Paneer pudina tikka is a great starter or finger food for parties. The secret to this recipe is to use the best paneer you can get or make it yourself. The marinade is fresh, aromatic and has quite a chilli hit. This dish is simple to make and usually produces impressive results – just don’t overcook it.
Tikka is a dish of marinated meat, fish or vegetable, often cooked over coals or in a tandoori oven. This recipe uses an oven for convenience. The dish has its origins in ancient Babylon and was introduced to India by the Mughals. The word tikka is Persian and means “bits” or “pieces”.
This recipe scales well. If you are catering for a regiment, rather than just your friends or family, just increase the quantities appropriately. As presented here it is a starter or snack for four people. If you are doing more, just make sure you don’t crowd the baking tray. You must cook these in one layer.
The marinade is like green chutney, the ubiquitous accompaniment to snacks and starters. It provides an aromatic, herbal flavour layer, with a hit of chilli to contrast the delicacy of the paneer.
This is a recipe where we advocate making your own paneer. Home-made paneer does seem to be more absorbent than commercially prepared paneer and absorbing the marinade is a good thing for this recipe. If you must buy your paneer, at least get the best you can find from your Indian grocer.
You could skewer the paneer pieces before putting in the oven to make it an easier finger food option. Place two or three pieces on small skewers before placing in the oven to cook. As a family and friends starter we just place the paneer pieces in a serving bowl.
You need to start this recipe the day before you intend to serve it to allow marination. If you make your own paneer, you will need an extra hour to make and set the paneer.
the recipe
about
equipment
- small frypan
- large bowl
- baking tray
ingredients
- 300 g paneer - cut into small pieces, see notes
for the marinade
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup mint leaves - chopped
- ½ cup coriander leaves - chopped
- 2 green chillies - chopped,
- 20 g ginger - chopped
- ½ lemon - juiced
- ½ tsp black salt
for cooking
- 1 tbsp gingelly oil - (see notes)
for serving
- ½ tsp sesame seeds
- ½ tsp black sesame seeds
- 1 lime - quartered
instructions
for the marinade
- Place a small frypan on medium heat and add the cumin seeds. Toast the spices until they become aromatic then remove from the heat. When cool enough to handle, grind to a fine powder. Set aside.1 tsp cumin seeds
- Grind all the remaining marinade ingredients to a smooth paste with as little water as possible.3 cloves garlic, ½ cup mint leaves – chopped, ½ cup coriander leaves – chopped, 2 green chillies – chopped,, 20 g ginger – chopped, ½ lemon – juiced, ½ tsp black salt
- Put the marinade into a large bowl. Add the paneer and mix well to cover it all with the marinade. Cover with cling-wrap and refrigerate overnight.300 g paneer – cut into small pieces, see notes
to cook
- Remove marinated paneer from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 180 °C
- Place the marinated paneer onto a baking tray. Cover the pieces with any remaining marinade. Drizzle over the oil and cook for 10 minutes until the cubes are a little browned on the outside.1 tbsp gingelly oil – (see notes)
- Whilst the paneer is cooking, toast the sesame seeds in small hot pan for about two minutes. Once they start to change colour, add the black sesame seeds and cook for a further 30 seconds until they release their aroma.½ tsp sesame seeds, ½ tsp black sesame seeds
to serve
- Remove from oven, toss with the sesame seeds, then place on serving dish and serve with the lime wedges.1 lime – quartered
notes
private notes
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