This lovely veggie alternative for tandoori cooking is made with Paneer, Indian cheese. It is a firm, very mild cheese which will soften but not melt on cooking, and due to its fairly neutral flavour it takes on the smoky, spicy flavours of the marinade so well. The recipe calls for the Paneer Tikka to be cooked in the oven, but this is also a great dish for the barbecue, where it will become deliciously charred and even more smoky. If you are cooking it like this the time needed will be less due to the high heat of the barbecue, and be careful it does not burn. It makes a great starter for an Indian meal, and is also lovely used to make a wrap inside a naan bread or chapati.
01.
Ingredients
500g Paneer (Indian cheese), cut into 1in cubes
1 Onion, cut into 1in cubes
1 large Green Pepper, cut into 1in cubes
2tbs Mustard Oil
2tsp Ginger Garlic paste
250ml Greek Yoghurt
3tsp Tandoori Marinade
1tsp Chaat Masala
1/2tsp Garam Masala
2tsp Methi (Fenugreek) leaf
1 tbs Lemon or Lime juice
02.
Method
Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade, and add the Paneer cubes, mixing well. Allow the paneer to marinade for 2 hours.
When you are ready to cook, skewer the marinated paneer with the green pepper and onion, alternating the ingredients. Place the skewers on a rack, and put in an oven heated to 220d. Let the paneer bake for 15 minutes, turning halfway through. To get the paneer charred, either move to the top of the oven for a little while or finish them off under the grill. Place the skewers carefully onto a serving platter, and garnish with chopped coriander and sliced red onion, with some lemon or lime segments to squeeze over them.
