Restaurant Style Tandoori Paneer tikka recipe with step by step photos and video. It is a popular and delicious tandoori snack that can be easily made at home.
This recipe is for paneer tikka and not paneer tikka masala. Paneer tikka is dry whereas paneer tikka masala is a gravy based dish. Some more tikka variations you can make are:
- Paneer tikka – made on stovetop or tawa
- 30 Minutes Quick paneer tikka
- Paneer malai tikka
- Achari paneer tikka
- Grilled Hariyali paneer tikka in oven
For newbies to Indian food, Paneer tikka is marinated paneer (cottage cheese cubes), arranged on skewers and grilled or baked in the oven. Specifically the recipe is called as Tandoori paneer tikka, as the paneer is cooked in the tandoor which lends a subtle smoky charcoal flavor to the paneer. It is usually served as a starter.
Even though I made it at home, the recipe was similar to the one which is served in the restaurants. In fact it was much better than the paneer tikka served in the restaurants. To make this paneer tikka in tava, please check the notes below in the recipe section.
It is served with mint chutney. It is the same chutney that is served with all tandoori items.
Few tips for making tandoori paneer tikka
- You can also grill or barbeque the paneer tikka. If you have a grill option in your oven, you can use it. I baked the paneer tikka for 20 minutes in the oven at 240 degree celsius with only the top heating element on.
- Best to marinate the paneer cubes for 2 hours or more. You can also keep the marinated paneer overnight in the fridge. Since I made the paneer tikka for dinner, I marinated the paneer and veggies for 2 hours in the refrigerator. More marination, the better the flavors get infused in the paneer and veggies.
- The veggies used can be of your choice. I used red, yellow and green bell pepper with onions. You can use baby corn, mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli etc.
- If you do not have oven or grill, then this should not stop you from making paneer tikka at home. on a non stick tava/flat pan heat some oil. Keep the skewered paneer on the tava and fry the paneer and veggies till cooked. I have done both the methods and there is not any difference in the taste except the texture. Frying makes the veggies and paneer a little crispy than baking or grilling these.
- Just to ensure that you have a smooth frying experience. Add some besan (gram flour) to the marinade as it avoids the paneer from sticking to the pan.
- Whilst grilling or baking the paneer tikka, they become dry. Hence oil is applied to the paneer and veggies to avoid them from becoming dry.
- Don’t overcook the paneer as they then become rubbery, dry and hard. The paneer should be soft, well cooked and yet succulent.
- The extra marinade can be applied or brushed on the paneer tikka before baking/grilling them. If you are making paneer tikka masala, you can use the extra marinade in the gravy.
Please note that I have updated the post with a video and final new pics.
Paneer tikka recipe video
How to make tandoori paneer tikka in oven
1. Take 200 grams thick curd/yogurt or hung curd in a bowl and smoothen the curd.
2. Add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste or crushed ginger garlic to the curd.
3. Add all the dry spice powders and black salt to the curd. Below you see the following Indian spice powders in clockwise order: 1 to 2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp garam masala powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds) and 1 tablespoon oil. In the center is black salt.
4. Hmmm. I have not used any red color in the recipe and I feel that the redness is less in the marinade… Hence I added some more Kashmiri red chili powder to the marinade. Kashmiri red chili powder gives a nice red color to the food and its not hot.
5. Mix well. Can you see some little more redness in the marinade?
6. Add ½ tablespoon lemon juice, mix and keep the marinade aside.
7. Dice the veggies (bell peppers and onions). You can also use tomatoes if you want.
8. Chop 250 gms paneer (cottage cheese) and cube them. Best to use homemade paneer.
9. Add the veggies and paneer to the marinade.
10. And slowly and gently mix them with the marinade. I tasted the marinade with my sis and both of us felt that something is missing in the marinade… It was close but not very close… What is it???….  and lo…  i realized that I had forgotten to add chaat masala… So obviously the next step is Adding 1 tsp chaat masala…. No prizes for guessing this step 🙂
11. Ok… Everything is marinated well. Cover and keep the marinated paneer and veggies in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more.
12. This is how they look after 2 hours.
13. Skewer the veggies and paneer in a skewer or toothpick.
14. Arrange them on a plate or a rack. Brush with some oil and keep in the oven which has been preheated for 15 minutes at 240 degree celsius. Half way through, remove from the oven and turn the paneer tikka skewers. Again keep back in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or till the edges of paneer and veggies are golden or slightly charred.
15. Remove once done. Serve the tandoori paneer tikka sprinkled with 1 tsp chaat masala and lemon juice. Also serve mint chutney, onion slices and lemon wedges as sides.
Few more Paneer snacks recipes for you!
Tandoori Paneer Tikka in Oven (Restaurant Style)
Ingredients
main ingredients
- 250 grams paneer or cottage cheese
- 1 bell pepper - green, yellow or red (capsicum)
- 1 medium sized onion
for paneer tikka marination
- 200 grams hung curd or thick curd or greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste or crushed ginger-garlic
- 1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon jeera powder (cumin seeds powder)
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder)
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder, optional
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon black salt (optional)
- regular salt as required
Instructions
preparation
- Chop the paneer in square shaped cubes.
