Paneer fried rice

Paneer fried rice is an Indian-Chinese fried rice variety made with rice, paneer (Indian cottage cheese), mixed vegetables, spices and soya sauce. I share 2 ways to make paneer fried rice in this post. Fried rice is a comfort food for a lot of us and love to have it often. This paneer fried rice is one of those dishes I have made more often than the regular vegetable fried rice just to keep the meal more interesting for my kids. I guess every kid loves paneer & so do mine.

Paneer is a hit or a miss with a lot of people and many don’t like paneer either because it is bland or they don’t like how it tastes. So how about making a spicy and flavorsome paneer for them?

About Paneer Fried Rice

The first paneer fried rice recipe I have shown in this post is a fusion dish made in the Chinese style but with typical Indian spices. So it is super flavorsome, delicious and spicy with a mélange of Indian and Chinese flavors.

The second recipe is the kids’ version and I have not used any bottled sauce for that. However it is upto you if you want you can always add soya sauce, sriracha or even schezwan sauce for more flavors. Back then I would never use bottled sauces for my kids, so I have not used it the pictures.

Paneer fried rice tastes good even without any sauce, just make sure you use a good wok preferably a carbon steel or a cast iron wok for the smoky flavors especially if you are making the second recipe.

Spicy paneer fried rice is made by first marinating cold paneer with thick yogurt, ground spices and salt. It is then fried on the tawa with little oil. Then I make the fried rice and add these fried paneer and mix well.

More Paneer recipes
Paneer pulao
Paneer biryani
Paneer pakora

Photo Guide

How to make spicy paneer fried rice (stepwise photos)

1. If you have precooked rice, you may skip this step. You will need about 2 to 2.5 cups cooked rice for this recipe. Soak 1 cup rice for 15 to 30 mins and cook al dente in lots of water. Do not overcook and make the rice mushy. Drain off the water and set this rice aside to cool. If you are a beginner, you can check my fried rice recipe post to learn about cooking perfect rice for fried rice.

Method 1

2. To a bowl, add

• 2 to 3 tbps of thick yogurt (greek yogurt or use strained yogurt)
• ½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• a large pinch of turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala. Mix all of the ingredients.

3. Add ¾ to 1 cup cold paneer cubes. Mix well. and set aside for at least 15 mins

4. Meanwhile chop and prepare

• ¼ to ½ cup thinly sliced peppers / capsicums (red and green)
• ½ cup carrots
• ¼ to ½ cup spring onions (separate white and greens)

5. Heat large pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Add marinated paneer and cook on medium high till the marinade dries up and clings on to the paneer. Once done remove to a plate.

6. Pour another tablespoon oil to the same pan. Add 1 tablespoon chopped garlic and 1 chopped green chilli. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds. Then add spring onion whites, carrots and bell peppers. Fry on a high heat until they are half done yet crunchy.

7. Add fried paneer and green onions, toss everything well.

8. Add cooled rice, sprinkle a pinch of salt and ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper. Pour 1 tablespoon soya sauce around the sides in the hot pan. You will see the soya sauce sizzles and the entire paneer fried rice turns aromatic. You can also add any hot sauce at this stage if you want. Soya sauce also has salt so add salt with caution.

9. Mix and fry on high heat for 2 mins. Taste test and add more sauce or salt as required.

Serve paneer fried rice hot.

Chinese style paneer fried rice

1. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan and fry 2 chopped garlic cloved and 1 strand of mace. Mace imparts a good aroma to the rice and so you can skip using sauce for this recipe.

2. Add 3/4 cup chopped veggies and fry until slightly tender yet crunchy. I used carrots, beans , spring onions and capsicums. Crunchy veggies taste good, do not over cook.

3. Add 3/4 to 1 cup cold paneer, handful of spring onion greens and fry until lightly golden. Frying longer makes the paneer hard, chewy and rubbery.

4. Add 1 tsp vinegar if needed. If you want add 1 tbsp soya sauce and 1 tbsp sriracha or any hot sauce if you want.

5. Next cooked rice, little salt and crushed black pepper. I also like to add olive oil at this stage.

6. Mix all and fry the rice for 1 minute. Garnish with spring onions.

Serve paneer fried rice hot.

Related Recipes

Recipe card

Paneer fried rice recipe first published in March 2013. Updated and republished in July 2021.