Food / 31 October, 2018 / My Baba
Crispy and Delicious Spider Paneer

This is my favourite paneer dish and a recipe I experimented with after an Indian trip. I first tried the dish, called Thread Paneer, in a restaurant in Mumbai. Intrigued by such a name, I ordered the dish and when it arrived it actually looked like threads of pastry wrapped around paneer strips. It was a crispy delicious snack with spiced paneer pieces on the inside and I absolutely fell in love with it. I also knew I would be trying to make my own version of it when I returned back home to London. I re-invented the dish in the Brilliant kitchen and tried to keep the Indo-Chinese flavours of the dish, while adding my own twist. The result was an irresistibly yummy snack, just like the one I tried in India. When my manager Sarabjeet tasted the dish, he was blown away and then said the perfect name for it was Spider Paneer. It fits perfectly.
Serves 4-5
Ingredients
Spider Paneer:
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tsbp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 finger green chillies, very finely chopped or made into a paste
- 350g paneer, cut into 2 inch long, ½ inch wide and ½ inch thick fingers
- 4 ½ tsp plain flour
- 1 ½ tsp corn flour
- 5 spring roll pastry sheets, cut finely into julienne strips
- Oil to deep fry
Spices
- 1 tsp white pepper powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp chaat masala
Serving Suggestion:
- Sweet chilli sauce for dipping
Method:
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the garlic, sweet chilli, lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, salt, red chilli powder, green chillies and chaat masala.
- Apply the mixture generously onto the paneer fingers and leave aside for 10 minutes to marinate.
- Mix the flour and cornflour together in a bowl and add the marinated paneer fingers to the mixture. Mix well and keep to one side for five minutes.
- Heat up the oil for deep frying to 175°C.
- Spread the spring roll julienne pastry onto a large plate or tray.
- When ready, roll the paneer fingers in the julienne pastry. Press well so that the pastry sticks well to the paneer.
- Deep fry the paneer fingers for about 1-2 minutes until crispy and golden, controlling and adjusting the heat as required
- Serve hot with a sweet chilli sauce dip.
Recipe from Dip in Brilliant by Celebrity Chef, Dipna Anand.
