Punjabi tadka- Tandoori Paneer tikka

How many of us have loved to just bite into the juicy bits of paneer tikka in restaurants as starters. I always loved them and thought it would be so difficult and such a hassle to make them. So always ordered them to make life easier. But this recipe i found and tried made me go against my feeling of never being able to make them in my kitchen. So please do try this recipe and let me know how you liked it. Also I am giving the recipe of how to make the tandoori masala which is used in big restaurants. 

This tandoori paneer tikka can serve as a wonderful starter for a barbecue party for vegetarians. This can be grilled with vegetables too. I used home made paneer for this recipe.

Things you need are: 

30, 2" cubes of paneer (cottage cheese) , 3 tbsps Tandoori Masala (see in the next post), 1/4 cup yogurt, 1 large onions cut into 1" square pieces, 1 capsicum diced into cubes, 2 tomatoes deseeded and diced, 5-6 tbsp vegetable/ sunflower cooking oil, 2 tbsps Chaat masala, Lemon wedges to garnish

How to make the juicy tikkas:

Make a smooth past of  2 1/2 tbsps of Tandoori Masala, yogurt, 2 tbsps cooking oil and salt to taste. Put the paneer chunks into this smooth paste and fold it in gently to coat all the paneer. Keep it covered and leave in the fridge to marinate for 2 hours to let all the spices go into the paneer pieces making it soft and juicy. Mix the remaining 1/2 tbsp of Tandoori masala with the onion pieces to coat them well too. Thread the marinated paneer and onion pieces onto bamboo skewers in a combination of your choice. Preheat a grill on medium or if you don't have a grill you can use the grill tawa which is available off late in shops. 

Place the paneer with the skewers on it and brush with a little cooking oil and grill till paneer turns light golden and the onions and capsicum soft. Do not overcook them as the paneer tends to become rubbery. 

Remove onto a  serving plate and sprinkle with chaat masala. Squeeze some lemon juice over the paneer and garnish with lemon wedges and serve smoking hot and wait for all those praises!