I also share tips to air fry and pan fry the paneer for a healthy dish.

About Schezwan Paneer

Schezwan Paneer is a lesser known Indo-Chinese appetizer where crisp batter fried paneer is tossed in a super aromatic and spicy schezwan sauce. Like any other Indian Chinese appetizer, schezwan paneer also comes in 2 versions – semi dry and gravy. You will find this dish most often on the Indian-Chinese restaurant menus and Chinese fast food places. Schezwan sauce forms the base of this dish and is made with a paste of red chilies, which is sautéed along with oil, ginger, garlic, onions, soya sauce and sichuan peppercorn. This sauce is used in a lot of dishes like fried rice, schezwan chicken and noodles. Paneer being a bland cheese goes so well in this spicy sauce. The restaurant version of schezwan paneer is deep fried but you can also air fry or pan fry the paneer or even skip the frying part. You can also toss the paneer in the sauce directly without frying. In the end you will have soft white paneer coated with delicious schezwan sauce. For more Paneer Recipes checkPaneer popcornGarlic paneerPaneer tikkaPaneer manchurian

How to Make Schezwan Paneer (Stepwise photos)

Preparation

  1. Soak 7 to 8 dried red chilies in half cup hot water until softened. I have deseeded the chilies as we do not like the seeds in the sauce. For low heat, use Kashmiri red chilies.
  2. Add the chilies along with 2 tbsps of water. You can also use fresh water to make the paste less spicy.
  3. Make smooth or slightly coarse paste. Set this aside.
  4. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons corn flour, 3 to 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (maida), salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
  5. Pour water and make a free flowing batter. The batter must be of medium thick consistency. If the batter is too thick, the paneer bites will turn hard.
  6. Transfer the paneer cubes.
  7. Coat them.

Fry Paneer

  1. Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying. When the oil is hot enough, drop a small portion of batter to check if the oil is hot enough. The batter will rise if the oil is hot.
  2. Gently drop the batter coated paneer bites to the hot oil. Do not disturb them as soon as you drop them in the oil. Let them fry for 2 to 3 mins, then stir and fry on a medium high flame.
  3. Remove them to a kitchen tissue or a cooling rack when they turn crisp. Do not over fry as they turn hard. Set these aside.

Make Spicy Sauce

  1. Heat 1½ tbsp of fresh oil in a pan or wok. Next add ½ tablespoon ginger and ¾ tablespoon garlic too. Saute for a min. Add 2 tablespoons chopped spring onions, 2 to 3 tablespoons celery and slightly crushed ½ teaspoon schezwan peppers as well. Saute for 2 to 3 mins.
  2. Add 2 tbsps of red chili paste. Do not use more than that otherwise it may make the dish very spicy. Add salt and sugar.
  3. Saute for 2 to 3 mins. Remove the schezwan peppers if you have used. I prefer to remove them before adding water as the cooked peppers flavor do not go well with us. Pour water.
  4. Mix and cook until the oil separates.
  5. The moisture evaporates and the sauce thickens. Add ½ to ¾ vinegar or tomato sauce.
  6. Pour ¾ tablespoon soya sauce. Saute for just a minute.

Make Schezwan Paneer

  1. Add ¼ cup sliced capsicums. You can also skip if you do not have. Saute for a minute.
  2. Mix 1 teaspoon corn flour with ½ to ¾ water and pour it to the pan.
  3. Mix well and taste test. The gravy has to be spicy, sweet and slightly sour. Next when the sauce turns thick, then turn off the stove.
  4. Allow the sauce to cool down a bit. Then add the fried paneer bites. Coat the paneer well in the sauce. Serve schezwan paneer as a starter or side with fried rice or noodles. Related Recipes

Recipe Card

Schezwan Paneer Recipe First published in January 2018. Updated and republished in July 2022.