Hara Bhara Paneer Tikka | Coriander- Mint Grilled Cottage cheese

Anything to do with coriander, mint or garlic, we love it and my fridge never runs out of them. This super tongue tickling marinade made with these three aromatic herbs along with some other spices can be used in many ways. I have used the marinade for chicken tikkas, paneer tikkas or mix a few tsp of this with yogurt and you have the restaurant type green chutney that's on the table as a sauce for the tikka starters. This hara bhara chutney has a very addictive taste and its one of my favorite. I always ask for two cups of green chutney on my table at a restaurant right away because I know I would just drink loads of this one. 

When you are craving for something yummy or your evening weekend snack, you can whip this up in minutes, marinate chicken/tofu/paneer/fish or any other vegetable that you like for about 30 minutes, broil in the oven for about 10-15 minutes and you have a delicious appetizer ready for you.

Ingredients

Recipe Source - Adapted from Sanjeev Kapoors Tandoori cooking at home book

Serves - 3

Spice Level - Moderate

Prep time- 15 min + 30 min marination time

Cook time - 15 min

Paneer - 200 gm, cut into 1 inch cubes

Coriander leaves - 3 handful

Mint leaves - 1 handful

Garlic cloves - 5

Serrano peppers green - 2

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Gram Flour/Besan - 1 Tbsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Salt - as required

How do you do it

1. Grind coriander leaves, mint leaves along with garlic and Serrano peppers to a coarse paste with little water.

2. Mix the above paste with yogurt. Add the spice powders, lemon juice, oil, besan and required salt to the yogurt and whisk well to get a smooth textured marinade.

3. Add the paneer cubes to the marinade, and wrap them well in it. Refrigerate for minimum 30 minutes.

4. Line a cookie baking sheet with aluminium foil and smear it with oil. Place the paneer pieces on it.

Broil on high in pre-heated oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the paneer starts to crisp and browns a little on top. Keep an eye on the oven when you broil. Broiling for too long will toughen the paneer and it wouldnt taste good.