All of us love to party whether it is an office gig or just at home. No party is complete without a great starter. One of the best paneer starters is a tandoori paneer tikka. The whole Europe is crazy about this recipe. Well you can't blame them for it. After all, India stays with you, even if you left it centuries ago. We can easily make this at home. Grilled paneer skewers just win the world over.
Vegetarians love marinated and grilled cottage cheese. Just as much as the non vegetarians love their meat. This taste of smoky cubes stays with you for long time. Grilling it in a fan forced oven at home, gives the dish a great finish. It is an easy to cook starter. You can pair it with mint chutney or tomato sauce. Serve it hot. It is kid friendly and gluten-free. You can alter the heat using the chilly in it. You can have it as a starter or as a main course dish Panir tikka masala. Just add gravy to the starter and have it with some tandoori roti. Garlic naan and rumali roti also tastes great with the curry.
Jump to:
- Benefits
- What is the different between paneer tikka and paneer tikka masala ?
- Paneer tikka Ingredients
- Equipment
- Instructions
- How to make paneer tikka in oven
- How to make paneer tikka in air fryer
- Best Paneer Tikka recipe
- Equipment
- Substitutions
- Variations
- FAQs
- Try more Indian cottage cheese recipes?
Benefits
- Rich source of protein
- Builds better bones and teeth
- Good source of vitamin B12,selenium,magnesium
- Maintains blood sugar levels
- Good for heart and immune system
- Aids digestion
What is the different between paneer tikka and paneer tikka masala ?
Former is the dry starter like the current recipe you are reading, however latter is the curry version. You can just transfer the cooked cottage cheese starter to the tomato & onion curry , and you get the curry. You may refer to the recipe here.
Paneer tikka Ingredients
- Cottage cheese cubed ( Refer to our details post on making paneer at home here )
- Capsicums/ bell peppers 1 red and 1 green diced
- Onion diced/few baby onions
For paneer tikka marination: - curd/ dahi/ yogurt
- Ginger-garlic paste
- Turmeric
- Red chilli powder
- Cumin powder
- Lemon juice
- Chickpea flour/besan
- Salt as per taste
- Mustard oil + extra oil for brushing
- Wooden skewers soaked in water
Equipment
- Fan forced oven
- Skewers
- Whisk
Instructions
Read the steps below for the paneer tikka marination .
- Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl.
- Whisk to a smooth mixture.
- Add the mustard oil (heated and cooled) to the marinate
- Dip cottage cheese paneer pieces & veggies in the marination paste and refrigerate overnight(min. 4 hrs)
- Marinate the paneer & veggies in the same bowl or seperately. If they are separate then its easy to choose them while adding to skewers.
How to make paneer tikka in oven
- Line up the marinated cottage cheese and veggies in wooden skewers.
- Preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius(Fan forced) for 10 minutes
- Cook them for 8-10 minutes first(fan forced mode) and 3-4 minutes using the top grill option.(Oven broiler option)
How to make paneer tikka in air fryer
- Line up the marinated cottage cheese and veggies in wooden skewers..
- Preheat the air fryer at 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes
- Cook paneer tikka in airfryer for 7-8 minutes first at 200C and then 2-3 minutes using the grill option.(Brush with oil once in between)
- Optionally, you may grill it over the stove top for few seconds to get the charred look.
Serve it hot with mint chutney.
Get the grilled cottage cheese recipe here
Best Paneer Tikka recipe
Equipment
- fan-forced oven
- skewers
- whisk
- Air fryer if not using oven
Ingredients
- 300 grams cottage cheese/paneer cubed , can be replaced with extra firm Tofu
- 2 capsicums/peppers 1 red and 1 green diced
- 1 onion diced/few baby onions
For Marination:
- ½ cup dahi/yogurt/curd
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder/jeera
- Lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon chickpea flour/besan
- 2 tablespoon mustard oil + extra oil for brushing (replace with any cooking oil)
- Salt as per taste
- Wooden skewers soaked in water
Instructions
Steps to marinate cottage cheese tikka
- Heat the mustard oil, once its hot, turn off the heat and allow the oil to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Mix all paneer tikka ingredients for marination and make a smooth batter.
- Dip cottage cheese paneer pieces & veggies in the marination paste and refrigerate overnight(min. 4 hrs)
- Line up the Paneer and veggies on the wooden skewers
Make the paneer tikka starter in oven
- Preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius(Fan forced) for 10 minutes
- Cook them for 8-10 minutes first(fan forced mode) and 3-4 minutes using the top grill option.(Oven broiler option)
- Optionally, you may grill it over the stove top for few seconds to get the charred look.
Make the cheese paneer tikka in air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer at 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes
- Cook paneer tikka in airfryer for 7-8 minutes first and then 2-3 minutes using the grill option.(Brush with oil once in between)
- Optionally, you may grill it over the stove top for few seconds to get the charred look.
- Serve grilled paneer tikka hot with mint chutney
Notes
You can make the paneer at home using the recipe given in a link or you can just buy it fresh from dairy or supermarket. Refer to our details post on making paneer at home here You may use other veggies like broccoli,baby corns etc and add a teaspoon garam masala or teaspoon chaat masala as per your taste. You may replace mustard oil with any other vegetable oil.
Nutrition
Equipment
You can bake the tikka in a fan-forced oven or an air fryer. You can re-heat the tikka on a tawa if eating left overs.
Substitutions
For a vegan tikka, use extra firm tofu instead of paneer. If cottage cheese is not available you can make a halloumi version for vegetarians. You will get similar results. For non vegetarian option, you can make chicken tikka. However, the timing of the cook will differ according to the ingredient used.
Variations
You can make a gluten-free vrat paneer tikka or falhari tikka during Hindu fasting period for a one time meal during fasting. This recipe follows all the dietary guidelines one follows during fasting.
If you like mild spices, use the Kashmiri red chili powder while making marinade. This chili is pretty mild like paprika and also gives it a great color. Use a hotter variety if you like spicy. You can also put some black pepper if you like.
FAQs
Yes, however you should over grill it as the grilled paneer will turn hard. Additionally avoid getting the paneer/cheese cubes coming in direct contact with the grill.
You can freeze any leftovers in a plastic box and reheat the frozen paneer tikka in the oven / air fryer.
Try more Indian cottage cheese recipes?
What are some finger licking curry recipes?
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Priya Kulkarni says
Recipe was nice and yummy
bhavana bhatia says
Thank you so much!
DrHoover says
Bhavana bhatia, thanks so much for the post.Really thank you! Keep writing.
bhavana bhatia says
Thank you 🙂