Paneer Tikka

Paneer tikka is an Indian dish made from chunks of paneer along with vegetables marinated in yogurt along with spices. They are all arranged in a wooden stick and then grilled in a tandoor. It is served hot, seasoned with lemon juice and chaat masala. These are served with salad and mint chutney. It is a vegetarian alternative to chicken tikka and other meat dishes.

I marinate the vegetables and the paneer separately so as to avoid paneer from crumbling down. Also cut the paneer in thick pieces otherwise they will break while we put it on the skewers.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup yogurt

• 1 & 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

• 1 & 1/2 tsp dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

• 1 & 1/2 tbsp mustard oil

• Salt to taste

• 1 & 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)

• 1 & 1/2 tbsp roasted gram flour (besan)

• 1 & 1/2 tbsp red chili powder (possibly degi mirch)

• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

• 400 grams paneer, cut in cubes

• 1/2 cup green capsicum, cut in cubes

• 1/2 cup onions, cut in quarters

• 1/2 cup red bell peppers, cut in cubes

• 1/2 cup orange or yellow bell pepper (optional)

• 1/4 cup pineapple (optional)

• 1 & 1/2 tsp Pickle powder (optional)

• 1 lemon juice

For grilling & garnish :

• 1 tsp mustard oil

• dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

• chaat masala

Method :

• In a bowl add yogurt, ginger garlic paste, dry fenugreek leaves, carom seeds, red chili powder, turmeric powder, besan, salt and mustard oil. Mix them all well; make sure no lumps are left.

• Add the pickle powder if you want to have the pickle (achaari) flavor. If your yougurt is very sour add less of lemon juice. Both these ingredients are optional and the quantity depends on your taste buds.

• Divide the marination you made in two bowls - one for the vegetables and another for the paneer.

• Add the cut vegetables, mix to marinate them, make sure they are well coated and cover and keep aside.

• In another bowl add the paneer cubes and marinate them well slowly, making sure that they don't break in the process. Once marinated, cover and keep it aside.

• If you are adding pineapples I'll suggest to do it separately as when I did, pineapples oozed out little water.

• Keep them all marinated for at least 30 minutes. If you keep it for more time, more better.

• I didn't have grilling pan with me so I used the normal pan, but if you have use it. Heat some mustard oil in the pan till it smokes and then reduce the heat. If you like you can add a spoon ghee also.

• Meanwhile take the skewers and start adding the vegetables and paneer alternating each other. Always start and end the skewer with a vegetable instead of paneer as paneer can easily break.

• Keeping the flame on low-medium heat, keep the skewers one by one on the pan. Try not to keep a lot and squeeze them together.

• While the tikka is cooking at the bottom, use a brush and put oil on all the side of the tikka.

• Slowly rotate the tikkas and cook them on all four sides till they are cooked and paneer is all golden brown in color.

• Remove them in a plate and cook all the tikkas. Once all are cooked, if there is any oil/ghee left in the pan brush it on the cooked tikkas.

Adding Charcoal flavor

• If you want to get the charcoal flavor, then heat 1 -2 small pieces of charcoal and keep it in a bowl.

• Place this bowl on the same plate where you transferred the cooked paneer tikkas. Add 1 tbsp ghee on the charcoal and immediately cover the whole plate and keep it covered for 2 mins.

• Now garnish the tikkas with dry fenugreek and chaat masala. If do not want the charcoal flavor then garnish the paneer tikkas and serve it with coriander chutney and thinly cut vegetable salad.

Notes :

• I have added pickle powder as that's what I had at home. If you have any Pickle at home like Mango pickle or Mixed Veg pickle, then you can add the masala of that.

• Another flavors we can try are tandoori masala flavor and also pudina flavor by adding a spoonful freshly grind pudina chutney. In this case make sure to reduce the water content while mixing otherwise the marination will become runny.

• You can also grill it in the oven by preheating the oven on 230°C for 10-15 minutes and then keep the tikkas and cook for 5 minutes or till cooked. Remember that the oven temperature varies for all so always keep a check on the temperature otherwise the tikkas can get burnt. My recommendation will be doing it on the tawa top as on that we can turn the tikkas and cook them on all sides well.