Paneer Tikka

A starter every vegetarian is thankful for, is none other than 'Paneer Tikka'. If you want to have the right texture and taste as in a restaurant, it's a little bit lengthy process, nevertheless easy. If you really want to keep it simple, you can skip the hung curd step or can use thick set curd and little more besan to the recipe.

Adding colours and different combinations is up to you and your imagination. For an extra buildup, you can even roast it for around a minute on direct flame and boast about your restaurant like paneer tikka. Replace paneer with aloo if you would like to, but parboil aloo in that case.

Servings - 2

Preparation time - 20 mins

Rest time - 5 hrs for hung curd + 1hr for marination

Cooking time - 5 mins

Ingredients

Paneer cubes - 7 to 8

Capsicum cubes - 7 to 8 of different colours

Cubed tomatoes and/or cubed onions - 7 to 8

Curd - 1 cup

Roasted gram flour / besan - 1 tbsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Sugar - ½ tsp

Kasuri methi - 1 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - ½ tsp

Turmeric - ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Steps to prepare

For hung curd - 

1. On a bowl, place a sieve and a muslin cloth and pour curd into it.

2. Tie the cloth tightly and either hang it in kitchen or place it in refrigerator with the complete setup.

3. After 5 to 6 hrs, you will get a thick hung curd.

For marination -

1. In a bowl, transfer the hung curd and add all ingredients except paneer and vegetables.

2. Mix all of them well and then add paneer and veggies.

3. Ensure all are coated with the mixture evenly.

4. Refrigerate it for 1 hour at least. More the time, better it'll taste.

For tikka -

1. Take out the marination from fridge and prick them into a skewer or toothpick. 

2. Now, pour some oil on a tava and place the skewers on it.

3. Cook it on all sides or until it turns brown.

4. Paneer tikka is ready to be served along with chutney or ketchup.

Tips - 

1. Use set curd or thick curd along with more besan to replace hung curd.

2. If toothpick or skewers are not available, just place paneer on tava and cook on all sides.

3. It can be roasted in an oven if you have grill feature available. Beware that it takes 30 to 40 mins to be done.