I have always loved paneer. My mom makes butter paneer, aloo paneer, palak paneer — we ate paneer regularly at home so I was not new to it. But tandoori paneer tikka was something else entirely.
Calypso Restaurant, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai. Not a famous place — it was relatively new at the time and my dad knew the man who started it. There was some history there: the owner had previously been at Centre Point, another restaurant nearby where we used to go, and when he split and started Calypso, our family followed. That is how these things work.
Every Saturday and Sunday my family would go out for dinner — my dad, my mom, my brother Rishi, and me. Calypso was one of those places. We ordered paneer tikka and when it arrived I remember being confused by the texture. I knew paneer. Soft, white, familiar. I did not know paneer could do this — something crispy happening on the outside, warm and soft inside, a smokiness underneath the spice that I had never tasted before. I did not have the words for it then. I just knew I did not want to share it.
My mom must have taken notes in her own way. We had no tandoor — nobody in a Navi Mumbai flat does — but she worked out a tawa version at home that came close enough. The coal smoking at the end was her solution to the smokiness. Two minutes with a hot coal and a lid and the whole dish transformed.
I learned that trick from watching her. I still use it.
Calypso is permanently closed now. The paneer tikka isn't. Make it at home.
The recipe
- 250g paneer, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 cup yoghurt
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp oil
- Lemon wedges for serving
- 1 small piece natural coal
- 1 tsp oil
- Make the marinade. Combine yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, red chilli powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix well.
- Marinate the paneer. Add paneer cubes and coat thoroughly. Marinate for at least 30 minutes — longer if you have time. Overnight in the fridge is ideal.
- Cook on tawa. Heat oil in a tawa or flat non-stick pan over medium heat. Place paneer pieces in a single layer. Do not crowd. Cook 3–4 minutes without moving until the bottom is golden and slightly charred. Flip and cook the other side for another 3–4 minutes.
- Smoke it (the trick). Heat a small piece of coal directly on a flame until it glows red. Place carefully in a small steel bowl or folded foil cup. Set this in the centre of the pan among the paneer. Add a few drops of oil on the coal — it will smoke immediately. Cover the pan tightly. Leave for 2 minutes. Remove coal carefully with tongs.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
The restaurant is gone. The trick my mom figured out is not gone. That is the thing about home cooks who pay attention — they extract what matters from wherever they find it, then they make it their own. The tawa version is not worse than the tandoor version. It is just a different thing, made with what you have, by someone who cared enough to work it out.