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| How To Make Paneer Tikka |
About this Tandoori Paneer Tikka made in Oven:
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.
You can easily use this recipe of paneer tikka to make the very popular curry based dish of Paneer Tikka Masala.
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.
Ingredients in this Paneer Tikka:
- 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: Homemade Hung Curd or Hung Yogurt is used as the base of the marinade. You can even use greek yogurt. Indian spice powders 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 in oven:
Preparation
- 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. Keep aside. You can also use tomatoes if you want.
- 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.
- Slice 200 to 250 grams block or paneer into cubes or squares and keep aside. Best is to use homemade paneer.
Making Hung Curd Marination
- Put 200 grams hung curd (greek yogurt) in a bowl. With a whisk beat the curd lightly till smooth.
- Now add 1 tablespoons ginger garlic paste or 1 tablespoon crushed ginger garlic to the curd. Also add all the dry spice powders. Below you see the following Indian spice powders in clockwise order:
- 2 teaspoons kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur)
- 1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder (optional)
- Kashmiri red chili powder gives a nice red color to the food but is not spicy and hot. Instead of Kashmiri red chili powder, you can add 2 teaspoons of sweet paprika or ½ to 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
- Add ½ teaspoon black salt and regular salt as per taste. If you do not have black salt, then skip it.
- Add ½ tablespoon (1.5 teaspoons) lemon juice.
- Next add 1 tablespoon mustard oil. If you do not have mustard oil, then use a neutral tasting oil.
- Mix very well. Check the taste and add more seasonings if required.
Marinating Paneer and Veggies
- Add the onions, capsicum and paneer to the marinade.
- Slowly and gently mix them with the marinade. Cover and keep the marinated paneer and veggies in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more.
- This is how they look after 2 hours.
Threading Paneer and Veggies
- Begin to thread the veggies and paneer alternately on bamboo skewers. Before you begin to thread preheat oven at 230 or 240 degrees Celsius or 464 degree Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes. Use only the top heating element while preheating as well as grilling. Soak or rinse the bamboo skewers before threading.
- Place them on a tray lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Brush with some oil all over.
Making Grilled Paneer Tikka
- Place the tray on the top rack and grill in the preheated oven for 7 to 10 minutes first at 230 to 240 degrees Celsius or 464 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Then remove the tray from the oven and turn the paneer tikka skewers.
- Again keep back on the top rack in the oven and continue to grill till the edges of paneer and veggies are golden or slightly charred for about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not grill for a long time as then paneer becomes hard. Since temperatures vary from oven to oven do keep a check. You can reduce or increase the time as required. Total grilling time will be 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove once done. Serve the paneer tikka sprinkled with some chaat masala and lemon juice. Also serve mint chutney, onion slices and lemon wedges as sides.
Tips for making paneer tikka:
- Barbecue: You can also cook the paneer tikka on barbecue grill.
- Grilling in the oven: In the oven grill for 15 to 20 minutes at 230 or 240 degree Celsius with only the top heating element on. Basically here we are broiling the dish.
- Marination Time: It is best to marinate the paneer cubes for 2 hours or more. You can also keep the marinated paneer overnight in the fridge. Since I made the paneer tikka for dinner, I marinated the paneer and veggies for 2 hours in the refrigerator. The longer it marinates, the better flavors get infused into the paneer and veggies.
- Vegetables: The veggies used can be of your choice. In the step by step photos, I have used onions and green bell pepper (capsicum). In the video I have used red, yellow and green bell pepper with onions. You can use baby corn, mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli etc. For cauliflower blanch them before marinating.
- Adding Oil: While grilling or baking, the paneer cubes and veggies can become dry. Oil is added to paneer and veggie mixture to prevent this from happening. The paneer cubes and veggies are also brushed with some oil to avoid them from becoming dry.
- Overcooking: Don’t overcook the paneer as they then become rubbery, dry and hard. The paneer should be soft, well cooked but also succulent.
- Marinade: The leftover marinade can be applied or brushed on the paneer tikka before grilling them. If you are making paneer tikka masala gravy, you can use the extra marinade in the gravy.
- Vegan Options: Use tofu, seitan or tempeh in place of paneer. Use a vegan yogurt like almond or cashew yogurt in place of dairy yogurt.