Paneer Tikka is popular Indian appetizer made with cubes of paneer & veggies marinated with yogurt and spices. Traditionally it's grilled in a tandoor but you can make the same version in the oven with this easy recipe!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 5
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • ½ cup + 1-2 tablespoons greek yogurt ([adjustable] 150 grams [/adjustable] or use thick yogurt, I use plain whole milk yogurt)
  • 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
  • 2 tablespoons mustard oil ([adjustable] 30 ml [/adjustable])
  • 2 teaspoons coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon chaat masala
  • 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
  • ¾ teaspoon garam masala
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (or adjust to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (crushed)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1 small lemon (juice of)
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons mint (chopped)
  • 300 grams paneer (cut into big cubes, around 2 heaping cups of cubes paneer)
  • 1 large red onion (cut into 1 inch cubes)
  • 1 large bell pepper (cut into 1 inch cubes, I used mix of red and green peppers)

Method

  1. Whisk 150 grams Greek yogurt in a large bowl using a wire whisk until smooth. I have used plain whole milk Greek yogurt here, you can use regular whole milk yogurt just make sure to strain it for several hours until you have thick yogurt left and then use in the recipe.
  2. Then add all the ingredients for marinade to the yogurt- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste, 2 tablespoons mustard oil, 2 teaspoons coriander powder, 1 teaspoon chaat masala, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, ¾ teaspoon garam masala, ¼ teaspoon red chili powder, 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (crushed) and ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste). Whisk to combine everything together.
  3. Add juice of 1 small lemon along with 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped) and 2 tablespoons mint (chopped). Mix well.
  4. Stir in 300 grams paneer (cut into 1-inch cubes), 1 large red onion (cut into 1-inch cubes) and 1 large bell pepper (cut into 1-inch cubes).
  5. Mix until all the paneer pieces and veggies are well coated with the marinade. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or up to 4 hours. Overnight also works! Prepare your wooden skewers meanwhile(refer to the post on how to soak and prepared wooden skewers).
  6. After 2 hours, take the marinated paneer and veggies out of the refrigerator. Take a skewer and arrange paneer, onion and peppers on skewers, alternating with each other. Make all skewers similarly. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 450 F degrees. Make sure you pre-heat the oven for good 15-20 minutes.
  7. Arrange all the prepared skewers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray the tikka with an oil spray. This is important so that the veggies don't dry out.
  8. Bake at 450 F degrees for 10 minutes and then turn on the broil. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes until paneer pieces look a little charred. Remove from oven, squeeze lemon juice, sprinkle chaat masala and serve with cilantro chutney.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.