What is Paneer Tikka
Tikka basically means anything that is marinated and then baked or grilled or fried and paneer tikka is a popular vegetarian tikka dish. This tasty homemade version is similar to the dish served in restaurants, but I would say actually tastes better!
The Indian spice powders mixed with the yogurt (curd) make a flavorful marinade that is soaked up by the porous paneer cubes. Grilling the skewers then produces a nice slightly crispiness on the paneer.
What is Tandoori Style Cooking
For newbies to Indian food, tandoori style cooking is when marinated ingredients or Indian flatbreads, in this case paneer cubes, have been threaded on a skewer and grilled in a tandoor, which is a cylindrical clay oven.
This produces a subtle charcoal flavor and is a popular way of cooking in Indian restaurants. In this homemade version we grill the paneer skewers in the oven, although you can even bake them.
Most of the times for tikka recipes, the yogurt-based marinade is made which is unique to the tandoori style grilling.
This restaurant style paneer tikka be easily made at home. In this delicious recipe, paneer cubes are marinated in a spiced yogurt-based marinade, arranged on skewers and grilled or baked in the oven.
This spicy snack is a dry dish, meaning it is not in a gravy sauce, but the paneer cubes themselves are juicy and succulent.
Bell peppers (capsicum) and onions have been added to the skewers in this recipe. The veggies add flavor and nutrition and you can add as many as you like. This vegetarian dish makes a great appetizer or side.
Ingredients You Need
- Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese): This is the main ingredient in the dish and it is important to use a good quality paneer. In fact, as with all my paneer recipes, I recommend using Homemade paneer This ensures freshness and avoids any hidden ingredients and preservatives found in store-bought paneer.
- Marinade: Homeade Hung card Yougat is used as the base of the marinade. You can even use Greek Yogurt. The ground spices are then added to balance out the sour yogurt taste and give a flavor kick to the dish.
- Veggies: Here I have used bell peppers (capsicum) and onions. You can use veggies of your choice, including baby corn, mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli and more
How to make Paneer Tikka – Restaurant Style
Prep Work
1. Peel, rinse and dice 1 medium-sized onion in square shaped 1 to 1.5 inches pieces. Rinse and slice 1 small to medium sized capsicum (green bell pepper) in 1 to 1.5 inches pieces.
You will need ½ cup each of onions and capsicum. Set these aside. You can also use tomatoes if you wan
2. Crush 1.5 inches ginger and 6 to 7 small to medium sized garlic to a fine paste in a mortar-pestle.
You will need 1 tablespoon of crushed ginger-garlic or 1 tablespoon of ready ginger-garlic paste.
3. Slice 200 to 250 grams block or paneer into cubes or squares and keep aside. Best is to use homemade paneer.
