Thai Style Paneer Satay

I love Chinese food. Period. Soon after S and I were married, we started exploring various cuisines and restaurants in and around – that’s when we both realized our love for Chinese food. More than the noodles/rice itself, we love the starters – especially if it has babycorn in it 😀 During one such visit to a mall, I tasted Thai fried rice for the first time and it was love at first bite! I loved the subtle flavours and the crunchy vegetables. Whenever we visited that mall, that restaurant and their Thai fried rice became my go-to.

I have tried to prepare different types of Chinese fried rice and noodles at home – of course without the ajinomoto/MSG and soon found that the taste is not quite similar. The MSG really gives a different taste that makes us want the food more. Over the couple of years, we are keeping our eating out to a bare minimum and so started to love the Chinese prepared at home. Inspite of the success, I didn’t venture into trying anything Thai style until recently. I did not have all the herbs required but nevertheless, it turned out to be quite tasty. I made Paneer Satay as S doesn’t prefer tofu but that would taste good as well. The Satay was quite tasty, even if I say so myself. I loved the flavours – you would be hit by sweetness at first followed by saltiness, spiciness and finally a tinge of tanginess. This forms a perfect starter/appetizer and can be served as a side dish for fried rice too. I used a tablespoon of oil to prepare this in the OTG – making it guilt free.

To make Thai Style Paneer Satay

Serves – 2

Time to prepare – 20mins (to marinate) + 20mins (to cook)

What I used –

• Paneer, 200 gms
• Capsicum, 1 small
• Finely Chopped Ginger, 1 tsp
• Finely Chopped Garlic, 2 tsp
• Finely Chopped Onion, 1 tbsp
• Finely Chopped Fresh Red Chillies, 1.5 tsp
• Brown Sugar, 1.5 tbsp
• Soya Sauce, 1.5 tbsp
• Lemon Juice, 1.5 tbsp
• Oil, 1 tbsp
• Salt, ½ teaspoon (adjust accordingly)
• Turmeric Powder, 1 tsp
• Paprika Powder, 1 tsp
• Coriander Powder, 1 tsp
• Sesame Seeds, 1 tbsp

How I made –

1. In a mixer jar, add finely chopped ginger, garlic, onion, fresh red chillies, brown sugar, soya sauce and lemon juice. Pulse it for three-four times until everything is blended coarse.
2. Scrape the mixture onto a bowl. Add oil, salt, turmeric powder, paprika powder, coriander powder and mix well.
3. Cut the Paneer into long fingers of 1 cm thickness. Also, cut the capsicum into cubes. Add the diced paneer and capsicum into the marinade mix prepared. Gently coat the marinade on to all the pieces. Set aside for atleast 20mins. You can prepare this and store it in refrigerator for more than two hours too.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 200deg C for atleast ten minutes. Line a baking tray with baking sheet.
5. Place the paneer slices on the baking tray leaving some space inbetween each piece and line all the capsicum slices too.
6. Bake them for atleast 10mins or until the bottom is nicely caramelized at 200deg C. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. Place it back into the oven and put it on grill mode for atleast ten minutes or the top is caramelized at 200deg C.
7. Remove the baking tray from oven, serve hot as a starter or appetizer or a side dish.

Points to Note:

• Brown Sugar gives this dish a nice deep brown color and adds to the taste too. If it’s not available, white sugar can be used but I insist on using brown sugar.
• I used normal soya sauce, dark soy can be used too. I did not have lemon grass but adding that would enhance the flavour.
• Along with the capsicum, diced onion can be used too. If you have bamboo skewers, place a piece of capsicum followed by paneer slice and onion – looks good when served.
• The marinade can be a bit runny on grinding it, while baking, keep adding the marinade on top and the paneer pieces would absorb. Or else, the extra marinade can be used as dipping sauce – tastes awesome as it is.
• The fresh red chillies are essential to the taste too and can be quite spicy. Adjust as per preference.