- The veggies also should be chopped in square shapes. Keep the chopped veggies and paneer aside.
making marination
- In a large bowl, take the curd and whisk it till it becomes smooth
- Add ginger garlic paste and all the spice powders plus ajwain, including black salt.
- Mix the spice powders with the curd.
- You could also add oil at this stage if you do not want to brush the paneer tikka with oil later.
- Add the veggies and paneer to the marinade.
- Marinate for atleast 2 hours or more in the refrigerator.
- Remove after 2 hours and bring the marinated paneer and veggies at room temperature.
- Skewer the veggies and paneer alternately on skewers or tooth picks.
Baking Tandoori Paneer Tikka
- Preheat the oven for 15 minutes at 240 degree celsius.
- On a rack or a plate arrange the paneer skewers. Brush some oil on the veggies and paneer.
- Bake the paneer tikka for 15 to 20 minutes at 240 degree celsius or till the sides of the paneer are golden or slightly charred. Baking time will vary from oven to oven.
- Half way through turn the skewers.
- Keep again in the oven and bake till golden.
- Arrange the paneer cubes on a plate. Sprinkle some chaat masala and lemon juice.
- Serve the yummy tandoori paneer tikka with mint chutney and onion rings with lemon wedges
RECIPE VIDEO
Notes
- Use a non stick tava so that paneer does not stick while frying.
- Add two tablespoons besan in the marination. This will prevent the paneer from sticking to the tava and will give a nice taste.
Hello, I wanted to ask will this work in the covection microwave ovens? If yes then i should keep it for how long? And please bring your app back. I miss your app as it was rather convenient .
yes, paneer tikka can be made in the convection mode of the microwave oven. preheat the oven first in convection mode for 10 to 15 minutes at 240 degrees celsius. then bake for 10 to 15 minutes or more at the same temperature in the convection mode. will see if we can get making an app again. managing the earlier one was difficult and too time-consuming.
Amazing recipe! Have used it maybe six times using the oven with some mint chutney to serve. My family never order paneer tikka out anymore as they say it is a disappointment now compared to this recipe. I also keep the marinade in the fridge and reuse it for more veg tikka/ to make a creamy mushroom curry as I don’t want to waste it. Thank you 🙂
yay… thank you very much. definitely, the extra marinade can be used for other vegetables and even for a curry. thanks for the rating too and welcome.
Hello Dassana,
Hope you are well. Just a QQ, if we follow the recipe and cook in the oven, how long should it take?
hi rumi, i am fine. i have mentioned the time in the oven. 15 to 20 minutes at 240 degrees celsius. it may take less or more time also as temperatures vary with the oven type and model.
Very good recipe. Thank you
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Is it ok to add kasuri methi?
yes you can about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of kasuri methi.
Hi,
Do you think if I use tooth picks to make this then the tooth picks will get burnt in an OTG?
tooth picks can burn in the OTG. they will darken. you can soak toothpicks in water for 20 to 30 minutes and then use them. this way the possibility of the tooth picks getting charred is less.
Hi Dassana
I love your food blog.
I have made a lot of recipes and learned cooking through your website.
Can you please guide, how can I use this paneer tikka recipe and cook it in an airfryer
Thanks
thanks sakshi. i am not sure if paneer tikka will turn out good in air fryer. i have made samosas, patties and onion pakoras in air fryer, but not sure about paneer tikka. you will have to give a try.
Hi Dassana i tried this tday but not sure what i did wrong. The masala which was inside the capsicum and even a bit of masala on the paneer looked uncooked. I was scared of burning the tikka so took it out of the oven. Pls help!
Btw the masala was yum. Thks for this amazing recipe!
thanks anjana. don’t worry. the tikka won’t burnt. it need some time to cook. while cooking, the sides and corners get charred first. so when you see the sides and corners getting charred, then you can remove the tikka. if you keep for some more time even after the sides get charred, then the tikka can get burnt.
Hi
I want to try this reciepe. Here I need to grill the paneer or bake it in convection mode.
either will do. you can either grill or bake in convection mode.
Hi., Just went through your recipes. Really awesome.
Saw the recipe of Panner Tikka. In case we keep it on Non stick tawa on gas, should we cover with a plate. How long will it take to cook in Tawa/gas..
thanks meena. if you keep on non stick tawa, then no need to cover with a plate. also you can fry the veggies and paneer separately. there is no need to thread them on skewers. it takes about 3 to 4 minutes for paneer to cook and veggies take a slightly longer time.
Hi Dassana,
I have been following and trying all ur receipes from long time or u can say I learned cooking frm this site only,I made paneer tikka today and it taste awesome dear,thanks a ton for such yummy receipes,keep posting love u…..
Welcome Pritee. Glad to know that recipes helped you in learning cooking. Thanks for your positive feedback.
Some cooking site says to use besan in Tikka ,is it optional or not required? Which is better with or without besan ?
if preparing paneer tikka in oven, then no need to add besan. if preparing paneer tikka in a tawa or pan, then besan gives a nice crisp coating and also avoid the tikka from sticking to the pan. both ways paneer tikka tastes good.
