Cubes of soft paneer, crunchy bell pepper, and onions, marinated in Basil, Cilantro, and mint along with curd(yogurt) and spices, this Hariyali Paneer Tikka is a delicious Indian Appetizer.
It is a great vegetarian option for BBQ parties and grilling! This simple paneer recipe tastes amazing when served with green chutney and is extremely tempting; I bet you can't stop eating these.
It is an easy and simple green herb-based paneer recipe which is prepared in a similar way to the classic paneer tikka recipe.
We all love paneer recipes, don't we?
Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. It is widely used in curries, rice, Pizza, appetizers, and snacks. Recipes made with paneer are always loved by all, be it kids or adults.
Apart from lentils and legumes, Paneer is a good source of protein for vegetarians.
I try to make various paneer dishes every week as my family loves paneer. This Hariyali Paneer tikka is one of them.
Hariyali Paneer TIkka
Don't you just love anything this green? I love anything hariyali.
My favorites are hariyali sabudana khichdi, pudina rice, and Arroz verde.
Hariyali means greenery in Hindi. So for this recipe, a marinade is made with fresh green herbs like Basil, cilantro, mint, green chilies thus giving it that bright and beautiful green color.
Usually, the marination is made with only cilantro and mint. But I have also added little fresh basil leaves for more refreshing flavors.
The process of making this recipe is the same as classic paneer tikka. The difference is in its taste and color.
Along with paneer, just like the classic version, we also marinate bell peppers and onions for one hour and then arrange them all on skewers and grill in the oven or on the stovetop.
And then serve it with mint chutney as a starter with any North Indian meal. It is even the perfect dinner for tandoori tikka lovers.
This tikka recipe is spicy and bursting with refreshing flavors, thanks to fresh basil, cilantro, and mint!
You can also wrap the leftovers in a tortilla (Just like this recipe), parathas, or rotis and make hariyali paneer tikka wrap. Or top the pizza base with these tikkas and make Hariyali Paneer Pizza! So yum…
It’s the best Paneer Tikka recipe in the oven you'll ever make at home! I will also show you how you can grill them on the stove-top.
Ingredients required
Paneer - Use the best quality paneer as it is the main ingredient. It will make a lot of difference.
Vegetable - You can use your choice of vegetables. I used red and green bell pepper with onions. You can use baby corn, mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, etc.
Yogurt/curd – Use greek yogurt or hung curd only for the marinade. If the curd is not thick, it will not stick to the paneer and the taste will be compromised. If it's not thick enough, hang them in a muslin cloth for half an hour or so to remove whey and then use.
Green paste. The hariyali (green) paste is made with Basil, mint, cilantro, green chilies, garlic, and ginger. You can use homemade or store-bought green chutney if you are running short of mint leaves or even cilantro leaves. Basil leaves are optional here (I would highly recommend using them). You can use spinach leaves too for the extra vibrant color.
Spices - In this recipe, I have also used few spices like garam masala, Kasuri methi, chaat masala, cumin powder, and coriander powder.
Oil - You will need only a little bit in this recipe. Any variety of oil will work here.
Step by step process
Step 1. Prepare marination and marinate the paneer and vegetables
To a blender add basil, cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, green chili, and juice. Blend until you have a coarse paste.
Pro-tip - Don't use water here or else the paste will become runny.
Take yogurt/hung curd in a large mixing bowl.
Pro-tip - I have used greek yogurt. You can use regular curd too, but first, strain it for several hours until you have thick yogurt left, and then use it in the recipe.
Add prepared green paste, salt, garam masala, Kasuri methi, coriander powder, cumin powder, and chaat masala to the yogurt. Using a wire mix until everything is well combined and you have a smooth marinade.
Add onion, peppers (I used green and red bell pepper), and paneer. Using a spatula or your clean hands, toss the paneer and veggies with the marinade until it's all well coated with it. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
Step 2. Skewer it
Pre-heat oven to 450 F degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (You will need two big baking sheets for this much recipe.) Grease the sheet with oil. Keep it aside
After 2 hours, take the marinated paneer and vegetables out of the refrigerator. Take a skewer and arrange Paneer, Pepper, and onion, on a skewer, alternating with each other. Prepare all skewers the same way. You would get around 13 of the skewers.
Step 3. Grill them
Arrange all the skewers. on a baking sheet. Spray or apply some oil to the tikka. This is important so that the veggies don't dry out.
Bake at 450 F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes and then turn your oven on the broil.
Broil for 2 to 3 minutes until paneer pieces look a little charred. Keep an eye on it.
Step 4 Serve
Remove from oven, squeeze lemon juice, sprinkle chaat masala, and serve them hot with mint chutney, onion slices, and lemon slices.
Notes, pro-tips, and Quick FAQs
- Don't use red chili powders for this recipe, always use green chilies to have a green paneer tikka recipe.
- If possible use fresh homemade paneer, there's nothing like fresh paneer. If using store-bought paneer, remember to soak it in warm water for 20-25 minutes before using it in the recipe.
- Marinate the paneer in the marinade for at least 2 hours. You can also keep the marinated paneer overnight in the fridge.
- To avoid rubbery and chewy paneer texture, spray the tikka with oil before putting it in the oven, and don't cook for a longer time.
- I didn't use besan/chickpea flour in marination as my curd was thick enough to stick to veggies and paneer cubes.
- Do not overload the veggies and paneer to skewers.
- Don't overcook the paneer otherwise it will become rubbery, dry, and hard. The paneer should be soft, well cooked.
- Remember to soak your skewers in water for 30 minutes before using them. This will ensure that they don't burn while cooking.
- Make sure there is enough space between the skewers.
