Learn How To Make Restaurant-Style Paneer Tikka Like A Chef

Authentic Paneer Tikka Recipe

A Simple Guide To Preparing Paneer Tikka

Straight from the Mughal kitchen, the paneer tikka is a wholesome, flavourful, and delicious starter or snack item everyone will enjoy. For the dish, paneer - Indian cottage cheese is marinated with super spicy masalas and grilled to perfection. Whether you have the tikkas just like that or add green chutney, both taste great. Wondering how to cook the tikkas at home without much of a fuss? Here is the right way for you to proceed.

Ingredients Of Paneer Tikka

Paneer tikka is a favourite recipe all over the Indian subcontinent. The simplicity of the cooking style and the smooth texture of the paneer make it a consistent choice. People have their own versions of paneer tikka, altering the taste, cooking time and supporting ingredients. However, the base ingredients remain the same for every paneer tikka recipe. So here is a comprehensive list of them all.

Paneer (200 g - 250 g) sliced into 1½-inch cubes.
One large onion and bell pepper diced in cube form
6 tablespoons of yoghurt
7 - 8 Tablespoons of besan flour
In masalas (spices), take 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon of red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, garam masala, and chaat masala. For turmeric, you can choose ⅛ teaspoon as per convenience.
1 inch of finely chopped ginger and 3 grated garlic cloves
You can also add ¼ or ½ teaspoon of ajwain (carom seeds), but that is completely optional
You can select olive oil or refined oil as per convenience.
Bamboo Skewers

Your Guide To The Perfect Paneer Tikka Marinade

As of common opinion, paneer has no taste of its own. However, a perfectly blended marinade will save your day when you are on a mission to produce the tastiest output. It will add the right amount of flavour to the tikkas, amplifying the overall taste.

Step 1: Add yoghurt in a bowl, along with besan flour, ginger, garlic and salt.
Step 2: Add all the spices as mentioned and mix them. Your marinade is ready!

If you are not a besan person but still want to come up with the best paneer tikka recipe, here is what you need to do. Below are three tikka paneer marinade variations for you to try.

Achari Paneer Tikka - This one will be the perfect go-to recipe to spice up the paneer! Add 2 tablespoons of achaar (whichever one you have in your house), 1½ teaspoons of fennel seed powder and 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds. Mix them well, along with the other ingredients.
Hariyali Paneer Tikka - Create a paste of ½ cup coriander leaf, 1½ cups mint leaves (15 gms each) and 2 to 3 green chillis. Add everything to the batter instead of besan. While making the marinade.
Malai Paneer Tikka - This version needs you to eliminate the onion and the bell peppers. You must soak cashew nuts (15 pieces) in hot water for 30 minutes. Grind them all with 2 tablespoons of hung yoghurt, 1 inch of ginger, 3 garlic cloves, ½ or 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of homemade malai.

How To Make Paneer Tikka? A Step By Step Process

Now that you are ready with all the ingredients and the marinade, it is time to coat the paneer, bell peppers and onions together and then continue cooking. Here is how you can do it:

Step 1: Add the bell peppers and onions into the marinade and the paneer, gently coating them with the batter. Be careful, as the paneers tend to be soft by nature, and they can easily break.
Step 2: Cover the bowl and let them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. It is always recommended not to leave the marinated paneer too long, as it can break off while cooking. When you are planning to store them for the next two to three hours, it is better to thread them and then refrigerate them.
Step 3: Start threading the paneers, onions and bell peppers together. You are almost close to nicely done and deliciously tasty paneer tikkas.

You can use the baked method, air frying or over a grill pan for cooking.

Easy Paneer Tikka Recipe Using An Air Fryer

The air fryer cooking technique is non-greasy and easy to clean up above everything else.

Step 1: Line up your air fryer basket with an aluminium foil.
Step 2: Arrange the paneer skewers ½ inch apart. Avoid overcrowding to enable an evenly cooked output.
Step 3: Insert the basket and cook for 5 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. After 5 minutes, take out the basket to flip the skewers. You can brush some oil and cook for another one to two minutes.

Paneer Tikka Over A Non-Stick Fry Pan

Cook over a non-stick fry pan when you are hosting a live counter.

Step 1: Place your non-stick fry pan on the gas oven, keeping the burner lit at medium flame.
Step 2: Now add oil and let it heat up.
Step 3: Place the marinated paneer tikkas on the pan and cook each side for five to seven minutes. Flip once the edges are slightly charred.

Paneer Tikka In The OTG

For those who are into baking, this OTG-based cooking style is for them.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 230 degrees Celsius. Place the paneer skewers over a baking tray lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven.
Step 2: Set the timer for 12 to 15 minutes, and let the paneer get all cooked and browned up. Brush the paneer with olive oil after taking them out of the oven to give a charred effect.

Conclusion

Paneer tikka is the most ordered appetiser dish in the restaurant but also makes up a quick snack at home. It is a complete deal, helping you with all the right taste and flavour needed. From kids to adults, everyone likes paneer tikka for a reason!

Frequently Asked Questions

What stick is used to thread the paneer tikkas?

You can use wooden/bamboo sticks to cook paneer tikka. In professional kitchens, the chef uses iron seekhs to roast the tikka.

What is the calorie count for paneer tikka?

One serving of paneer tikka introduces you to 105 calories. There are 17 calories for proteins, 20 calories for carbohydrates, and 66 calories for fat content loaded.