Paneer Fajitas
Today, I made a Mexican inspired appetizer, Paneer fajita (fah-he-tah) which is very simple and tasty - just marinate, grill and eat! With the onset of summer, these fajitas make a great appetizer for barbecues or an evening tiffin for our kids, a great way to get them eat vegetables and remember, its a healthy snack. The best part of fajitas is they can be made with practically anything, vegetables, meat, chicken and seafood. I love that!-:)
The traditional method of preparing the fajitas is by grilling them, but they can also be pan fried and if using meat, oven broiling works (meat requires more marinating time than vegs and paneer). Its the marinade which holds the key to a good fajita. Vinegar or lemon juice is a must to lend a sour flavor. As told by a chef friend who works at a mexcian cuisine food joint - “experiment with anything which has a sour flavor like orange juice or even a coke”. Well, I haven’t got that creative yet.:).
I’d love to learn more about marinades for fajitas if you’d like to share. Tried and tested recipes of fajitas (veg/non-veg) are also welcome..:).
Paneer Fajitas Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 15 mts, marinate time: 30 mts
Makes approx 15-20 fajitas
Cuisine: Mexican inspired
.
1/4 kg paneer, squares
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
2 tbsps red chilli flakes
1 tsp mustard pwd
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
pinch of cumin pwd
2 tbsps sesame seeds
1/2 tsp dried parsley
For salad:
1 onion, finely sliced
1 capsicum, finely sliced
1 tomato, finely sliced
fistful boiled green peas
fistful boiled sweet corn
a small cup of finely sliced cabbage
fresh parsley for garnish
salt to taste
pepper to season
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
1 Marinate the paneer squares with lemon juice, olive oil, worchestshire sauce, cumin pwd, mustard pwd and dry parsley and salt for 30 mts.
2 Combine sesame seeds and chilli flakes in a small bowl. Coat both the sides of the paneer in this and place them on a greased baking tray or a grill.
3 Grill the paneer in a pre-heated oven for 10 mts, till the paneer attains a light brown shade.
4 Saute the vegetables for salad, season with salt, arrange on a serving plate, sprinkle some parsley on top and place the grilled paneer fajitas on the salad. Serve hot with salsa.
By sailu • Mar 6th, 2007 • Category: All Recipes, Appetizers & Starters, Dairy & Milk, Grilled & Tandoori Recipes, Indian Paneer Recipes, Savories, Snacks & Tiffins
We love Fajitas, my husband always orders that in the restaurants. The usual or most popular spice to add to this is called Menudo mix. May be I will do a Chicken Fajita once and post it.
Paneer Fajitas are unique indeed, Indian style, looks great!:))
We dont get the ready made mix here in Vizag. Have to make do with the available ingredients..:). Do post the Chicken Fajita recipe, Asha.
Sailu, Fajitas are usually reffered to a dish wherin tortillas are filled grilled veggies/meat along with salsa, sour cream and few other seasonings. What you have here is not the fajita itself, bt a delicious looking filling for it. Can’t wait to try!
Meena, I served them with salsa and corn chips. I guess, I should have mentioned that in my post. When I had them here in Vizag, the fajitas were served on a bed of salad, corn chips and salsa spread over them. I mentioned its a Mexican inspired dish..:) and what with so much fusion in the world cuisine. I’ll prepare with tortillas this time around. Thanks for your inputs, Meena.
Sailaja, My husbad just orders chicken fajita when we go to a mexican restaurant…he loves ‘em and paneer fajitas are quite unique. U re lucky to have a mex chef as a friend
Shn
Know what, Shn, I have 3 friends who happen to be chefs..:).
lol ok…paneer fajitas…that has GOT to be the most creative thing i’ve seen!
indian recipes
Have you tried the 59cents fajita seasoning packet? that works great.Adn you can use veggies like mushrooms,onions,peppers(red,green) ,some tomatoes and chunks of carrots
sorry, i didnt know you were not in the US. I notice your recipe does not ask for any tortillas or chaaptis. A fajita consists of grilled meat or veggies on flour or corn tortillas with condiments like sour cream,salsa and guacomole. what you have here is more like paneer tikka and not fajita. read more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fajita.
Supriya, this is a mex inspired appetizer and I tried it out with paneer and the marinade is similar to a typical fajita marinade. I served this with corn chips and salsa.
Hi Sailu
i never heard of this dish.thanks for giving awareness to me.:-D
this is very simple and easy to make.looking tasty!!will try this sometime.
Awesome! I love this!
Paz
Sailu, grilled Paneer looks really tempting with all those sesame seeds.
Look so great sailu. And that too less oil. A nice snack. Viji
Hi Sailu,
Healthy snack for all ages. Thanks for sharing.
Sailu-
and then a few dollops of a chile sauce or chutney on the side and it’s a party I would not miss! Great post!
I just wanted to say these look truly inspirational! How very creative this fusion looks!
Yes, fajitas are served in/with corn/maize tortillas or wheat tortillas….but wheat tortillas are very much like chappati, as they are a flatbread made in a very similar way…i think dosas would work well too
Pelicano, the dosa wrap is a great idea..:)
looks amazing sailu!!!!
have to make this imme!!
yum yum!!!!!
Hi Sailu,
Yesterday I wanted to comment despirately on the Recipe but had some challenges with my laptop.
I thought of trying this recipe today, hmmm delicious!!
cheers
sharmi
Hey lost my comment:(
Sailaja I have always had my fajitas as griled chicken served on a flour tortilla. This one sure sounds interesting and what with the sesame seeds coating the paneer looks good too
I would love to try out grilled chicken fajitas. Must look out for a good recipe..:)
Sailu, i just saw the picture of your soya chunks vegpulav in the bawarchi site take a look at it..
http://food.sify.com/
hope ur aware of it.
I am aware of it, Sudha and thanks for informing me. Appreciate you taking the time to email me too.:)
Beautiful pictures Sailaja!
Now that is what I call fusion cooking! Looks totally fabulous
Hi Sailu,
Fajitas look a bit different but I bet this would have been a wonderful appetizer .. thanks for a new recipe.
Nice recipe sailu.didn’t try fajitas before.Planning to start with this wonderful recipe.Thanks
I do like this recipe, seems to be a delectable appetizer.:)
hai sailu, its a nice collection, its a very good collection and excellent photography. pls post more authentic andhra vantakalu.
I’m American, and my husband is Indian, so I was poking around on your site for some fresh dinner ideas when I came across your gorgeous photos!
I’m a vegetarian, he is not (go figure!), and we both love Mexican food, so this is perfect! This recipe looks amazing, and I happen to have everything in my refrigerator to make this tonight. Thanks for sharing such a creative and inspired recipe.
hi sailu
can i bake or broil this( i dont have grill)?
thanks in advance