This Diwali & Holiday season, try this chatpata, spicy peri peri paneer topped with creamy cheese sauce. It is an explosion of flavors in the mouth like a Diwali firecracker.
You will surely go for the second and third servings. This piri piri paneer is going to be a total crowd-pleaser.
The last two months have been good to me in terms of successfully executing my dream recipes. After Croissants AND Cashew Macaroons, I am ticking off the combination of peri peri paneer and cheese sauce from my to-do list. Yuppie.
A restaurant in my hometown serves the best peri peri french fries with cheese sauce, and from the time I had it, I always wanted to share it with all of you. Due to time constraints, I could not do it earlier than I had hoped. I made sure to prepare this recipe ahead of the festive season and share it with you all. If you are a potato lover or vegan, simply substitute paneer with boiled potato cubes. The cheese sauce recipe remains the same, but you can substitute regular cheese for vegan cheese.
Paneer for any special occasion and festival.
Recipes with paneer are something that both vegetarians and non-vegetarians love. So if you visit any Indian parties or get-togethers, there is definitely one item made with paneer - maybe a sweet or savory dish.
For this year's Diwali party, I have decided to make this spicy peri peri paneer and top it with cheese sauce. The recipe is super simple with very basic ingredients, and all you need is one packet of store-bought peri peri mix. Go with any brand of your choice.
I have used store-bought paneer today. You can also check my recipe on How to make PANEER at home.
Also, if you and your family love paneer just like we do, then check out
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Some of my favorite, easy, and popular Paneer recipes include:
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- PANEER JALEBI – new for Diwali
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- PANEER IN BUTTER GARLIC CREAM SAUCE – new and loved by my readers
- NO ONION, NO GARLIC PANEER CURRY
- JAIN STYLE PALAK PANEER
- PANEER HARIYALI
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- PANEER TIKKA MASALA
- RASMALAI
Ingredients for Peri Peri Paneer with cheese sauce
2 cups Paneer cubes (250 grams approx)
2 tablespoon Cornstarch or corn flour
2 tablespoon All purpose flour or Maida
¼ to ½ teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
3 tablespoon Water (approx)
Oil for frying
1 to 2 tablespoon Peri Peri mix (read steps below)
For the cheese sauce
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Flour
½ cup Milk
½ cup Cheese grated or sliced
½ teaspoon Peri Peri or Chile powder (optional)
Salt, pinch
Cilantro or Coriander leaves for garnish
How to make peri peri paneer with cheese sauce?
Frying the paneer
Add paneer cubes, cornflour, all-purpose flour (maida), salt, and mix in a bowl. Now add water little by little so that the paneer is well coated.
Heat oil in a pan for frying. Once hot, drop the paneer and fry until crisp outside.
Transfer it to a bowl, and while it is hot, add peri peri mix and toss until well combined. (Video Notes: I first added 1 tablespoon of store-bought peri peri mix directly, but I felt it is not spicy enough, and the peri peri mix was coarse. So then I ground some peri peri powder in blender to smooth powder and added an extra 1 tbsp. When the powder is smooth it gets coated with hot fried paneer easily. So, grind the powder if it is coarse and add.) Adjust the amount to taste.
Making of the cheese sauce
Add butter to pan and heat on medium flame till it's melted.
Add flour and whisk continuously till the mixture bubbles and foams. Slowly add milk and whisk continuously. Once all the milk is incorporated, continue to simmer till the mixture thickens. Whisk occasionally to avoid burning from the bottom.
Add salt, chili powder or peri peri powder, cheese ¼ cup at a time and stir continuously till the cheese has melted on low flame.
Taste the sauce and adjust any seasoning. If you feel the sauce is too thin, only then add more cheese. Please note that the sauce starts to thicken as it cools down.
Assemble Peri Peri (piri piri) paneer with Cheese sauce
Arrange fried paneer on a serving plate in a single layer. Top it with cheese sauce as needed and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve immediately and enjoy.
