If you are looking for a great vegetarian appetizer for your summer grilling party, then look no further than this Hariyali Paneer Tikka!
Cubes of paneer marinated with yogurt, spices and a paste made with cilantro and mint, this is best enjoyed with a squeeze of lemon and more chutney on the side.
Ingredients1/2 cup cilantro packed leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 inch ginger
4 large garlic cloves
1-2 green chilies adjust to taste
1/2 of a big lemon juice of
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
3 tablespoons yogurt plain whole milk yogurt, make sure yogurt is thick else drain for few hours and then use or use Greek yogurt
1.5 teaspoons kasuri methi dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon chaat masala
1 tablespoon mustard oil
1 large onion quartered and petals separated
2 medium peppers mix of green and red, cut into 1 inch cubes
300 grams paneer cut into big cubes
1.5 tablespoons sattu or use roasted besan
Method* To a blender add cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, green chili, salt and juice of 1/2 lemon (big lemon). Blend until you have a coarse paste.
* Transfer this to a large bowl. To that bowl, now add yogurt. Mix until combined.
* Add kasuri methi, garam masala, coriander powder and chaat masala. Mix to combine.
*Then add mustard oil. If you don't have mustard oil you can use any other oil but mustard oil is highly recommended here.
* Using a wire whisk mix until everything is well combined and you have a smooth marinade.
* Add onion, peppers (I used a mix of green & red) and paneer. Using your hands, toss the paneer and veggies with the marinade until it's all well coated with it.
* Now, add sattu and again using your hands mix until the paneer and veggies are well coated with the marinade.
* Adding sattu at the end helps in the marinade sticking to the paneer.
* Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 3 to 4 hours. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 450 F degrees.
* After 1 hour, take the wooden skewers (soak them in water for 30 minutes before using in the recipe) and arrange the paneer and veggies alternating with each other on the skewers. Make all skewers similarly. you would get around 5 of these.
* Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and spray with oil spray. Place the skewers on it and then bake in a pre-heated oven at 450 F for 10 minutes.
* At this point you can either broil in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes OR remove from oven after 10 minutes and char directly on heat. To char directly, place a wire roaster on direct heat (on medium-high flame) and hold the tikka over it. Char while rotating the skewer for 1-2 minutes until the paneer has nice brows spots on it. Repeat with remaining skewers.
* Serve hariyali paneer tikka with cilantro chutney or mint chutney and lemon wedge on the side. You can also sprinkle some chaat masala before serving.