Category: Vegetarian

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Tandoori Paneer Tikka

The inspiration for this week’s LIVE Spice Club “isolation cookery lesson” came from my next door neighbour. We’ve had some pretty glorious weather in the UK this week so I decided it would be a good idea to finally cut the grass. It was long overdue (I am not a big fan of gardening). When I got out in my garden I was greeted by my favourite smell of Summer….the BBQ next door.

I decided I needed to eat something grilled and whilst cutting the grass I mentally raided the fridge to figure out what I could have. My search engine of a brain decided on Paneer Tikka Kebabs. I do impress myself with my own suggestions at times.

Soft & juicy paneer, spicy peppers and onions with a crispy charred skin. Paneer Tikka is delicious. The best thing about this recipe is once you have the marinade down you can sub out the paneer to make anything you like. Prawns, chicken and veggies like mushrooms & courgettes all work really well.

I’m assuming you don’t have a tandoor at home (if you do – I’m totes jealous). If you don’t…you can easily emulate the taste of the Tandoor by cooking them on the BBQ, in a hot oven or even, as I did, on my griddle pan on the hob. If you missed the live cookery class but want to catch up and watch, you can do so by clicking here. Also, if you have any dish suggestions for next week’s live class, comment below or drop me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I would love to hear from you!

Tandoori Paneer Tikka

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Servings 4 skewers

Ingredients
  

Paneer marination:

  • 225 g paneer cut into 3 cms chunky pieces (you should be able to get about 16 pieces this size out of 1 x 225g pack. I cut 8 pieces super thick pieces which I cut into 16 thinner pieces)
  • 2 bell peppers green or red, cut into 3ms chunky pieces; you need 16 pieces
  • 1 large onion white or red, cut into 3 cms chunky pieces; you need 16 pieces
  • 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • 5 cloves of garlic grated
  • 4 cms ginger grated
  • 1 or 2 green chillies finely chopped, or use chilli powder
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/2 tsp double concentrate tomato puree optional
  • 2 tsp gram flour or you can use plain flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt or according to taste
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 heaped tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cumin powder optional
  • 1 x black cardamom ground into a powder, optional
  • 3 good pinches sun dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi, ground into a powder optional
  • 2 tbsp oil any variety

Pickled Lime Onion Salad to accompany! For that you will need:

  • 1 red onion very thinly sliced
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 3/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3-4 stems fresh coriander, chopped (optional)
  • Handful of pomegranate seeds, optional

You will also need:

  • 1 x griddle pan or a non stick chapati/crepe pan. You can also cook these in your grill or on your bbq if you like!
  • Bamboo or Metal Skewers
  • Oil and butter/ghee for cooking

Instructions
 

How to:

  • To make the pickled red onion salad, add all of the salad ingredients to a small bowl and leave aside to pickle.
  • To prepare the Paneer Tikka, place all of the "paneer marination" ingredients in a large bowl. Using your hand, carefully mix everything together. Keep mixing until every single piece of paneer, pepper and onion is well coated in the marination. The longer you can leave this marination on, the better (overnight is ideal!).
  • If you are using a griddle pan or chapati pan – place it on the hob. Brush 3-4 tbsp oil brushed along its surface and allow to pre-heat on a low temperature. If you are cooking in the oven, pre heat at 220c and line a baking tray with foil, greased with a little oil.
  • Skewer on the paneer, pepper and onion pieces. You can use any combination you like – I aimed for 4 pieces of each ingredient per skewer!
  • Once each of your skewers are ready, increase the heat of your pan to medium/high. Once hot, place the skewers on the pan along with 1-2 tsp of ghee/butter. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side and then turn. I like to use brush them with a little oil or ghee when they are half way cooked but this is optional. The paneer tikka skewers should be completely cooked and have a nice char all over.
  • If you are cooking them in the oven, cook the skewers at 220c for approx 10-12 minutes, flipping them over half way through – I like to use brush them with a little oil or ghee at this point but this is optional! If you would like them to get nice and crispy and charred, switch to the grill setting at the end and grill a further 2-3 minutes.
  • Remove from the pan and serve with the pickled lime onion salad or wrap in your favourite Indian flatbread with some yoghurt drizzled over. Enjoy!

Notes

If you are cooking the skewers in an oven and are using wooden skewers, pre soak them in water ahead of time.
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Chilli Cheese Parathas

Week two of my Facebook LIVE COOKERY CLASSES brought Chilli Cheese Parathas to the kitchen! Once you’ve been introduced to the deliciousness that is stuffed parathas, there is no turning back.

Chilli and cheese is such a great combination but you can stuff your parathas with whatever you like! Gobi Parathas (spiced cauliflower) are the paratha of choice in my home. Oh and Cheeni Parathas, which are stuffed with ghee and sugar. Honestly, you are winning whatever you choose. You can also use the dough to make plain chapatis or parathas which make the perfect accompaniment to your favourite curry or simply with a fried egg on top.

