Paneer Tikka Masala
Author: 
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 servings
 
Ingredients
For paneer tikkas
  • Paneer/cottage cheese – 200 gms
  • Olive/vegetable oil – 1 tbsp
  • Lemon – 1
  • Ginger paste – 2 tsp
  • Garlic paste – 1 tsp
  • Garam masala – 1 tbsp
  • Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder – 1 tsp
  • Salt – ½ tsp
  • Tomato – 1
  • Green bell pepper – 1, small (use half if it’s too big)
  • Red bell pepper – 1, small (use half if it’s too big)
  • Yellow bell pepper – 1, small (use half if it’s too big)
  • Onion -1, large
  • Thick yogurt – ½ cup (Use hung curd if possible)
For the sauce/gravy
  • Tomato puree – ½ cup (Make it at home!)
  • Fresh cream -1/2 cup (You can use either of single or double cream)
  • Green chilli – 2, chopped
  • Fresh coriander leaves – ½ cup, chopped
  • Vegetable oil – 2 tsbp
  • Cinnamon stick – 2 inch
  • Black cardamom – 2
  • Cloves – 5 to 6
  • Kasoori methi (Dried Fenugreek leaves) – 2 tbsp
  • Tomato ketchup – 1 tsp
  • Roasted cumin seed powder – ½ tsp
  • Dry ginger powder – ½ tsp
  • Cornflour – 1 tsp
  • Sugar – 1 tsp
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
For paneer tikkas
  1. Cut the paneer and all the vegetables – bell peppers, onions and tomatoes into square chunks. Try to keep everything of same size for a uniform presentation.
  2. Take Paneer, bell peppers, tomato and onion in a large bowl. Now add ginger and garlic paste and all spices listed under marination.
  3. Add juice of the one lemon, 2 tsp Oil and yogurt. Give them a good mix with your hand so that all veggies and the paneer cubes are well coated with yogurt and spices. Set aside for half an hour.
  4. For making the paneer tikkas, you can grill them in a preheated oven or use a grill pan to grill them on stove. I used the stove-top method.
  5. Grease the grill pan with 2 tablespoons of oil and bring it to smoking hot. Then turn the flame to medium and add the marinated paneer and vegetables to the pan. Make sure to lay the paneer and veggies in a single layer and don’t overcrowd the pan. Do it in batches if needed.
  6. Roast them on medium flame for 2 minutes on each side until they are lightly charred and golden brown in color.
  7. Take them out and set aside till you prepare the sauce.
For the sauce
  1. Take a large pot and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Heat it on high flame and once heated, add cinnamon, black cardamom and cloves. Saute them for a minute on medium flame.
  2. Next add the tomato puree and green chilli. Stir to mix well for another minute.
  3. While the tomato puree is cooking, make a slurry of cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water and set aside.
  4. Next add the roasted cumin powder, dry ginger powder, sugar and salt to taste to the pan. Cook the spices well and then add tomato ketchup, kasroori methi and the prepared cornflour slurry. Mix everything well.
  5. After a minute, add the cream and the prepared paneer tikkas along with the grilled veggies. Mix everything with a very light hand to avoid breaking the soft paneer cubes.
  6. Sprinkle chopped fresh coriander leaves and remove from heat.
  7. Serve hot with butter naan or chapatis.
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://www.flavorquotient.com/2015/04/paneer-tikka-masala/