I made this yesterday. Came out really awesome. Thank you for the recipe.
Welcome Ramya
Hi, dassana ma’am I really love all your recipes and you have the most attractive way of presenting them, you must be a very good photographer too?. The dishes are soooo appetizing and making me prepare something. I’m basically a non-veg lover but your dishes made me vegetarian?. I really appreciate and honour your effort to it. God will bless your family for this. And I want to try this recipe can I make this with tofu, will it be with the same procedure as for paneer. And will all the paneer recipes can be substituted with tofu ? I’m wanna try please guide me ma’am.
thank you very much vidhya. you can use tofu. if using a tofu block, then just press the tofu block between two heavy weights like a heavy bowl or plate and keep it like that for some minutes. you can check this method on google.
wish you all the best in life and happy cooking 🙂
Step by step and easy lunch recipe description with attractive images. Thanks for sharing it in such a wonderful way.
Welcome Smita. Glad to know that you liked the recipe presentation.
Yes, keep posting new things..! 🙂
Hi Dassana,
I make paneer tikka on gas, today I want to add baby corn in it. How can I add? Should I boil it first and then add ?
Thanks
supriya, if you want to use baby corn, then you do need to blanch them, so that they get partly cooked or you can even half steam or cook them. for blanching, boil water. then add baby corn to boiling water. boil for 2 to 3 minutes. then switch off the flame. cover the pan and keep aside for 10 to 15 minutes. then marinate along with paneer and other veggies.
What is the best time to keep in oven on grill mode?
pranay, are you referring to grill mode in microwave oven or an OTG. there is no standard time as all ovens have different capacities. for grilling, the top heating element is used. due to this the food gets slightly charred when its grilled. if the food is kept very close or close to the top heating element, the charring is fast and quicker, but here one needs to give attention to the grilling process or else the food can get burnt.
My marination came awesome, I preheated the oven to 180 F and heated the tikka for about 35 minutes – I did it flip it after 10 minutes, brushed oil, but I still felt the paneer was not cooked.
gayathri, you can keep for some more minutes for baking. temperature varies from oven to oven and so the time cannot be exact for any recipe. so in this case, you can keep the paneer tikka for some more time.
But can we make it without an oven
you can. check the method on this link – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/paneer-tikka-on-stove-top-recipe/
Thnks
The paneer tikka is awsum and i love to make it and eat it just awsum in taste
thanks.
Hi your print link on the recipe does not work. I tried to copy and paste it wont let me do it either. Can you please fix? Thanks
i checked the print option and its working for me on the desktop. we have disabled copy and paste due to a lot of copying that is happening in the internet world.
Hi Dassana ,
Will this recipe work well with store bought paneer (particularly the variety that you get at the Indian store in US)? I am planning to prepare a big batch for an office picnic where we will be barbecuing outdoors and making paneer at home won’t be possible at such short notice.
it will work, but do make sure that the paneer is fresh and within its shelf life.
Hi dassana.. I love ur receipes.. U really make food making easier. Thank you. I just wanted to ask can I grill them without skewers or tooth pick in oven?
yes prachi, you can grill paneer tikka cubes without skewer or tooth pic. line a baking tray with aluminium foil. place the marinated paneer cubes on the foil. half way through baking, just turn them over once or twice, so that they are grilled from both sides.
I have Electrolux microwave oven and it doesn’t have degree option .. but its surely have grill option toh isme kitne tym k liye grill Karna hogs aur kaun se mode me combi 1 ,2,3
Pls help
use only grill mode. do not use combi mode or grill + microwave mode. grill till you see some golden or charred spots on the paneer cubes.
Came out Restaurant Like … Just Perfect …… like all recipes I’ve tried from your site.
My small suggestion here is to use Mustard Oil for basting/ adding in marinade to give the genuine restaurant taste.
thanks jai for positive feedback and thanks for sharing your suggestions.
Nice description in short . i m tried this recipe & i got yummy tempting paneer tika .
thank you priti 🙂 for the positive feedback, glad you liked it.
Great description in short. Tried and got testy paneer tikka. Thanks
welcome sudhir and thank you for your positive views 🙂
I tried this Recipe …..it ws so yummy
Thanks a lot for sharing this awesome recipe.
welcome and thankyou amandeep 🙂
Thanks.
Let me check.
Thanks for your reply. I got the size.
Want to know the make of the skewer. It will be used in microven.
fine. these are bamboo skewers. can be used in the microwave oven. you can also soak them in water for 20 to 30 minutes and then use.
Nice Recipe. Want to know about skewer. Please give us the size and make of this skewer for microwave.
skewer comes in standard size in market hope this help’s you.
can i know whats the reason for using hung curd instead of normal curd??
bhoomika hung curd is thick and firm hence preferable to marinate paneer. normal curd would have lot of moisture which would yield a runny batter. hope this help’s you.
thank you
What mode should the microwave be set to ? Microwave or grill mode or a combination of both ? Its not mentioned .
grill mode or convection mode. please do not use the microwave mode or combination mode.