Paneer Tikka with Roasted Garlic Chutney

"Paneer Tikka" is a most predominant vegetarian recipes famous worldwide related to North Indian cuisine. It is made from chunks of paneer marinated in spices and grilled in a tandoor. It is a vegetarian alternative to chicken tikka and other meat dishes. Chunks of paneer are marinated in spices and are then arranged on a stick with capsicums, onions and tomatoes sometime. These sticks are grilled in a tandoor and thereafter seasoned with lemon juice and chaat masala. It is best accompanied by salad or mint chutney.

I have been making this recipe from few years and always been successful and appreciated by friends & family. I personally don't like using artificial color to food hence not using it but if required can use artificial red food color to give it a bright red tandoori color as in local restaurants

Serve:       2
Preparation time:          30 minutes (plus marinating)

Ingredients:

Paneer (Cottage Cheese):                 150 grams
Capsicum:                                        1 cup (cut in cubes)
Onion:                                              1/2 cup (cut in cubes)
Gram flour:                                       1 tablespoon
Butter:                                              1 teaspoon
Carom Seed:                                    1 pinch
Yogurt:                                             2 tablespoon
Red chilli powder:                             1/4 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste:                           1 teaspoon
Garam masala:                                  1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Lemon juice:                                     1 teaspoon
Mustard oil:                                      1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder:                             1/4 teaspoon
Kasuri methi:                                    1/2 teaspoon
Bamboo Saute Sticks:                       5-6  (soaked in water)
Chaat Masala

For chutney:
Garlic:                        1 pod (roasted on a gas flame)
Mint leaves:                10- 15
Green chilli:                 5-6 large
Lime juice:                  2 tablespoon
Salt:                            1 tablespoon

Method:

1) Heat some butter in a pan, add carom seed and then gram flour to roast it till you get a nutty flavour.
2) In a large bowl add the gram paste, yogurt, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, lemon juice and salt to taste. Mix well.
3) Heat the mustard oil till smoky hot, add the turmeric powder and whisk the hot oil in the prepared marinade mixture.
4) Add kasuri methi, paneer, onion and capsicum cubes. Let it marinate for 1 hour in freeze. You can do this in advance and cover it with a cling film to use later in a refrigerator.
5) Arrange the paneer, onion, capsicum in a soaked bamboo skewer.
6) You can use a grill pan, gas tandoor or oven in grill mode to cook these tikkas.
7) For chutney put all the ingredients in a blender and make a coarse paste.
8) Serve hot tikkas with a generous sprinkle of chaat masala and roasted garlic mint chutney.

BON APPETIT..