Have a go and let me know how they turn out for you! If you missed the live cookery class but want to catch up and watch, you can do so by clicking here. Also, if you have any dish suggestions for next week’s class, comment below or drop me a message on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!

Chilli Cheese Parathas

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Servings 4 parathas

Ingredients
  

For the dough:

  • 1 cup (130g) chapati flour you can also use plain flour
  • 2 tbsp yoghurt
  • 1/4 cup + 1 to 2 tbsp warm water (this is a rough guide, you may need more or water depending on your flour type)
  • Oil for kneading

For the stuffing:

  • 150 g grated cheese I like to mix 1/2 cheddar & 1/2 mozzarella for flavour & texture but you can you use what you like!
  • 1/2 medium onion finely diced (I like to use red, you can you whatever you have)
  • 1 green chilli finely chopped or you can use chilli flakes/chilli powder
  • Handful fresh coriander finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp Carom/ajwain seeds optional
  • 3/4 tsp Salt or acc to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Black pepper

You will also need:

  • A non stick chapati tava pan/crepe pan/ non stick frying pan
  • A rolling Pin
  • A bowl with some chapati/plain flour in it for dusting

Instructions
 

  • Place the flour in a mixing bowl. Add the yoghurt and rub in really well using your finger tips until it is completely mixed in. Then, add the water little by little. Use your hand to combine the flour and water to make a dough. You are looking for the dough to be soft and tacky but not overly wet. 
  • Now, very lightly grease your hand and begin to knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until you have a smooth and pliable dough. Cover with cling film/damp tea towel and leave aside for 10-15 minutes.
  • In a bowl, mix together the stuffing ingredients. Keep aside. 
  • Now heat a tava/non-stick frying/crepe pan on high heat. Once the pan is hot, reduce to a low heat whilst you prepare the parathas.
  • Divide your dough into 4 equal dough balls. Roll each one so they are smooth and round. 
  • Dip one dough ball into the bowl of dry flour and with a rolling pin, begin to roll out until the size of a starter plate, forming a chapati
  • Divide your cheese stuffing into 4 portions. Place one portion of the stuffing in the centre of the chapati and bring together all of the edges so that they meet in the middle. Press down so it is sealed.
  • Dip the sealed stuffed dough ball in the flour and shake off any excess. Place on your work surface and roll out gently until it is 7-8″ in diameter and even in thickness all the way around.
  • Increase the heat of your pan to the maximum setting. Carefully pick up the paratha, web your fingers and flip the paratha from hand to hand to get rid of any excess flour.
  • Place it on the hot pan. When it changes colour and small bubbles begin to appear turn it over and cook the other side.
  • Cook until paratha is golden, then flip and cook until golden and all over and crispy. Finish by smearing a teaspoon of ghee or butter. • Make the rest of the parathas using the same process. Keep them wrapped in a towel or foil until ready to serve.
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Sukha Aloo – Punjabi spiced potatoes

We are all adjusting and adapting to a very new style of living right now. It’s resulted in huge change across the board and for every individual, that has translated to mean different things. The biggest change for me has been shutting shop at The Spice Club and closing my cookery school doors. It’s been very hard but I have been trying to focus on how I grateful I am that as a job, I get the opportunity to share my cookery knowledge with others and actually see my students benefit from it in their own kitchen.

Given the situation I am in, I’ve decided to take this opportunity to continue sharing. Via social media, posting recipes on here and as of yesterday by means of LIVE ONLINE COOKERY CLASSES on Facebook. I taught one of my favourite dishes yesterday, Sukha Aloo. It’s a fav because it takes 10 minutes to cook and scores high marks in the taste department (that’s an actual place in the brain). If you’d like to re-watch it and follow as I cook, you can do so here. Or if you’d rather not watch me jibber jabber, you can scroll down and read the recipe below.

I wil be doing regular FB Live cookery classes. My next one will be next Friday 3rd April at 4pm GMT. Hope to see you there!

Sukha Aloo

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Ingredients
  

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 tbsp oil
  • 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 medium onion (approx 100g) thinly sliced
  • 2 heaped tbsp double concentrate tomato puree
  • 575 g potatoes red/desiree are ideal, cooked & peeled & cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt or according to taste
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp amchur/mango powder optional
  • 1 green chilli finely chopped or 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • Handful fresh coriander roughly chopped, optional
  • water

Instructions
 

How to:

  • Heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add the cumin seeds. Give them a quick mix and then add the onions.
  • Sauté for 2-3 minutes on medium/high until light golden in colour. Now add the tomato puree along with 4-5 tbsp water and mix well.
  • At this point, add the potatoes and sprinkle over the salt as well as all of the dry spices and green chilli. Mix well.
  • Finish with fresh coriander and mix once again. Turn off heat. Taste for salt/chilli and adjust accordingly.

Notes

To cook the potatoes, you can boil them. OR I cook mine in the microwave as it’s easy/no washing up. To do this, wash potatoes, then place in a freezer safe bag (or any clean small plastic bag) and tie it up. Pierce a hole in it and then place in the microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until cooked.