Tips and FAQ
- This paneer starter with cheese sauce tastes great when prepared fresh. So when you are ready to serve, fry the paneer and make the cheese sauce. It hardly takes 10 minutes if you have everything else ready.
- I have used cheddar cheese. Use any melting cheese or cheese slices.
- You can substitute paneer with mushroom or french fries.
- I generally use peri peri mix from KEYA, BAKERS OR SMITH & JONES
What is a substitute for paneer in the recipe?
You can easily substitute paneer with tofu, or cooked mushroom, baby corn, potato, or cauliflower (gobi). The recipe remains the same for all.
Video Recipe
Video recipe for Peri peri Paneer with cheese sauce - Easy paneer starter recipe.
Recipe card
Detailed recipe for peri peri paneer with cheese sauce - easy paneer appetizer.
Recipe card
Peri Peri Paneer With Cheese Sauce | Easy Paneer Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Paneer , cubes (250 grams approx)
- 2 tablespoon Cornstarch or corn flour
- 2 tablespoon All purpose flour or Maida
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon Salt , adjust to taste
- 3 tablespoon Water (approx)
- 1 to 2 tablespoon Peri Peri mix (read steps below)
- Oil , for frying
For The Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 tablespoon Flour
- ½ cup Milk
- ½ cup Cheese , grated or sliced
- ½ teaspoon Peri Peri or Chile powder (optional)
- Salt , pinch
- Cilantro or Coriander leaves for garnish
Instructions
Frying The Paneer
- Add paneer cubes, cornflour, all-purpose flour (maida), salt, and mix in a bowl. Now add water little by little so that the paneer is well coated.2 cups Paneer, 2 tablespoon Cornstarch, 2 tablespoon All purpose flour, ¼ to ½ teaspoon Salt, 3 tablespoon Water
- Heat oil in a pan for frying. Once hot, drop the paneer and fry until crisp outside.Oil
- Transfer it to a bowl, and while it is hot, add peri peri mix and toss until well combined. Adjust the amount to taste. (Video Notes: I first added 1 tablespoon of store-bought peri peri mix directly, but I felt it is not spicy enough, and the peri peri mix was coarse. So then I ground some peri peri powder in a blender to smooth powder and added an extra 1 tbsp. When the powder is smooth, it gets coated with hot fried paneer easily. So, grind the powder if it is coarse and add.)1 to 2 tablespoon Peri Peri mix
Making of the Cheese Sauce
- Add butter to pan and heat on medium flame till it’s melted.1 tablespoon Butter
- Add flour and whisk continuously till the mixture bubbles and foams. Slowly add milk and whisk continuously. Once all the milk is incorporated, continue to simmer till the mixture thickens. Whisk occasionally to avoid burning from the bottom.1 tablespoon Flour, ½ cup Milk
- Add salt, chili powder or peri peri powder, cheese ¼ cup at a time and stir continuously till the cheese has melted on low flame.½ teaspoon Peri Peri, Salt, ½ cup Cheese
- Taste the sauce and adjust any seasoning. If you feel the sauce is too thin, only then add more cheese. Please note that the sauce starts to thicken as it cools down. Check out the video here.
Assemble Peri Peri (Piri Piri) Paneer With Cheese Sauce
- Arrange fried paneer on a serving plate in a single layer. Top it with cheese sauce as needed and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve immediately and enjoy.Cilantro
Notes
- This paneer starter with cheese sauce tastes great when prepared fresh. So when you are ready to serve, fry the paneer and make the cheese sauce. It hardly takes 10 minutes if you have everything else ready.
- I have used cheddar cheese. Use any melting cheese or cheese slices.
- You can substitute paneer with mushroom or french fries.
- I generally use peri peri mix from KEYA, BAKERS OR SMITH & JONES
Neha
Hi, Thank you for the lovely recipe. Can this be made in advance and when guests arrive, just reheat it.
Kushi
Paneer tastes the best when fried and served fresh. You can make the sauce if you need in advance and reheat it.