Warm, richly spiced, and built for a satisfying meal, Tawa Paneer Recipe (Street Style) is a gluten-free, vegetarian North Indian main course, side dish made with simple everyday ingredients in about 30 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course, Side Dish
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • 200 to 250 grams paneer ((cottage cheese))
  • 1 onion (large, finely chopped - 100 to 120 grams)
  • 1 capsicum (medium-sized - 80 to 100 grams green bell pepper)
  • 3 tomatoes (medium-sized, chopped - 180 to 200 grams)
  • 4 to 5 garlic cloves (small to medium-sized)
  • 1 inch ginger
  • ½ teaspoon chopped green chilies (or 1 green chili)
  • ½ teaspoon carom seeds ((ajwain))
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder ((ground coriander))
  • ¼ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder (or paprika or cayenne pepper)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • 1 teaspoon Pav Bhaji Masala (or swap with ½ teaspoon garam masala + ½ teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder))
  • 2 tablespoons butter (- salted or unsalted)
  • ½ teaspoon crushed dry fenugreek leaves ((kasuri methi))
  • salt (as required)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (- for garnish)
  • 2 to 3 lemon wedges (- to serve with)

Method

Preparation

  1. Finely chop the onions and capsicum or green bell pepper.
  2. Roughly chop the tomatoes, green chili, ginger and garlic.
  3. Crush the ginger and garlic in a mortar-pestle to a paste.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes in a blender and make a smooth puree. Set aside.
  5. Chop the paneer in small cubes.

Making tawa paneer

  1. Melt butter on a tawa or frying pan or skillet.
  2. Add the carom seeds and fry them for a few seconds or till aromatic.
  3. Add the onions and saute stirring often till they soften and turn translucent.
  4. Add the ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, finely chopped capsicum/green bell pepper and saute for about 3 minutes on a low to medium-low heat.
  5. Then add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and pav bhaji masala. If you don't have pav bhaji masala, then swap it with garam masala powder + dry mango powder.Note: Since the strength of amchur powder varies with each brand, add a little amchur first and adjust as needed to avoid excess sourness.
  6. Stir and saute for about a minute.
  7. Then add the tomato puree and salt as needed.
  8. Stir well and saute till you see butter releasing from the sides and the masala has thickened a bit. This takes about 8 to 10 minutes on a low heat.
  9. If the tomato masala looks dry, then add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water and continue to saute.
  10. Add the paneer cubes and mix gently so that the masala coats the paneer cubes evenly. Switch off the heat.
  11. Then add the crushed dry fenugreek leaves and mix gently.
  12. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve paneer tawa masala with roti, naan, paratha or bread. Accompany with a few wedges of lemon slices which can be drizzled on the tawa paneer and a side onion salad.

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.