Paneer Manchurian Recipe is a popular indo-chinese and most popular dish in Mumbai. Paneer (cottage cheese) is a best replacement for chicken or fish for the vegetarians. If you are a vegan then use tofu or potato instead. We love chinese food be it home-made or the hotel ones but personally I prefer home-made as I don’t use ajinomoto and dislike any chemical color in my food.
Although hubby isn’t fond of paneer but he loves to binge on paneer manchurian with his favorite egg fried rice. Even I love this combo 🙂 I have posted apparently veg manchurian which also is loved and relished at our place. I honestly feel food made with love, sincerity and dedication takes the taste and flavor of food to some other level which isn’t possible to get outside. May be that’s why we all love our mother’s food and miss them when she isn’t around us.
Coming back to this recipe its easy to make. Also this dish has a lot of variations some make manchurian gravy, some like it dry some like with veggies some don’t. Todays’s manchurian recipe is semi-dry which goes well with fried rice. I have used sichuan pepper and celery which gives an authentic Chinese flavor and taste. Also used some more veggies in the manchurian gravy for added flavor and taste.
Somehow always felt Chinese food is light and healthy. It’s a great combination of non-veg plus veg food. Even for people who are fussy about eating veggies could eat Chinese food at great ease. So do include a lot of veggies in your chinese food for the balanced diet of your loved ones. Just don’t add ajinomoto or any color for a better and healthier food.
The challenge which I foresee in making Chinese food is the wok and the high heat. The veggies or rice are stir fried on high heat on a big wok which is difficult to make home. So to make it easier use medium sized woks or vessel preferably non stick pan and then stir fry on high heat. As normal pans the veggies might get suck to the bottom if not stirred or tossed properly.
In Mumbai, Pune and also in Calcutta there is something about Indo-chinese food. Even the aroma coming from stalls kind of make you hungry and crave to eat them. People are crazy for such kind of food and enjoy warm soup during a rainy day or during winter. Hence such kind of food also happens to be a popular Mumbai Streetfood!
Let’s make Paneer Manchurian recipe stepwise:
1. Take paneer cubes into a mixing bowl.
2. Sprinkle corn flour, red chili powder, pepper, sichuan pepper and salt. Also add soy sauce, vinegar, 1tsp oil and sugar.
3. Mix all nicely or just shuffle the bowl with a lid on top until all is coated well on paneer.
4. Heat oil in a shallow pan and spread a few coated paneer and shallow fry them until golden brown from both sides. This way shallow fry in small batches and place aside.
5. In the same pan which you shallow fried paneer add celery leaves, garlic and ginger. Saute for 20 secs.
6. Now add whites of spring onion and saute on high heat. Keep stirring in between.
7. Also add all the chopped veggies like carrot, capsicum, cabbage, mushrooms and green chilies.
8. Stir and toss the veggies for 2-3 min son high heat.
9. Add the tomato ketchup and stir again.
10. Now add the cornmeal water mixture. Also add soy sauce, vinegar, red chili powder, sugar and salt.
11. Sprinkle sichuan pepper and pepper powder. Simmer until gravy thickens.
12. Lastly add the fried paneer cover and cook for a minute.
Switch off the gas and garnish with greens of spring onion. Serve your paneer manchurian with fried rice or hakka noodles.
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If you love indo chines food then do check veg fried rice, veg manchurian, schezwan sauce, paneer chili, chicken schezwan and vegetable springrolls and salami chili.
 Paneer Manchurian recipe and printable version below:
- 250 gms paneer / cottage cheese
- 2.5 tbsp corn starch or corn flour
- ½ tsp sichuan pepper powder
- ½ tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¼th tsp vinegar
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- salt as required
- 1.5 to 2 tbsp oil for shallow frying
- 1 tbsp garlic cloves chopped finely
- 1 tbsp ginger chopped finely
- 1 tsp celery leaves chopped (optional)
- ½ cup whites of spring onion chopped into finely or into squares or onion
- ½ cup mushroom chopped coarsely (optional)
- ¼th cup cabbage chopped finely
- ¼th cup carrot grated or chopped finely
- ¼th cup capsicum chopped finely or bell pepper
- 1- green chilies chopped diagonally or finely
- 2 tbsp chopped green of spring onion
- 1.5- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup or sauce
- ½ tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- ¼th tsp black pepper powder
- ¼th tsp sichuan pepper powder
- ½ tsp vinegar or rice vinegar
- salt as required
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- ¼th cup water
- Take paneer cubes into a mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle corn flour, red chili powder, pepper, sichuan pepper and salt. Also add soy sauce, vinegar, 1tsp oil and sugar.
- Mix all nicely or just shuffle the bowl with a lid on top until all is coated well on paneer.
- Heat oil in a shallow pan and spread a few coated paneer and shallow fry them until golden brown from both sides. This way shallow fry in small batches and place aside.
- In the same pan which you shallow fried paneer add celery leaves, garlic and ginger. Saute for 20 secs.
- Now add whites of spring onion and saute on high heat. Keep stirring in between.
- Also add all the chopped veggies like carrot, capsicum, cabbage, mushrooms and green chilies.
- Stir and toss the veggies for 2-3 min son high heat.
- Add the tomato ketchup and stir again.
- Now add the cornmeal water mixture. Also add soy sauce, vinegar, red chili powder, sugar and salt.
- Sprinkle sichuan pepper and pepper powder. Simmer until gravy thickens.
- Lastly add the fried paneer and cook for a minute. Switch off the gas and garnish with greens of spring onion. Serve your paneer manchurian with fried rice or hakka noodles.
2. Alter spices as per your choice also adding veggies is your choice.
3. If you like a dry version then add less water or simmer the gravy until it has less moisture.
4. If you don't have celery then skip it.
5. If sichuan pepper isn't available then just go ahead with black pepper.
Sharon De Sa says
Hi Maria,
I have recently discovered your blog and love your recipes. I notice they are mainly vegetarian. Would you have a recipe for chicken manchurian?
maria says
Thankyou Sharon 🙂 I do have a lot of chicken recipes you could type chicken and search on the search box on top. I do have posted chicken szechuan recipe but not chicken Manchurian yet. Hope this helps you.