Paneer Tikka ..... a very flavorful appetizer

Paneer tikka... a very common and flavorful appetizer on a restaurant menu. Love them so much that the thought of it makes me and kids drool. We are big fans of paneer and this paneer recipe is the most relished one as far as my thinking is right. One can never have enough of it

Whenever we make this at home all the paneer is first off the plate. My kids will make sure every piece of paneer in the skewers is equally divided and placed right in "2 plates" (not 4 - we are a family of 4) Very disciplined kids you see ;) .... they are very sharing brothers but they forget mom and dad in this particular game :( What me and my hubby tend to eat are the roasted veggies most of the time. Sometimes we do get a slice or two of paneer depending on the kids mood. But never mind I always keep a couple of tikka skewers in the kitchen before serving the entire dish. I know about my naughty ones. After having fun eating their share I bring out our share ;)  and we enjoy again 

This recipe calls for simple ingredients that you will always find in the kitchen. Just mix in  the spices and marinade, then few minutes to make. A wonderful appetizer to please everyone in the family

Serves... 4 ppl

Serve option... Hot

This is what u'll need....

Paneer - 200 gm
Thick curd - 3 tbspn
Cream / Fresh malai  - 2 tbspn
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tspn
Lemon - half
Jeera powder - 1 tspn
Red chilli powder - 1 tspn
Besan / Gram Flour - 2 tbspn
Coriander powder - 1 tspn
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tspn
Chaat masala - 1/2 tspn (optional)
Capsicum - 1 
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Oil - for shallow fry
Salt to taste 

Here is the stir....

• Cut paneer into 1 inch by 1 inch squares. Keep them a little ... too thin will make them break when you work with  them on the tawa or the skewers

• Cut capsicum, onion and tomato into big dices

• Soak skewers in water to avoid burning them when cooking the dish

• Spoon in the curd into a wide bowl

• Add ginger garlic paste to the curd. Dont add too much. We need to add it flavor but dont want to taste bitter. A little should do

• Squeeze in half a lemon 

• Add all the dry powders - salt, red chilli powder, cumin/jeera powder, coriander powder, garam masala. If adding chaat masala keep an eye on the amount of salt that is added

• Add roasted chana dal powder / besan / gram flour to the mix

• Whisk everything together to blend the spices completely in the curd. Taste to check for the spice levels. Adjust to suit your taste. Marinade is ready to use

• Toss in the capsicum, tomato, onion and paneer pieces into the marinade. Mix everything together with a gentle hand to cover all the pieces evenly with the marinade

• Leave it in  the refrigerator to soak up the marinade. Leave it for around 45 mins to one hour, even overnight would be a good option

• Pick a skewer and slide in pieces of onion, tomato, capsicum and paneer and then repeat the order again. Fit as much as it would on the skewer

• Heat a non-stick pan and add a few drops of oil

• Place the skewers in the pan and let it sizzle. Keep turning the skewers to evenly brown on all sides. You can also bake it in the oven but nowadays i stick to the tawa as it faster and also easier to clean ;)

• Serve hot with onion rings and a slice of lemon. Add up some tangy curd-mint dip on the side

Note:

• Adjust spice levels to suit your taste 
• Add cream to enhance flavors and added moistness
• Marinate for at least 30 mins to let the flavors of the spices seep through. Overnight works best for me