Air fryer paneer tikka
Paneer, peppers and onion in a tangy, spiced yogurt marinade, air fried until charred at the edges and served with mint yogurt and basmati rice.
- 55 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.54 a serving
- 690 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, divided
- 1 lemon, half juiced, half cut into wedges
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 14 oz paneer, 1 block
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red onion
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 2¼ cups water
Each serving has about 690 calories, 34 g protein, 71 g carbs and 31 g fat, and costs about $3.54 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No green bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
½ cup yogurt, the lemon juice, oil, garam masala, paprika, cumin, turmeric, garlic, ginger and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Cut the paneer into 1-inch and the peppers and onion into 1-inch pieces. them in the and let them sit 20 minutes, or up to a day in the fridge.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Marinate. Marinating means letting food sit in a flavorful liquid, called a marinade, before you cook it. Always marinate in the fridge, and never reuse marinade from raw meat unless you boil it first.
How you’ll know: The food is coated all over, sealed in a bag or covered dish, and chilling in the fridge.
Timer: 20 min
the rice and put it in a with the water and ¼ teaspoon salt. over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes. Turn off the burner and leave the lid on.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Air fry the paneer and vegetables in one layer at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes, shaking halfway, until at the edges. Cook in 2 batches if they don’t fit.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Timer: 11 min
Dolly’s tip: Those charred edges are the tikka flavor. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.Stir the rest of the yogurt with the mint and the last of salt.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Serve the paneer and vegetables over the rice with the mint yogurt and lemon wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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