Tandoori Paneer or Paneer Tikka

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. After the success of Tandoori Soya, my next experiment to try a tandoori style in oven was on Paneer. When I tried this for the first time, I followed the exact recipe as of Tandoori Soya. So I used the regular yoghurt and mixed all the paneer pieces in the marinade. But I felt that unlike soya which absorbed most of the marinade, paneer didn't absorb much of it and the marinade left out water as well. Hence I made the Hung yoghurt this time which can be made so easily at home. Hung yoghurt is very thick and creamy one and best for preparing marination. During my first trial, some of the paneer pieces got stuck to the foil though I had greased well and I am not sure of the reason. So this time I kept the skewers resting on the sides of the tray. 

The final verdict was that Paneer Tikka came out really good. The outside was slight brown n crisp, but inside was very soft. Since paneer is bland, add all the spices according to your preferences. Squeeze some lime juice just before serving, which will make it taste just great !! I made this as an appetizer when few of our friends visited us and served with the lovely Mint chutney.

You need....

2 cups medium size cubed Paneer

1 Onion diced

1 Bell Pepper diced

5 tbsp Yoghurt ( to be made to Hung yoghurt, see below for instructions)

For marination:

1 tsp Chilli powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

1/2 tsp Pepper powder

1 tsp Lime juice

1 tsp Ginger- Garlic paste

a little Kasoori methi ( rub within hands and add )

Salt

To prepare..

To make Hung yoghurt: Put the yoghurt in a thin clean cloth, tie it tight and hang inside the refrigerator for about an hour. Keep a bowl under it so as to collect all the water drained. After this process, you will get very thick creamy hung yoghurt.

Mix all the ingredients under For marination with  the hung yoghurt to form a smooth paste. Coat each paneer piece with this paste on all sides. Place them on a tray or plate and refrigerate it for a minimum of 3-4 hours. You can leave them overnight as well. 

If there is extra paste left, mix the diced onions and bell pepper together with it. Leave it in the refrigerator. This step is optional. You can use onions and bell pepper without marinating also.

Soak the bamboo skewers in water for atleast an hour so as to prevent burning inside oven.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and grease it well. Now very carefully slide in paneer, onion and bell pepper alternately on to each skewer. I kept the skewers vertically resting on the sides of the tray so that paneer won't stick much on the tray.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Slowly turn the skewers and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until paneer gets slight brown.

Serve with some Mint chutney. Squeeze some lemon juice or chaat masala if you desire.

Sending this to Show me your HITS by Sangee Vijay of Spicy Treats.

and to SpotLight: Colourful Holi at Cuisine Delights

and to Holi Hai at My Cook Book