easy & tastes delicious. You will just mix together the ground spices, rinse, slice & coat your paneer in the dry spice mixture and pan fry with minimum oil or ghee.

It just needs 2 tsps oil/ghee if you use a non-stick pan or a well seasoned cast-iron pan. I don’t think there is any other paneer dish that can be made with this little amount of fats & effort.

This fried paneer recipe also requires a easily available ingredient – Poha (flattened rice), which gives a crisp texture to the fried paneer. Though the recipe works without poha, I use it to make it crisp and this also prevents your spices from burning.

On several occasions I have made this without poha and sometimes with cornstarch. It turns out good both ways but won’t be crisp and cornstarch does nothing because we don’t shallow-fry or deep-fry.

Paneer aka Indian cheese has a lot of moisture in it so it requires to be batter fried/ deep fried to make it crispy. We do that while making Chilli Paneer, Paneer Manchurian, Paneer Pakora and Schezwan Paneer.

This Paneer Fry recipe is for those days when you really don’t want to use any cornstarch or deep fry paneer, yet want to include something simple & special to your menu. If you prefer to marinate your paneer, use can also use this Paneer Kathi Roll recipe, where I show how to marinate and pan fry paneer.

Ingredients

Poha is flattened rice and is used in Indian cuisine. To make poha powder, add 3 to 4 tablespoons thick/medium white or brown poha to a small grinder and make a powder. Don’t make a super fine flour, slightly coarse like fine semolina is right for this.

Store the leftover powder and use it while making Hara Bhara Kabab, Cutlets, Meat kabab, Patties etc. I usually powder half cup poha and store it in the refrigerator for a year.

Photo Guide

How to Make Pan Fried Paneer (Stepwise Photos)

This recipe serves 2 to 3. If you want to make 2x or 3x recipe, double or triple all the ingredients. Here is how to make 1x for 2 to 3 servings:

Preparation

1. Measure the spices and add them to a plate.

• ¾ tablespoon poha powder (optional, but recommended to make crispy paneer)
• ⅛ teaspoon turmeric (optional)
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (leave out for kids or reduce)
• ½ teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon chaat masala (or 1 tablespoon lemon juice, do not add here)
• 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon ginger powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper ground
• ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)

2. Mix all the ingredients. Taste test and adjust salt or chili.

3. Rinse 200 grams ( 7 ounces) paneer block with 1 cup clean water. Place it on the chopping board and slice to pieces. I prefer to dice the block to 4 portions and then slice each to 2 portions. Avoid slicing too thin as it becomes difficult to turn them.

4. Coat each piece, one after the other with the spice mixture on all the sides.

If you want to use lemon juice, dip each paneer piece in the lemon juice first and then coat with the dry spice mixture.

5. Keep aside.

Fry Paneer

6. Spread 1 teaspoon oil on a hot pan.

7. Make sure your pan is hot before placing the paneer. Let fry on a medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes, making sure not to burn them. If you are in doubt, simply lower the heat and fry. But make sure you don’t touch them before the spice mixture at the bottom is crisp. It can simply come off from the paneer.

8. Using 1 large and 1 small wooden spatula, turn them and toast until crisp. If required drizzle another teaspoon of oil/ghee.

9. When both sides are crisp, hold the pieces with the spatulas and fry on the sides too. This step looks tedious but is easy if you use smaller spatulas and won’t take you long. Leave them on the pan in this position so they remain crisp.

It is best to serve Pan Fried Paneer under 10 to 15 mins else they begin to loose the crisp texture. After 30 minutes, they are still slightly crisp. You may reheat in air fryer to crisp them up.

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