Paneer Patties is an easy and quick cottage snack made with a handful of ingredients like Indian cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, cornflour and seasonings. It makes for a good tea-time or Evening Snack served with a side of green chutney or tomato ketchup. Make this delicious paneer tikki with my easy step-by-step photo guide.
About Paneer Tikki
This aloo paneer tikki is very simple, quick and has both paneer and potatoes. The potatoes are used as a binding ingredient. I also add some cornflour (cornstarch) to help in binding. In place of cornflour you can add rice flour, bread crumbs, tapioca flour.
However if you want to make this paneer tikki for any Hindu fasting days then instead of cornflour use the flours that are used during the fasting period like arrowroot flour, buckwheat flour and amaranth flour. Also use edible rock salt instead of regular salt.
Paneer tikki is a popular Indian dish. The Indian tikki is same as the western patty that is used in burgers. It is just that the ingredients that are used are different. You can also stuff these paneer patties inside the burger buns or bread slices and have them as a filling snack.
The spicing is minimal in this recipe. Feel free to add more ground spices like red chili powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder etc if you prefer. You can also add herbs like mint leaves and coriander leaves.
In North India, Aloo Tikki is a very popular street food snack. It is sometimes also served as a chaat, commonly known Aloo Tikki Chole.
Here the potato patties are served with Punjabi Chana Masala and topped with curd, sweet chutney and green chutney. You can serve this paneer tikki also with chana masala.
You could have any type of vegetarian tikki or patties with mint chutney or even with tomato ketchup and bread. It can be had as a breakfast, brunch or evening snack.
How to make Paneer Patties
1. Rinse potatoes thoroughly in fresh water. Boil 4 medium to large-sized potatoes with some salt and water in a stovetop pressure cooker or the Instant Pot. You can also cook them in a pan.
To cook in the stovetop pressure cooker, add enough water to cover the potatoes. Add half a teaspoon of salt. Cover tightly with the pressure cooker lid.
Pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles or 8 to 10 minutes on medium to medium-high heat.
2. Once the pressure inside the cooker drops naturally then only open the lid. Check the potatoes with a fork or knife. The fork or knife should pass easily through the potatoes. If not then pressure cook for some more time.
Remove the potatoes with tongs or a slotted spoon draining any water. Place them in a mixing bowl.
Allow the potatoes to become warm or cool and then peel them.
3. Then mash the potatoes using a potato masher or with a fork.
4. Crumble finely 125 grams paneer (cottage cheese) and add it to the mashed potatoes. You can also grate the paneer.
5. Add ½ teaspoon black pepper powder or crushed pepper, 1 tablespoon cornflour and salt as required.
6. Mix all the ingredients very well. There should be no lumps. The paneer patty mixture should be smooth.
If the mixture is slightly loose, then add some more cornflour. Cornflour binds the tikki mixture. So when you fry the tikki in oil, they do not crumble or fall apart. check the taste and add more seasonings of pepper and salt, if required.
7. Now take some portion of the mixture in your hands. Shape them into balls and then flatten them. Make even sized tikki of the entire mixture.
Frying paneer tikki
8. Heat a well-seasoned skillet or tava. Once the skillet becomes hot add 2 to 3 tablespoons ghee or oil. Spread the ghee or oil all over the skillet with a spoon. Keep the heat to medium to medium-low.
I have used a cast-iron skillet to fry these paneer patties.
9. Place the tikki on the skillet on medium to medium-low heat.
10. Pan fry the bottom side till it turns golden brown. Then turn over each tikki and fry the second side till it becomes golden. Add more oil if needed while pan-frying.
Depending on the size of the skillet you can fry them all at once or in batches.
11. You can even shallow fry or deep fry. If deep or shallow frying the paneer patties, then use oil and not ghee. If you are using a nonstick tava, then you can use ghee or butter.
12. When browned and crisp from both sides, remove them from the skillet. Place the fried tikki on absorbent napkins to absorb excess oil if any. You can also place them in a mesh strainer to keep the crispiness intact.
Serve paneer patties with tomato ketchup or green coriander chutney or mint chutney. You can also serve them with some yogurt or curd that has been sweetened with sugar.
These paneer tikki also pair nicely with tamarind chutney. They can be stuffed between burger buns or bread slices with your favorite toppings.
Tips for making aloo paneer tikki
- Adding salt when boiling the potatoes, make sure that the salt seeps into the potatoes.
- The potatoes have to be really boiled well. To check if they are boiled properly, insert a fork or a knife in a potato. If the fork passes smoothly, it shows that the potato are cooked. If not, then you may need to boil for some more time.
- For easy mashing, grate the potatoes. When you grate the potatoes, it becomes easier to mash them. You could also use a potato masher or a fork.
- For binding, I have used cornflour. But one can also use soaked bread, maida (all purpose flour), buckwheat flour (kuttu ka atta) or even water-chestnut flour (singhare ka atta).
- If you have leftover boiled potatoes, you can use them.
- If you prefer add herbs like coriander leaves or mint leaves or ginger to the patty mixture.
If you are looking for more Paneer snacks recipes Then do check
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Paneer Patties | Paneer Tikki
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 potatoes medium to large-sized
- 125 grams paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder or freshly crushed pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
- salt as required
- 4 to 5 tablespoons oil or ghee for frying, or as required
Instructions
Boiling potatoes
- Rinse potatoes thoroughly in fresh water.
- Boil the potatoes with some salt and water in a stove top pressure cooker or Instant pot.
- Once the pressure inside the stovetop pressure cooker drops naturally then only open the lid. Check the potatoes with a fork or knife. The fork or knife should pass easily through the potatoes. If not then pressure cook for some more time.
