Paneer is Indian cheese and ‘tikka’ is a general South Asian term meaning marinated barbequed food. Paneer Tikka is the nearest thing vegetarians come to tandoori chicken, it’s one of my favourite Injun dishes, and this particular recipe has been kindly donated by my good friend Payal.
INGREDIENTS
* 500gms paneer – cubed into about 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 in pieces
* 1 big onion – big chunks
* 2 green peppers – big chunks
* 1 red pepper – big chunks
* 1 yellow pepper – big chunks
FOR THE MARINADE
* 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
* 2 tsp oil
* 1 cup yogurt (stir it to make it smooth)
* 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin) powder
* 1/2 tsp chilli powder
* 1 tsp tandoori masala powder (curry power if you can’t find this – Robyn)
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
* Salt to taste
DO IT
1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a big porcelain/plastic bowl (I find that putting it in steel bowls makes it taste strange)
2. Put all the chopped vegetables and paneer into the marinade
3. Keep covered with plastic wrap and leave on counter for 3-4 hours – if you’re keeping it overnight, keep it covered in the fridge!
4. If you kept it in the fridge, take it out the next day, and let it come to room temperature (that way the paneer cubes wont be cold and hard)
5. Take 10-12 skewers – if using wooden skewers, make sure you pre-soak them in water for 30 mins so they don’t burn or split in the oven while you’re baking
6. Mix around the kabobs in the bowl so everything is well coated with the marinade
7. Skewer the paneer and veggies on the sticks (don’t stick them too close to each other, maybe 4-5 paneer pieces at the max on a stick)
8. Preheat the oven to 325F
9. Arrange all the skewers in a flat baking pan (the cookie baking type) and bake at 325F for 25 mins. Rotate them after the first 15 mins.
10. After the 20mins have passed, leave for an additional 5 mins at 400F to give it that nice browned look
11. While serving, squeeze some lemon juice all over the kabobs
Serve with vegetable biryani and chapatis.
