Tikka Paneer with Chickpea Salad & Coriander Chutney
Paneer is a non-melting Indian cheese that’s great for taking on flavours and cooking over a high heat, so these juicy paneer kebabs bursting with punchy Indian spices are perfect for a summer barbecue. You can make them vegan by swapping the paneer for tofu and using dairy-free yoghurt.
Method
In a dry frying pan over a medium heat, toast the gram flour until lightly toasted and golden. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl, whisk together the oil, tikka masala paste, chilli powder, turmeric, garlic, ginger, cooled gram flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Add the yoghurt and a good squeeze of lemon juice and mix well to form a wet paste consistency.
Separate the red onion chunks into individual leaves. Add the paneer, peppers and onion pieces to the paste and toss to coat. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or longer if you have the time.
To make the chutney, put the coriander and mint in a food processor with 1 tablespoon of water and blitz until well chopped. Add the chillies, ginger, lemon juice, sugar, salt and yoghurt and pulse until you get a green sauce. Put into a small bowl and chill until needed.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7 (or preheat the barbecue to medium-high).
Skewer the paneer, peppers and onions onto 8 skewers, alternating as you go. Drizzle or spray the skewers with a little oil and place on a wire rack above a baking tray. Bake in the hot oven for 12–15 minutes or until golden, turning once. You can char further under a hot grill if you like. If cooking on the barbecue or in a chargrill pan, cook on a lightly oiled grill/griddle for 8–10 minutes, turning and basting occasionally.
Serve the kebabs sprinkled with chaat masala (if using), alongside the chickpea salad, chutney and some flatbreads.
Ingredients
- For the Tikka Paneer
- 1 tbsp gram (chickpea) flour
- 1 tbsp oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 2 tbsp tikka masala paste
- 1 heaped tsp ground Kashmiri chilli powder
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3cm piece of root ginger, peeled and grated
- 180g Greek yoghurt
- ½ lemon, for squeezing
- 1 x 500g block paneer, rinsed and drained, cut into 3cm pieces
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks
- 1 red onion, cut into 3cm chunks
- 1 tsp chaat masala (optional)
- sea salt
- For the Chickpea Salad
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 small clove of garlic, minced
- 2 tsp of runny honey
- juice and zest of ½ lemon
- 1 x 400g can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 vine tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
- ½ cucumber, chopped
- 4-6 radishes, trimmed and chopped
- 2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
- large handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
- 10 mint leaves, roughly chopped
- For the Coriander Chutney
- bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked (approx. 20g)
- handful of fresh mint leaves
- 1-2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
- 2 cm root ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- a good pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt