PANEER TIKKA MASALA (Restaurant Style)

Paneer Tikka is one of the starters which we relish to the core whether its anytime in the day or year, and its bigger brother Paneer Tikka Masala is a dish we all order..Why order from a restaurant, cause it has a subtle flavor and a distinct smokey aroma and taste.. All, that magic is in the charcoal..

I served Hot With Homemade Fresh Naan.

Ingredients:

For Tikka : Paneer – 1 1/2 Cup (I used home made Paneer)
Diced Onions and Bell Peppers – 1 Cup
Roasted Gram Flour – 2 Tbs
Yogurt – ¼ Cup
Salt – To Taste
Chat Masala – ½ Tsp
Lemon Juice – 1 Tsp
Garam masala – 1½ Tsp
Chopped Ginger – 1½ Tsp
Chopped Garlic – 1½ Tsp
Cumin Powder – 1½ Tsp
Kashmiri Red Chili Powder – 2 Tsp
Pepper – ½ Tsp
Oil – 4 Tbsp
Other :
Charcoal – 2 Cups
Wooden Skewers – 4 {Soaked in water for 30 mins)
For Masala / Gravy – Boiled Tomato Puree – From 5 Medium sized
Brown Onion Paste – From 3 Large Onions
Oil – 5 Tbsp
Coriander – ¼ Cup
Chilies – 3 {Slit}
Salt – To Taste
Lemon Juice – 1 Tsp
Corn Flour – 1 Tsp (Dissolved in 1 tbsp water)
Black Cardamom – 4 {Crush, opened}
Coriander Powder – 1 Tsp
Black pepper – ¼ Tsp
Kashmiri Red Chili Powder – 1½ Tsp
Ginger and Garlic – ½ Tsp Each (Minced)
Leftover Marinate – As much is left.
Sugar – ¼ Tsp

Instructions

For Tikka : Into a mixing bowl, add all the dry spices and sattu. Mix well. Add yogurt, little at a time till you get a thick paste.

Add in the ginger, garlic, lemon juice. In a small pan add 2 Tb oil. Once it starts smoking, switch off the flame and pour in the smoky oil to the marinate. Stir well.

Throw in the onions, peppers and paneer. Get your hands in there and make sure it coats well. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 45 mins (more is better).

Heat up a gas tandoor/baati maker and place in the charcoal. Put the grill rack and cover lighly. Heat up for 15 mins in high flame.

Skewer the marinated paneer and veggies in any order to the wooden skewer and keep in a plate for a moment. Once done, take the skewers and place this inside the tandoor on the grill rack.

Cover and cook for 2-3 mins.

To the leftover marinate, add 2 tbsp oil and brush this to the paneer tikka after 2-3 minutes of cooking. Cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Try to turn them over, being extremely careful as it can catch fire. Now cook for another 2-3 minutes uncovered.

Take them out and keep aside. These are so delicious that you cannot stop yourself from eating them.. One can also use this as a starter 🙂 🙂

For Masala / Gravy –

In a wok, add the oil, Once hot add the black cardamoms, once it sizzles, add the ginger garlic and cook till the raw flavor is gone.

Spoon out the brown onion paste and stir well. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt to taste and pour in the boiled tomato paste.

Cook till it starts leaving sides and oil, then add the kashmiri red chili powder, pepper powder, coriander powder. Cook for a minute or two.

Add the leftover marinate, sugar.. Stir well, and also add half of the corn flour mix, and stir well.. This will make the masala silky, if it does not, add the rest of it. Stir well and cook for a minute or two.

Add a tsp of coriander, green chili, lemon juice, and stir well. Add the paneer tikka and stir gently, Pour in ¼ cup water if its very thick. Cover and cook for 2 minutes and serve HOT!

TIPS

Be extremely careful with the charcoal tandoor. It can catch little bit of fire at any time, so be careful. The effort is all worth, the result would be one of the bestest dish!

Alternatively, you can grill the veggies in a tawa/grill tawa/grill modes on microwave/oven at the max temp. For the smokey flavor, you can add a drop of liquid smoke if you wish to. On the other way, you can place some active charcoal on a baking sheet on the lower rack and grill the tikka in middle rack. 🙂

For the boiled tomato puree, I took 5 tomatoes, chopped then boiled in ¼ cup water for 5 minutes, and pureed.
For Brown Onion Paste, Slice, Fry and blend the onions with some water if it does not grind up.

Happy Cooking 🙂 🙂