Street style Paneer Tacos

There’s something about Indian street food that it’s always so good. The flavors, crunch in the veggies makes every bite so good. These street style paneer tacos recreates that with a Mexican fusion. A cilantro-jalapeño-yogurt sauce slathered on Flour tacos topped with a delicious Indian street style Paneer, pickled onions and finished with cheese! It’s so delicious and a perfect vegetarian taco Tuesday option. Mexican and Indian cuisines have so many similar ingredients that this works so well. A weekday recipe for the win!
Happy Cooking!

Servings: 10-12 servings

Prep Time: 20-25 minutes

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Total Time: 30-40 mins

Ingredients: 

Paneer and veggies:

• 300g paneer

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp corn starch

• 1.5 tbsp veg/peanut oil

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 bay leaf 

• 4 cloves garlic chopped 

• 1.5 inch Ginger chopped

• 1 green chili 

• 1.5 tomatoes chopped 

• 1 medium onion sliced

• 1/2 bell pepper sliced

• 3 scallions chopped

• 1/2 tbsp butter 

• 1/2 tsp turmeric 

• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder

• 1/2 tsp cumin powder

• 1/2 tsp coriander powder

• Salt to taste

• 1/4 tsp black salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 1/4 tsp sugar 

• 1/4 cup water 

• 3 tbsp chopped coriander and parsley

Cilantro-jalapeño-yogurt sauce:

• 1/4 cup cilantro/coriander chutney

• 1 jalapeño

• 1/3 cup yogurt or hung yogurt

• 1 tbsp ketchup

Assemble:

• 6-8 Flour street style small tacos

• 1/2 cup Pickled onions

• 1/4-1/3 cup Amul/white cheddar cheese grated

• Lemon wedges to serve with

Directions: 

1. Slice paneer into chunks. I like to make it a rectangle but not too long.

2. In a bowl add the paneer, 1/2 tsp salt and corn starch and give it a toss so that it coats it. Spray/drizzle oil over it and toss again.

3. Cook the paneer till it’s golden brown as you like, you can air fry or pan fry it. For air fry cook at 390F for 7-9 mins, giving it a toss midway.

4. Gravy: Put a pan on medium heat and put 1.5 tbsp oil.

5. Once the oil heats up, add bay leaf and cumin seeds and cook for 1 min till it crackles.

6. Add ginger, garlic and green chili and cook for 2-3 mins till fragrant.

7. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 5-8 mins till it breaks down. Let it cool and then blend into a smooth gravy.

8. Put a pan on medium-high heat, I like to use the same pan so I didn’t need to add more oil and it has the flavor already.

9. Add the sliced onions and cook for 2-3 mins. Add the peppers and cook for 1-2 mins. Add the green onions and cook for a min. You don’t want to over cook the vegetables and lose the crunch.

10. Add butter in the middle of the pan and add the spices- red chili, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander, black salt, salt, pepper and sugar. Mix it together quickly so that the spices don’t burn.

11. Add the ground up gravy and water and mix.

12. Add the paneer and toss and it’s ready!

13. Cilantro- jalapeño- yogurt sauce: Blend the jalapeño with coriander chutney. If you don’t like spicy, de-seed the jalapeño.

14. In a bowl mix the yogurt, blended mixture and ketchup.

15. Assemble:

    • Slightly warm tortillas.

    • Spread a good amount of the sauce over it.

    • Top with the paneer mixture.

    • Top with pickled onions and grated cheese.

    • Squeeze some lemon over it and it’s ready to eat!

16. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes/Tips:

• Do not over cook the vegetables and make it too soft. You want that crunch in every bite.

• If you like it spicy, swap jalapeño for Serrano.

• Hung yogurt makes the sauce creamier.

• You can even make this in hard shell tacos if you want.

• You can store the jalapeño sauce for 4-5 days in the fridge.

• The paneer filling isn’t too good when reheated as it can lose its crunch. So don’t make it from before and keep.