The paneer tikka roll is one of my all time favorite Indian street foods. Like all Indian food, it’s bursting with flavor and absolutely delicious. The main components of this roll are: spicy paneer, instant pickled onions, green chillies soaked in vinegar, crispy red cabbage, cilantro chutney, and a spicy paratha as the wrap.

If you’re not familiar with using paneer in your cooking, now is the time to start! It’s basically a firm cheese that doesn’t melt when you heat it up – similar to halloumi.

Breakdown of the Ingredients:

Paneer Tikka

The star of the show is of course the paneer tikka that makes the base of this dish. All you have to do is coat it in a simple marinade made with yogurt, besan (chickpea flour), and spices. However, keep in mind though that this dish will also be packed with plenty of condiments. We’re also making a chutney, spicy pickles, crisp veggies, and chilies soaked in vinegar. So, if you’re missing one or two spices here, don’t fret, it won’t make or break this recipe.

Paneer
Yogurt
Besan
Cumin
Coriander powder
Turmeric
Chaat masala
Garam masala
Fenugreek leaves
Amchur
Kashmiri mirch
Salt

Chutney

This chutney is the simplest part of this dish and really easily customizable. You can skip the mint if you want or vary the ratios between the cilantro and mint as you please. You can add more or less spices or use only lemon or yogurt for the tangy element instead of both. It’s pretty hard to mess up!

Cilantro (finely chopped and tightly packed)
Mint (finely chopped and tightly packed)
Yogurt
Cumin powder
Chaat masala
Mango powder
Garlic powder
Salt
Green chillies
Lemon juice (optional)

Pickled Onions

For these pickled onions it’s important to use red onions not yellow. Red onions have a natural touch of sweetness that really works well in this dish. Also, for chili powder, you can use regular instead of kashmiri. However, I like kashmiri in particular because it’s a little milder so I can be more heavy handed with it. Plus it has a really bright red tone that adds a fantastic color to the pickles.

As far as the chaat masala, this is pretty non-negotiable. I’ve never seen another spice blend like it. It’s super salty and sour, and pretty essential for desi street foods! If I had to compare it to something I’d say it’s a little like tajin. Not in the flavor profile, but for the manner in which it’s used. You can pop it on top of street food or even over fruit.

Oil
Red onion
Lime
Chaat masala
Kashmiri red chili powder

Process + Keys to Success:

Paneer Tikka

In a bowl mix together your yogurt and all of your spices
Cut your paneer into pieces (I cut mine into thin rectangles for a traditional paneer tikka shape but you can cube your paneer instead)
Coat your panner evenly on both sides with the yogurt mixture and then pop it into the air fryer at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. If you don’t have an airfryer, simply use an oven or pan fry your paneer instead.

Chutney

Combine all of your ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth.

Pickled Onions

Sauté your onions in oil until they soften and then add the juice of one lime.
Cook for another 30 seconds or so and then add in your spices.
Continue to cook until all of the lime juice has absorbed into the onions.

Notes:

I also highly recommend adding green chilies soaked in white vinegar into this roll. I soak mine for at least 20 minutes.
For the wrap itself you can use a roti, paratha, or tortilla. Fry it in some butter and hot sauce for some extra flavor. I use a 1:1 ratio of earth balance butter and tapatio hot sauce and coat each side of my tortilla evenly.

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