You don't need an oven or a grill or a sigdi to make yummy tandoor-style paneer at home.
Chef Roopa Nabar uses a non-stick pan to make her preparation of grilled paneer -- Paneer Hariyali Tikka.
She coats tender cubes of paneer with a chatpata green marinade that's flavoured with mint, dried fenugreek, chickpea flour, dhania. The paneer pieces are loaded onto skewers along with pieces of tomato, capsicum and onions and pan fried.
Photograph: Chef Roopa Nabar for Rediff
Paneer Hariyali Tikka
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 250 gm paneer or cottage cheese, cubed
- 50 gm or ½ a bunch fresh green dhania or coriander leaves or cilantro, roughly chopped
- 50 gm or ¼ a bunch fresh pudina or mint leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 tbsp oil + extra for grilling the paneer
- 1 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
- 1 green capsicum, deseeded, cut into squares
- 1 medium tomato, cut into squares
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 3 green chillies, roughly chopped
- 10–12 cashewnuts
- 1½ tsp besan or gram/chickpea flour
- ¼ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
- ¼ cup yoghurt
- Salt to taste, about 1½ tsp
- ¾ tsp ajwain or carom seeds
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- 3 tbsp fresh cream
- Chaat masala, for garnish
Method
- Dry roast fenugreek leaves in a frying pan or on a tawa for a minute over low heat.
Transfer into a mixer/grinder jar and grind into a coarse powder.
Keep aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a saucepan or a kadhai over medium heat.
Add the cumin seeds and sauté for a minute.
Next add the green chillies and along with the cashews.
Sauté for a minute.
Mix in the besan and and sauté a minute or so.
Add in the coriander leaves, mint leaves, turmeric powder and saute for a minute more.
Take off heat and cool.
Transfer this mixture into a mixer grinder jar along with the yoghurt and grind to a fine paste.
Transfer the green paste into a bowl and mix in the salt, carom seeds, ginger garlic paste, mustard oil, ground fenugreek leaves, garam masala powder.
Whisk well.
Add in the cream and whisk again.
Gently mix the cubed paneer into the marinade.
Keep aside.
Add the tomato, capsicum squares to the mixture.
Ideally marinate a few hours.
- Thread the paneer and vegetables onto skewers in this order: Paneer, onion, tomato, capsicum.
Repeat and end with paneer.
- Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
Place the skewers in it and drizzle leftover marinade on top.
Fry till evenly cooked on all sides and take off heat.
- Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle chaat masala over it and serve hot with naans or tandoori roti.
Recipe: Kind courtesy TTK Prestige.