India's flagship vegetarian kebab: cubes of fresh paneer cheese and peppers coated in spiced, gram-flour-thickened yogurt and charred in the tandoor. The cheese does not melt, so it takes on smoke while staying firm and creamy inside.
Also known as panir tikka, paneer tikka kebab, पनीर टिक्का.
Ingredients
- 400 g paneer, 3 cm cubes
- 150 g thick yogurt (hung curd)
- 30 g gram flour (besan), dry-roasted until nutty
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds), half tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp mustard oil, juice of half a lemon, 1 tsp salt
- 1 green bell pepper and 1 red onion, in squares
- Lemon wedges, chaat masala and mint chutney, to serve
How to make it
- 1
Whisk yogurt with the roasted besan, ginger-garlic paste, spices, mustard oil, lemon and salt into a clinging marinade.
- 2
Fold in paneer, pepper and onion; marinate 1 h (no longer than 4 — paneer softens).
- 3
Thread alternating paneer and vegetables onto skewers.
- 4
Grill or broil at high heat 6-7 min, turning once, until the edges blacken in spots.
- 5
Finish with lemon, chaat masala and mint chutney.
Pro tip: Hung curd is non-negotiable: watery yogurt slides off and steams the paneer. Hang regular yogurt in a cloth for 30 min if you cannot buy it thick.
Where Paneer Tikka comes from
Paneer's refusal to melt is what makes the dish possible. Paneer is an acid-set cheese with no rennet, and acid-set curds do not flow when heated the way rennet cheeses do. It is a piece of dairy chemistry that Indian cooking exploited centuries before anyone described it.
Where paneer tikka parts ways with the meat tikkas
This is the meat-free member of the tikka family: 3 cm cubes of fresh paneer threaded with green pepper and red onion, a pairing that works because their cooking times match. Like Chicken Tikka, it is coated in hung yogurt with Kashmiri chilli and garam masala, but dry-roasted gram flour thickens the coat, ajwain seasons it, and there is no separate lemon stage. The cheese holds its shape instead of melting, marinates about an hour and needs only 6 to 7 minutes at high heat before it turns rubbery. Lamb and tail fat carry Iraqi Tikka and Shinwari Tikka instead, seasoned with little beyond onion juice, pepper or salt.
Compare: Chicken Tikka · Iraqi Tikka · Shinwari Tikka
How Paneer Tikka is cooked
The marinade must be thick enough to armour the cubes, and gram flour (besan) is what does it. Raw besan tastes chalky, so it is dry-roasted first until it smells nutty, then stirred into hung yoghurt with the spices. The result coats the paneer in a layer that chars rather than sliding off.
Paneer needs less time than meat and suffers badly from more. Six or seven minutes at high heat is enough to blister the coating; beyond that the cheese tightens and turns squeaky and rubbery. Peppers and onion on the same skewer are traditional here, unusually, because their timing happens to match.
Ingredients and shopping
Fresh, soft paneer rather than the hard vacuum-packed blocks, which turn rubbery. If only firm paneer is available, soaking the cubes in warm salted water for twenty minutes before marinating softens them noticeably. Cut into generous three-centimetre cubes; small ones dry out.
Hung yoghurt, roasted besan, Kashmiri chilli, garam masala, ginger-garlic, ajwain (carom seed) and a little mustard oil. Kasuri methi crushed in at the end is an optional extra. Bell peppers in three colours if you want the restaurant look, plus onion petals.
How Paneer Tikka is served
With mint chutney, onion rings with chaat masala and lemon, and naan or as part of a starter platter. A squeeze of lemon at the table is essential against the richness. It is one of the few tandoori dishes that is genuinely as good at home as in a restaurant.
Common mistakes
Raw gram flour
It tastes chalky. Dry-roast the besan until it smells nutty before adding it to the yoghurt.
Overcooking
Paneer goes rubbery and squeaky past about seven minutes at high heat. Pull it as soon as the coating blisters.
Hard packaged paneer straight from the block
Soak it in warm salted water for twenty minutes first, or it will be tough no matter what.
Thin marinade
It slides off and burns on the tray. The besan is there to thicken it into a coating.
Paneer Tikka: questions and answers
Why does paneer not melt?
It is an acid-set cheese made without rennet, and acid-set curds hold their shape when heated rather than flowing. That is what makes paneer tikka possible.
Why is my paneer rubbery?
Either it was overcooked — more than about seven minutes at high heat — or it was hard packaged paneer that was not soaked in warm salted water first.
What does gram flour do in the marinade?
It thickens the yoghurt into a coating that clings to the cheese and chars. Roast it dry first or it tastes chalky.
Can I make paneer tikka in an oven?
Yes — highest heat with the grill element on, on a rack over a tray, six or seven minutes, turning once.
Sources and further reading
- Paneer tikka — Wikipedia
- Tandoori Paneer Tikka in the Oven — My Food Story
