If you are looking for a meatless yet protein-rich dinner idea, then you are at the right page! This easy-to-make high protein air fryer paneer tikka is perfect for your healthy & nutritious dinner and it tastes delicious too!
With the increasing popularity of air fryers in India, it’s high time to share how to make India’s most loved recipe paneer tikka in the air fryer!
My air fryer paneer tikka is not only easy to make but also super quick to put together making it a perfect choice for your busy weekday dinner or even your next party appetizer!
Paneer tikka is a flagship recipe of Indian cuisine and I am sure anyone fond of spicy food must have tried this at least once! You haven’t? Then you are missing out on a lot!
If you own an air fryer, try this air fryer paneer tikka this weekend and I am sure you will come back here to thank me!
What is air fryer paneer tikka?
When you make the super-popular paneer tikka in your air fryer, it becomes the air fryer paneer tikka; so let me decode paneer tikka for you first in case you are not familiar with it.
Paneer tikka is smoky grilled cubes of paneer which have been marinated in a spicy yogurt mixture for a few hours.
To add merry to the musical, the paneer cubes are threaded into skewers along with crunchy veggies alternatively to give that ultimate pleasure to your taste buds.
The skewers with paneer and veggies are then grilled in an air fryer for that tempting smoky & charred flavor where the succulent paneer soaks up all the spices and bursts into a flavor bomb inside your mouth!
Exciting, isn’t it? Let’s see what you need to make this deliciousness!
Ingredients for air fryer paneer tikka
Fresh paneer: For best paneer tikka, you have to use the best paneer you can possibly get! By best, I meant the freshest possible paneer.
Do not use the block of paneer that’s been lying in your refrigerator for a month and you don’t know what to do with it! (Make paneer bhurji with that!)
Hung curd: This one is a must! To make restaurant style paneer tikka, you have to take this extra step to make hung curd by simply tying up the regular curd in a cheesecloth and squeezing out all the water.
Vegetable: Classic paneer tikka is incomplete without the classic combination of onion and capsicum! The somewhat crunchy & charred onion and peppers create an irresistible palate with soft & succulent paneer.
I used green capsicum, but you can easily use other colorful bell peppers for a vibrant assortment!
Aromatics: To infuse your air fryer paneer tikka with mind-blowing flavors, use a generous amount of our quintessential aromatics i.e. ginger and garlic.
You may use ginger & garlic paste or grated ginger and minced garlic.
Spices: Turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilli powder and garam masala – these are all the spices you will need for this easy air fryer paneer tikka recipe.
You can make your own garam masala at home for best results as homemade spice doesn’t have any filler.
Oil: For bringing out the smokiness of the air fryer paneer tikka to its maximum extent, I recommend using mustard oil as the pungency of this oil complements the spices beautifully!
Seasoning: Finally, to round up all the spices, aromatic and hung curd, season the marinade well with salt and pepper!
How to make air fryer paneer tikka?
Step 1: Cut the capsicum into half and remove all the seeds. Then cut each half into 1-inch pieces as shown in the video.
Step 2: Cut the onion into large chunks and then separate the layers to make onion petals.
Step 3: Cut the block of paneer into cubes of 1-inch length as you see in the video.
Step 4: Now prepare the paneer tikka marinade by mixing all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl – hung curd, mustard oil, salt, pepper, ginger paste, minced garlic, turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilli powder and garam masala.
Step 5: Using a wire whisk, give a good mix to combine everything evenly and make a homogeneous spicy curd mixture.
Step 6: Drop the paneer cubes, onion petals and capsicum chunks into the prepared marinade.
Step 7: Using a spatula start mixing the paneer and veggies with the marinade ensuring each piece is coated evenly with the curd mixture.
Step 8: Once you are happy with the mixing, leave them at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to let the paneer and veggies absorb all the beautiful flavors of the spices.
Step 9: After about half an hour, start threading the paneer cubes, onion petals and capsicum chunks alternatively into bamboo skewers as you see in the video.
Step 10: Prepare all the paneer tikka skewers similarly before starting the air frying.
Step 11: Start preheating your air fryer at 190 C and set the timer to 10 minutes. Brush or spray oil over the base of the air fryer basket.
Step 12: After the air fryer is preheated, place the threaded paneer tikka skewers inside the basket in a single layer.
Step 13: Air fry the paneer tikka and at the halfway mark, take the basket out and flip over the skewers. Brush the paneer tikkas with some leftover marinade and spray a little oil on top.
Step 14: Continue to air fry for the remaining time or until the paneer tikka is nicely golden and lightly charred at the edges.
Pro tip: If you think that your paneer tikkas are not grilled or charred enough in 10 minutes, air fry them for a couple of minutes more.
Step 15: Serve your delicious air fryer paneer tikka warm with a sprinkling of chat masala on top and garnished with fresh coriander leaves with coriander mint chutney on the side. Enjoy!
More delicious paneer recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Fresh paneer - 500 gms
- Green capsicum - 1, large
- Onion - 2, large
- Hung curd - 1 cup
- Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
- Garlic - 12 to 15 cloves, finely minced
- Mustard oil - 2 tbsp
- Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
- Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
- Garam masala - 1 tsp
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Chat masala and fresh coriander leaves to garnish
- Cut the capsicum into half and remove all the seeds. Then cut each half into 1-inch pieces as shown in the video.
- Cut the onion into large chunks and then separate the layers to make onion petals.
- Cut the block of paneer into cubes of 1-inch length as you see in the video.
- Now prepare the paneer tikka marinade by mixing all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl - hung curd, mustard oil, salt, pepper, ginger paste, minced garlic, turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilli powder and garam masala.
- Using a wire whisk, give a good mix to combine everything evenly and make a homogeneous spicy curd mixture.
- Drop the paneer cubes, onion petals and capsicum chunks into the prepared marinade.
- Using a spatula start mixing the paneer and veggies with the marinade ensuring each piece is coated evenly with the curd mixture.
- Once you are happy with the mixing, leave them at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to let the paneer and veggies absorb all the beautiful flavors of the spices.
- After about half an hour, start threading the paneer cubes, onion petals and capsicum chunks alternatively into bamboo skewers as you see in the video.
- Prepare all the paneer tikka skewers similarly before starting the air frying.
- Start preheating your air fryer at 190 C and set the timer to 10 minutes. Brush or spray oil over the base of the air fryer basket.
- After the air fryer is preheated, place the threaded paneer tikka skewers inside the basket in a single layer.
- Air fry the paneer tikka and at the halfway mark, take the basket out and flip over the skewers. Brush the paneer tikkas with some leftover marinade and spray a little oil on top.
- Continue to air fry for the remaining time or until the paneer tikka is nicely golden and lightly charred at the edges.
- Serve your delicious air fryer paneer tikka warm with a sprinkling of chat masala on top and garnished with fresh coriander leaves with coriander mint chutney on the side. Enjoy!
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