Paneer tikka on stove top - spiced marinated cottage cheese cubes pan fried on a tawa or griddle.

                                                                      

Main ingredients:

• 250 to 300 gms paneer/cottage cheese
• 1 medium to large bell pepper (green, yellow or red)
• 1 medium to large tomato
• 1 medium to large onion

For the marinade:

• 250 gms thick or hung yogurt/curd/dahi, about 2.25 cups of thick yogurt
• 4 tbsp besan/gram flour
• ½ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
• ½ tsp black pepper powder or white pepper powder/kali mirch powder
• ½ tsp carom seeds/ajwain
• ½ tsp caraway seeds/shahjeera
• ½ tsp kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves, crushed
• 1 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder/jeera
• 1 tsp chaat masala powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder or tandoori masala powder
• 1 tsp dry mango powder/amchur powder
• 2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder, if using a hotter variety of red chili powder, reduce to 1 tsp
• ¾ tbsp ginger garlic paste, about 5 to 6 medium to large garlic cloves and ¾ inch ginger crushed in a mortar-pestle
• ¾ tsp lime juice
• 2 to 3 tbsp oil or as required
• ¾ tsp regular salt or rock salt or add as required

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepping the paneer & veggies:

1. slice the paneer into ¼ inch squares or cubes or rectangles.
2. rinse the veggies. halve the onion and remove each layer one by one.
3. dice the capsicum/bell pepper into square shaped slices.
4. dice the tomatoes too the same way. remove the seeds from the tomatoes.
5. keep the veggies and paneer aside.

Preparing the marinade:

1. first whisk the thick yogurt till smooth in a bowl or pan.
2. add all the spices and herbs, besan/gram flour and salt, except oil. stir and mix well. taste the marinade and add salt it required
3. add the diced vegetables (onion, tomato and capsicum) along with paneer slices.
4. with your hands mix very well. so that the marinade coats the paneer and veggies evenly.
5. cover the bowl & keep the marinade in the fridge for 45 minutes to 3 hours. you can also keep overnight.
6. heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan/tawa or a well seasoned griddle. coat the paneer and veggies with the marinade and place them on the tawa. you can fry at a low flame or medium flame.
7. in all i fried in 3 batches and overall used about 3 tbsp oil. another way is to skewer the paneer, veggies and then fry them. i chose to fry them directly as they get fried evenly and the texture is better.
8. when one side gets browned, gently lift and turn over. the paneer cubes will get cooked faster than the veggies.
9. you can can char or brown the veggies more. but remember to remove the paneer cubes as soon as they are golden. if you want you can fry the paneer cubes first and then the vegetables. remove them on a plate.
10. while still hot, then skewer the fried paneer cubes and veggies on to a wooden skewer or toothpick.
11. you can also have them straight away without skewering. sprinkle some chaat masala & lemon juice on the paneer tikka.
12. arrange them in a serving plate and serve the paneer tikka hot or warm with pickled vinegar onions (sirke wale pyaaz), or pyaaz lachcha (onion lemon salad) or mint yogurt chutney.