Chicken Paneer Tikka (Chicken Cheese Kebabs) with Mint Chutney

Chicken Paneer Tikka (Chicken Cheese Kebabs) with Mint Chutney

Juicy & tender oven grilled chicken, cheese, bell peppers and onion cubes infused with tikka masala spices and served with golden fried potato chips and tangy homemade mint chutney.

Recipe

Chicken PaneerTikka (Chicken Cheese Kebabs)

Ingredients:

Marinade:

• 1/3 cup thick yogurt / hung curd
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1tsp cumin powder
• 1/4^th tsp garam masala powder
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (this chili powder is very mild in taste but impart a vibrant red colour to any dish)
• 1/4^th tsp chaat masala powder (optional)
• Salt, to taste

Tikka:

• 150 gms Paneer / Cheese (Cottage Cheese / Halloumi Cheese)
• Bell peppers, red, green and yellow
• 1 large onion
• 1 chicken breast
• Wooden / metal skewers

Method:

• Cut all vegetables, chicken and cheese into cubes. (I used Halloumi Cheese which has a high melting point and its ideal for frying or grilling. Simple hard cottage cheese available in Pakistan serves the same purpose).

• Combine all marinade spices and yogurt and marinade vegetables, cheese and chicken in it after gentle thorough mixing for 1-2 hours. The more time tikka ingredients are marinated, the more richly and evenly flavourful they are.

• Meanwhile soak wooden skewers in cold water for 20-30 minutes (this will prevent them from charring in oven). If you’re using metal skewers, simply grease them with oil / ghee.
• Preheat oven at 200’C.
• Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and spray this foil with cooking spray / grease it with oil / ghee.

• Skew marinated bell peppers, onions, chicken and cheese on skewer. Adapt any sequence, but keep cheese in between chicken and vegetables.
• Arrange the skewers on aluminium foil lines baking tray. Spray them with cooking spray or brush them gently with oil / ghee.

• Place this tray in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Then take it out and turn the skewers over and brush this side too with oil / ghee and put the tray back in oven for a further 10-15 minutes of baking.

• I turned the grill mode on for last 5 minutes for desired level of charring.
• Serve with mint cutney / chips / lemon wedges.

Mint Chutney

Ingredients

• ½ cup mint leaves, separated from stems
• ¼ cup coriander leaves (Cilantro), separated from stems
• 1 red or green chili pepper chopped
• 3 tbsp of lemon/lime juice
• 2 tap of water and 1 tbsp of plain yogurt)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Wash the greens in cold water, and pack the mint and coriander leaves into the measuring cups.
• Blend all of the ingredients together on medium speed in a blender; blend until the mixture has a smooth consistency.
• Pour the mixture into a bowl, and serve.

~Bon Appétit!