Swap the paneer with extra-firm tofu. Make sure to drain the tofu well before adding them into the marination so that it absorbs all the flavors.
Use vegan yogurt in place of regular yogurt.
You can even skip the protein and just use veggies in a place like cauliflower, broccoli, and mushrooms.
To make paneer tikka on Tava, heat a grill Tava or a well-seasoned cast-iron tawa and brush it with oil. Arrange the skewers on hot tava and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes on each side.
To give that charred look, increase the heat to high and cook for 2 minutes on each side until the paneer is slightly blackened.
I'm sure you can but I've never tried it. The char on the paneer and vegetables will not be able to achieve in the microwave.
Line the drip pan with aluminum foil. Arrange the skewers in a single layer.
Insert the basket. Cook at 350°F for 5 mins.
After 5 minutes, flip the skewers and lightly brush or spray with oil. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Follow the same process for the remaining batches.
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Hariyali Paneer Tikka
Ingredients
- 1 cup – cilantro leaves
- 1 cup – Mint leaves
- ¾ cup – Basil leaves
- 10 cloves garlic medium
- 2 inch – ginger
- 5 thai green chili or according to your spice level
- 2 tablespoon – lime or lemon juice
- 500 grams – Paneer cut into big cubes
- 3 cups – Bell pepper cut into 1-inch cubes, (I used 2 large mix of red and green peppers)
- 2 ½ cup – Onion cut into big cubes (1 lmedium onion)
- 1 cup – Greek yogurt or hung curd
- 1 teaspoon – Kasuri methi
- 1 teaspoon – garam masala
- 1 teaspoon – salt
- 1 teaspoon – cumin powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon – coriander powder
- 2 teaspoon – chaat masala
- 2 tablespoon – oil + some more for brushing the tikka
Method
- To a blender add basil, cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, green chili, and juice. Blend until you have a coarse paste. Pro-tip – Don't use water here or else the paste will become runny.
- Take yogurt/hung curd in a large mixing bowl. Pro-tip - I have used greek yogurt. You can use regular curd too, but first, strain it for several hours until you have thick yogurt left, and then use it in the recipe.
- Add prepared green paste, salt, garam masala, Kasuri methi, coriander powder, cumin powder, and chaat masala to the yogurt. Using a wire mix until everything is well combined and you have a smooth marinade.
- Add onion, peppers (I used green and red bell pepper), and paneer. Using a spatula or your clean hands, toss the paneer and veggies with the marinade until it's all well coated with it. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Pre-heat oven to 450 F degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (You will need two big baking sheets for this much recipe.) Grease the sheet with oil. Keep it aside
- After 2 hours, take the marinated paneer and vegetables out of the refrigerator. Take a skewer and arrange Paneer, Pepper, and onion, on a skewer, alternating with each other. Prepare all skewers the same way. You would get around 13 of the skewers.
- Arrange all the skewers. on a baking sheet. Spray or apply some oil to the tikka. This is important so that the veggies don't dry out.
- Bake at 450 F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes and then turn your oven on the broil.
- Broil for 2 to 3 minutes until paneer pieces look a little charred. Keep an eye on it.
- Remove from oven, squeeze lemon juice, sprinkle chaat masala, and serve them hot with mint chutney, onion slices, and lemon slices.
Nutrition
Notes
- To make it in an air-fryer, Line the drip pan with aluminum foil. Arrange the skewers in a single layer.
Insert the basket. Cook at 350°F for 5 mins.
After 5 minutes, flip the skewers and lightly brush or spray with oil. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Follow the same process for the remaining batches. - To make paneer tikka on Tava, heat a grill Tava or a well-seasoned cast-iron tawa and brush it with oil. Arrange the skewers on hot tava and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes on each side. To give that charred look, increase the heat to high and cook directly on the flame for 2 minutes on each side until the paneer is slightly blackened.
- To make it vegan, Swap the paneer with extra-firm tofu. Make sure to drain the tofu well before adding them into the marination so that it absorbs all the flavors.
Use vegan yogurt in place of regular yogurt. You can even skip the protein and just use veggies in a place like cauliflower, broccoli, and mushrooms. - Make sure there is enough space between the skewers.
- Use your choice of vegetables. You can use baby corn, mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, etc.
- Use greek yogurt or hung curd only for the marinade. If the curd is not thick, it will not stick to the paneer and the taste will be compromised. If it's not thick enough, hang them in a muslin cloth for half an hour or so to remove whey and then use.
- You can use homemade or store-bought green chutney if you are running short of mint leaves or even cilantro leaves. Basil leaves are optional here (I would highly recommend using them). You can use spinach leaves too for the extra vibrant color.
- Don't use red chili powders for this recipe, always use green chilies to have a green paneer tikka recipe.
- If possible use fresh homemade paneer, there's nothing like fresh paneer. If using store-bought paneer, remember to soak it in warm water for 20-25 minutes before using it in the recipe.
- Marinate the paneer in the marinade for at least 2 hours. You can also keep the marinated paneer overnight in the fridge.
- To avoid rubbery and chewy paneer texture, spray the tikka with oil before putting it in the oven, and don't cook for a longer time.
- I didn't use besan/chickpea flour in marination as my curd was thick enough to stick to veggies and paneer cubes.
- Do not overload the veggies and paneer to skewers.
- Don't overcook the paneer otherwise it will become rubbery, dry, and hard. The paneer should be soft, well cooked.
- Remember to soak your skewers in water for 30 minutes before using them. This will ensure that they don't burn while cooking.
- You can also wrap the leftovers in a tortilla (Just like this recipe), parathas, or rotis and make hariyali paneer tikka wrap. Or top the pizza base with these tikkas and make Hariyali Paneer Pizza! So yum…
Private Notes
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Dhwani.
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