- Allow the potatoes to become warm or cool. Then peel them and mash the potatoes in a bowl with a potato masher or fork.
Making paneer patties
- Finely crumble or grate the paneer and add it to the mashed potatoes.
- Also add black pepper powder (or crushed pepper), cornflour and salt as required.
- Mix the mixture really well. There should be no lumps. The mixture should be smooth and even. If the mixture is slightly loose, then add some more cornflour. Cornflour binds the patty mixture. So when you fry the paneer tikki in oil, they do not crumble or fall apart.
- Check the taste. Add more seasoning of pepper and salt, if required.
- Now take a some portion of the mixture in your hands. Shape them into balls and then flatten them. Make even sized paneer patties of the entire mixture.
Frying paneer patties
- Heat a well seasoned cast iron skillet or tava. Reduce the heat to medium-low or medium. Once the skillet becomes hot then add 2 to 3 tablespoons oil or ghee and spread it with a spoon or spatula.
- Place the patties on the skillet and on a medium-low to medium heat fry the paneer patties till they turn golden brown. Turn them when one side is golden and continue to fry the second side until golden and crisp. Turn them for a couple of times as required for even frying.
- This way fry them in batches depending upon the size of the skillet. You can add some more oil if needed while pan frying.
- You can even shallow fry or deep fry the paneer patties. If deep or shallow frying then use oil and not ghee. If you are using a non stick tava, then you can use ghee or butter.
- When browned and crisp from both sides, you can remove paneer tikki from the pan. Place the fried tikkis on absorbent napkins to absorb excess oil if any.
- You can also place them in a mesh strainer to keep the crispiness
- Serve paneer patties with tomato ketchup or mint chutney or coriander chutney or tamarind chutney.
Notes
- Use potatoes with a higher starch content.
- Remember to make this dish with fresh paneer and not rancid paneer. Best is to use homemade paneer.
- If the tikki is falling apart while frying then add 1 to 2 tablespoons more cornflour in the mixture. Mix and shape the patties again.
- Ensure that the boiled potatoes are drained well and don’t have any water logged inside them.
- Instead of cornflour you can use breadcrumbs, rice flour, arrowroot flour or tapioca starch.
- I have kept the seasonings basic. But feel free to add more ground spices like red chili powder, garam masala powder, dry mango powder or chaat masala powder according to your preferences.
- In the recipe, instead of black pepper you can also use white pepper or red chili powder.
- The recipe can be scaled to make a smaller portion or a larger portion of the paneer patties.
- If you prefer add herbs like coriander leaves or mint leaves or ginger to the patty mixture.
Nutrition Info (Approximate values)
This Paneer Patties post from the blog archives first published in February 2010 has been republished and updated on 7 September 2021.
Your site is wonderful. In Mexico we have panela cheese, which can substitute for paneer in most cases, though I made my own when I have time. I know most ingredients in 3 languages now! Growing up Indian food was for very special occasions, like Christmas or family reunions. Thanks to you I can make these wonderful things whenever I have time. Also, Mexican people love these foods!
Thanks Dodie for your positive feedback and sharing this info. even i think mexican people will like indian food.
Your recipes are easy to understand. Why don’t you have search option for your site. It’s easy to find if we want to make anything specific…
Also let us know 1cup equals to how many grms. thanks
thanks vijetha. search option is there in two places. one is right at the top and the second one is on the right hand side bar (when viewed from desktop or laptop). 1 cup is equal to 250 ml. but when measuring dry ingredients, the weight differs as per the density of the ingredients.
Have tried this before…And had turned out great! Plan to make it for my son’s birthday party. Am expecting around 15 people. Should I triple the recipe? Please reply…thanks!
welcome urmi. yes you can triple the ingredients proportionally. wishing happy birth day to your son in advance.
tastes good but the tikkis tend to stick to the nonstick pan and were quite shapeless
any suggestions
I wonder why they were shapeless. When I made them, they did not stick to the non-stick pan and were firm enough to hold shape.
When we mash potatoes, its better to grate the boiled potatoes and then mash it with a big spoon or fork. Once I mashed the potatoes in a food processor and the potatoes became so sticky that I could do not give any shape to them. The whole thing was a mess.
Another thing would be, if more paneer is used, then the mixture might get sticky. To balance, we will need to add more potatoes to the mixture.
I really don’t know what was the problem. A few suggestions might be of help:
1: You could a little more cornflour as it will bind the mixture well and help in keeping the shape.
2: 1 or 2 slices of bread soaked in water and then squeezed dry, could also be added. It will give bulk to the mixture and also help in binding as well as help in retaining the shape.
3: There are moulds of different shapes and sizes available in the market. You can stuff them with the mixture and then release it gently. You could use these too. This will give a nice shape to the tikki and there are less chances of the tikkis going shapeless if it is binded well.
4: Some other binding agents like arrow root powder, water-chestnut flour, buckwheat flour can also be used instead of corn flour.
5: Maida can also be used. But instead of adding it to the mixture, you make a paste of maida. Dip the tikkis in it and then shallow fry it. If using this technique than don’t fry it the way we did in this recipe. You either shallow fry or deep fry. This is similar like using beaten eggs for cutlets and patties, but an option for vegetarians.
I will not suggest coating with eggs for this recipe as the taste may go awry. But if you add chicken flakes instead of paneer to this recipe, then you can coat it with beaten eggs and breadcrumbs.
I hope the above suggestions are helpful and perhaps you could try with the suggestions and let me know the results.
thanks for that
you are welcome