Paneer 65 Recipe – Dry Paneer Fry

• Paneer / Indian cottage cheese – 100gms
• Cooking oil – to deep fry
• Curry leaves, onion & lemon slices – to garnish

For marination

• All purpose flour/Maida – 3 tbsp
• Rice flour – 2 tbsp
• Corn flour – 2 tbsp
• Curd – 1 tsp or lemon juice – 1 /2 tsp
• Ginger & garlic paste – 1 tsp
• Dhania powder – 1 tsp (optional) 
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp ( Use Kashmiri chilli powder to get the same color)
• Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt, water – as needed
• Chat masala powder – to sprinkle while serving (optional) 

• Take the paneer block and cut into thin strips of 2 inches length. Boil water till it starts to bubble. Switch off the flame.  Add the paneer pieces to hot water and set aside.Dropping paneer in hot water is optional if you thaw it completely.  It comes out well even without this step but softness would be less. 
• In a wide bowl, take the flours, red chilli powder, dhania powder, garam masala powder, G&G paste, curd or lemon juice  & salt. Mix well without adding water.

• Then add the required water and make a batter similar to thick bajji batter. Check the consistency in the picture below. If the batter is thin, tails will form.

• Now remove the paneer pieces from the hot water and drain the excess water gently.Do not squeeze too hard. Add the paneer pieces to the batter and coat it well.

• Let it marinate for 15 minutes.Do not marinate for more than an hour. Batter will become sour.It spoils the taste of dish. ( If you want to marinate for long time, refrigerate the marinated mixture till you fry them)
• Heat oil to deep fry. Drop a pinch of batter and if it raises to the top immediately, oil temperature is just right. Now keep the flame low to medium and take the paneer pieces using a spoon. If you take it using your fingers, the coating may go off. So take it with a spoon and make sure the paneer piece is completely coated with the batter.

• Drop the paneer pieces and cook in batches. Do not crowd the oil. After dropping the paneer pieces, let it cook for few seconds. Then try to move the pieces with a slotted ladle else they will stick to the bottom of kadai. Keep moving them in between. Cook for a minute in medium flame and turn the pieces upside down. Cook the other side for a minute and remove when the bubbles start to cease and paneer pieces turn golden brown.Do not wait for all the bubbles to stop.If you over fry, paneer will become chewy. So remove at the right time.

• Remove in a tissue paper. Sprinkle chat masala if you like. Enjoy serving & eating hot !!

• If you don’t have corn flour in hand, use 4 tbsp of rice flour alone.
• You can replace curd with a tsp of lemon juice.
• Marination gives a nice crispy exterior and soft interior. If you are in a hurry, you can make it immediately too. If you want to keep the marinated paneer for long time, its better to refrigerate the batter till you deep fry.
• Do not over fry the paneer pieces, it would turn chewy & hard.
• Its better to use low fat paneer cubes to avoid becoming too soft or crumbly.
• Frying in low to medium heat is important. If the oil is too hot n smoky, paneer 65 would turn dark brown in color.
• Use Kashmiri chilli powder to get this color. I have not used any coloring agent here.