Grilled Paneer & Vegetables

Tucson is very popular to enjoy year round sunshine. Every house has an outdoor grill and people have a lot of outdoor parties.
Come memorial day, there is a lot of outdoor grilling and barbecue here. I have been grilling corn, Trader Joe's masala veggie burgers 9 they are da bomb ), zucchini etc and enjoying them. I recently wanted to try grilling paneer and was pleased with the results. My teenager and DH loved it as well.

I made them a paneer and vegetable skewers. It is simple and just needs some prep work done.

I used store bought " Gopi" brand paneer, red bell peppers, red onions and zucchini. One can use mushrooms, tomatoes or even pineapple chunks to go in the skewers.

I used bamboo skewers and I recommend soaking them in water for 1 hr as it helps them from not burning while on the grill. I used them before without soaking and the whole skewer stick was charred. Other option is to use metal skewers.
You need good amount of cooking spray on the skewered paneer  and on the grill

Get Ready ( made about 6-8 skewers)

• Paneer 1 big block as sold in Indian stores  ( used 3/4 of it) cut into medium sized rectangles
• 1/2 red bell pepper cut into big chunks
• 1/4 red onion cut into big chunks
• 1 Zucchini sliced into 2 inch rounds
• Non stick Cooking spray  ( your best friend for this)
• Skewers soaked in water

For the Marinade

• 1/2 cup mint leaves
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 small green chilli
• 1 tbsp ginger chopped
• 3 tbsp  plain Yogurt
• 1 tbsp besan/ Kadalai mavu
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt to taste
•  1/2 tsp of  chaat masala
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Go

Put all the ingredients for marinade into a blender and make a  paste.

Cut the paneer chunks and soak them in the marinade for at least 8-10 hrs in the refrigerator. 

Marinate the veggies in the same marinade. You can do it together with the paneer in a zip lock back or separately as I did.

Soak your skewers in water for 1 hrs.

Before Grilling

• Take the skewers and insert a veggie, onion, paneer or in any order you want. keep them aside

• Set your grill on the medium setting till everything gets heated for few mins
• Spray your grill grates and the skewers with cooking spray.
• Place them on the grill, cover and cook for 5-7 mins, turning the skewers so all the paneer and veggies are cooked
• Once you seethe paneer golden, with grill marks you are all set to enjoy them.
• Serve them hot with mint/ cilantro chutney or ketchup.

Enjoy and happy grilling!