Paneer Tikka

It is threaded on a skewer with peppers and onion and grilled until the surface singes.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (paneer), dairy (whole milk), dairy (yoghurt).

Ingredients

• 500 g Paneer, as on its own page, in large cubes
• 200 g thick yoghurt
• 2 capsicums, in squares
• 2 onions, in squares
• 2 tomatoes, in squares
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon ground red chilli
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 tablespoons gram flour
• 2 tablespoons mustard oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala, to finish
• juice of 1 lemon, to finish

Method

1. IT IS THREADED ON A SKEWER WITH PEPPERS AND ONION AND GRILLED UNTIL THE SURFACE SINGES. Its article gives the whole thing, including the result to aim for: chunks marinated in spices, ARRANGED ON A STICK WITH CAPSICUMS, ONIONS AND TOMATOES, grilled in a tandoor, served hot with lemon juice and chaat masala -- and the paneer, though tender, has A CRISP SINGE ON THE SURFACE. That last phrase is the target. Not browned and not blackened: scorched in patches, with the inside still soft. The vegetables on the skewer are part of the dish rather than a garnish, because they scorch at the same rate and the cheese takes their smoke.
2. THE MARINADE IS THICK ENOUGH TO CLING. Strained yoghurt with the gram flour beaten in. A runny marinade slides off in the heat and burns on the tray instead of on the cheese.
3. THE GRAM FLOUR IS ROASTED DRY FIRST. Two minutes in a pan until it smells nutty. Raw gram flour in a marinade tastes of raw gram flour.
4. IT MARINATES AT LEAST AN HOUR, AND THE SALT GOES IN LATE. Salt draws water out of paneer and thins the marinade, so add it in the last ten minutes.
5. THE CUBES ARE LARGE. Three centimetres. Small ones dry right through before the outside has taken any colour.
6. THEY ALTERNATE ON THE SKEWER AND ARE NOT CROWDED. Paneer, pepper, onion, tomato, with a gap between each. Pushed together they steam one another.
7. THE HEAT IS AS HIGH AS THERE IS, AND CLOSE. A tandoor is what its article names; under a grill, the top shelf, or over coals. Moderate heat cannot singe anything.
8. THEY ARE TURNED ONCE, AND BRUSHED WITH THE OIL. Eight to ten minutes in all. The oil is what carries the heat into the surface.
9. THE CHAAT MASALA AND LEMON GO ON AFTER THE HEAT, NOT BEFORE. Its article has both as finishing seasonings. Chaat masala cooked is just salt; off the grill it is sour and sulphurous and it is the point.
10. ITS ARTICLE NAMES WHAT IT BECOMES NEXT. With a sauce it is paneer tikka masala; in a flatbread it is a paneer tikka roll. Mint chutney alongside either way.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes