My love for fusion food continues with this Tandoori Paneer Tacos with Mango Salsa. I am always looking for ways to Indianize various popular global foods. Our family loves to eat Mexican soft tacos and I make several different fillings for the tacos. I make a sweet potato and black beans version with a spicy harissa crema sauce, which is delicious. I will pen down that recipe really soon but I had to get this recipe in front of you as soon as possible. This was a total experiment of flavors and textures but was a huge hit with the family. I was not sure if my mom would like the flavors and especially if she would appreciate the mango salsa, but she loved it! At that point I knew I had to document this recipe soon and share with everyone.
Components of Tandoori Paneer Tacos with Mango Salsa
Tandoori Paneer- Paneer pieces are marinated in tandoori spice mix and oil and then grilled.
Mango Salsa- Mango Salsa provides a fresh, fruity and sweet and sour element to the tocos. It goes wonderfully well with the spicy tandoori paneer. But you don’t really have to make the tacos to enjoy the mango salsa. Just make it own it own and serve it with tortilla chips for your next get together. Semi ripe or ripe mangoes work well for the salsa.
Yogurt cilantro sauce- This sauce compliments the flavors of the spicy paneer and mangoes really well. It is simply made by blending yogurt, cilantro, jalapeno, olive oil and salt. Don’t discard the cilantro stalks here because they have a lot of flavor. Use the tender stalks to blend in the sauce. This sauce is delicious and is great drizzled over buddha bowls.
Soft tacos- I like to use soft flour tortillas as the base for the tacos. Or you can also use corn, gluten free or any low carb version of tortilla that you can find in the supermarket. Just make sure the tortillas are no more than 6” in size. You should be able to comfortably hold in in your hands. If you cannot find soft tortillas where you live, just make small soft rotis with either whole wheat or a blend of whole wheat and all purpose flour. That will work really well for the tacos.
Toppings – My toppings of choice for these tacos are shredded red cabbage, pickled jalapenos and a squeeze of lime. You can use whatever you like and even green cabbage would work fine and provide the right crunch.
Alternatives to grilling paneer
My preferred way of grilling paneer is on an indoor electric griller by Cuisinart. I find it very quick and easy to use and you absolutely don’t need it for this recipe. If you want the grill marks on the paneer pieces, you can use a stove top grill pan. For a non-grill mark option, cooking it in the cast iron pan also works great! And of course, you can always cook it in a non stick pan. It will still taste great!
Key features of this recipe
Vegetarian. This meal can easily be made Vegan, by substituting a couple of ingredients. You can use Extra Firm or Firm Tofu in place of paneer and use vegan yogurt in place of regular yogurt. Its as easy as that!
This is your perfect Gluten free meal if you use gluten free tortillas to serve it.
A perfect balance of flavors, Sweet and Spicy!
Quick and easy meal. You can make the sauce and marinate the paneer earlier in the day. At dinner time, just grill the paneer, prepare the mango salsa and the toppings. Dinner is ready in under 20 minutes! Ingredients for the mango salsa can be chopped 3-4 hours in advance, just add the salt at dinner time.
If you like Indian fusion recipes, try my super delicious recipe for the Tandoori Paneer Bruschetta.
4
servings30
minutes15
minutesIngredients
- Grilled Tandoori Paneer
13-15 oz (about 400 gram) block of paneer
2 tablespoons Cooking Oil
3 tablespoons Tandoori Masala
1 teaspoon Red chili powder (optional)
- Mango Salsa
2 Mangoes, 1/2 inch diced
1 small Red pepper, 1/2 inch diced
1/2 cup Red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Cilantro, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)
2 tablespoons Lime juice
salt, to taste
pepper
- Spicy Yogurt Cilantro Sauce
1/2 cup Plain yogurt
1/3 cilantro leaves and some tender stalks
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 jalapeno (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)
salt
pepper
- For Serving
14-15 small Flour tortillas (see note below)
1 cup Purple cabbage, finely shredded
lime wedges
1/2 cup Pickled jalapenos
Method
- Grilled Tandoori Paneer
- Cut the block of paneer in 14-15 long pieces. The idea is to have 1 long piece of paneer per taco.
- In a shallow wide glass bowl mix oil, tandoori masala and red chili powder if using. Gently toss the paneer in this oil and spice mixture. Mix with your clean hands till all the pieces of paneer are coated in the spices. Cover and refrigerate till you are ready to grill.
- I use an indoor electric griller to grill the paneer pieces. Heat the grill and add the paneer pieces. Flip and cook on at least 2 of the sides till you have nice grill marks. Remove from the grill and set aside. (See notes)
- Mango Salsa
- Gently mix all the salsa ingredients and refrigerate till you are ready to use. If you are making the salsa more than an hour in advance, add salt at the time of use.
- Spicy Yogurt Cilantro Sauce
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and run it till you have a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust any seasonings if necessary. Refrigerate it till ready to use.
- Serving
- Heat the tortillas on a griddle and keep it wrapped in aluminum foil to keep it warm.
- To serve lay all the components of the tacos and let everyone build according to preference. I like to lay a piece of paneer on the tortilla and top it generously with the mango salsa, purple cabbage and jalapeno and drizzle it with lots of the spicy sauce. Fold and take your first bite.
Tips
- If you cannot find small tortillas where you live, you can make small thin rotis for the tacos.
- If you do not have an electric griller, you can use a stove top grill pan. For a non-grill mark option, cooking it in the cast iron pan also works great! And of course, you can always cook it in a non stick pan. It will still taste great!
- Serving size includes 3-4 tacos per person.
