Paneer tikka is a popular Indian appetizer where chunks of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) are marinated in yogurt and spices and then grilled in a tandoor( a traditional clay oven) and if you don’t have one, just barbecue the paneer tikka on a barbecue!  And if you don’t have a barbecue, pan fry the tikka on a tawa (Indian griddle). If you are plant-based vegan, you can use firm tofu as well.

My take on this dish is that I have changed it up  a bit and included Harissa, a North African Chilli paste which is a blend of hot red peppers, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, olive oil, garlic, tomato paste, salt and lemon juice.

The marinade is a blend of yogurt, garlic paste, ginger paste, Harissa, Himalayan salt and cumin ground.

PANEER TIKKA WITH SPICY MINT CHUTNEY

• Serves: 4-6

• Prep Time: 40 minutes

• Cooking Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs Paneer cheese or firm tofu

  First marinade

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tsp garlic paste

• 2 tsp ginger paste

• 1 tsp Himalayan salt

• 1/4 cup olive oil

Second Marinade

• 4 tbs plain greek yogurt

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 tsp fine sea salt

• 1/2 tsp cayenne

• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

• 1 tsp cumin powder

• 1 tsp dried parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut paneer or tofu into  thick cubes or in triangles or rectangles.

2. Mix the ingredients from the first marinade and marinate (paneer, tofu) for 20 minutes

3. Mix the ingredients from the second marinade and pour over the paneer, tofu , or chicken and marinate for 6 hours at least in the refrigerator

Grill on barbecue on medium high heat for 10 -15 minutes till you see the paneer with grill marks or golden brown.

Serve immediately with spicy mint chutney from my previous post.

Click here for Chicken tikka recipe