Paneer Tikki Burgers

These Paneer Tikki Burgers make for a great vegetarian burger. They’re flavourful and aromatic, and served with a fragrant green chutney mayo.

Burger season is basically all year around, right?

It’s totally acceptable to eat burgers any time of the day, any day of the week, and any point in the year. I stand by that and frankly embody that in my frequent burger intake.

But burgers have to be easy to make and they must taste good in order for me to want to make them over and over. These definitely hit that criteria. If you’re a burger fan, this is one you need to add to your repertoire.

Paneer Tikki Burgers

These burgers swap out the usual bean or vegetable patty for a paneer based one! There’s quite a few other ingredients inside ranging from spices like chilli to textural ingredients like peanuts.

Texture in a burger is key and often the component that is most overlooked. That’s why I’ve made a paneer patty that isn’t just paneer. It’s important to have all the other ingredients so that it doesn’t feel like you’re eating… well… a block of paneer.

It’s a chunky and flavourful burger. We’re not about small burger patties over here, they’re serious business after all. It’s also super easy to make and always a crowd pleaser with my friends and family.

What are Paneer Tikkis and why they make for the best burger patties

Paneer tikkis, also known as paneer cutlets or paneer patties, are essentially a form of fritter that’s made predominantly from paneer.

These paneer fritters are usually spiced with chilli, garlic, and ginger, before being pan fried or deep fried until they’re gloriously crisp. Some people often like to add grated or minced vegetables to their paneer tikkis too.

They’re perfect for burgers because they genuinely just taste SO GOOD. Paneer tikkis have the ideal texture for a burger patty, they’re versatile, and they’re easy to make. Paneer itself is a relatively blank canvas which gives you full control over the flavour.

You can literally make paneer tikki burgers taste exactly how you like. The crumbled paneer readily takes up all of this flavour whilst giving you the perfect subtle chew and melt-in-the-mouth sensation.

Green chutney mayonnaise deserves to be on everything

I’m so excited to share my recipe for these paneer tikki burgers with you guys. But having said that, I think I’m possibly even more excited about sharing this green chutney mayonnaise.

It literally is a fusion of a classic Indian green chutney combined with mayonnaise (I’ve used vegan here as my recipes are egg-free, but regular mayo works too). It’s a mayonnaise that has all the beautiful fragrance and flavour of one of the most beloved chutneys.

And it can honestly go on everything. Nachos, to fries, to sandwiches, burgers, salad dressing, and frankly so much more. The possibilities are endless.

I’ve made my own burger buns here, and you can too

I always make my own burger buns and have never looked back. They’re very soft whilst also still having a great deal of structure due to the tangzhong method used to make them.

This means that you can hold your burger firmly without worrying that the bun is going to fall apart! A key component of a great burger is a great bun, you can find my recipe for my homemade burger buns here.

If you’re a fan of burgers, I think you’ll also enjoy these

Burger people, I’ve got you, never worry. You guys should also try out my:

• Classic Spicy Black Bean Burgers – great for all you classic bean burger fans. They’re also full of great texture and have a lovely bite to them
• Smoky Aubergine Burgers – If you’re an aubergine or eggplant fan, you must try this one immediately. I personally think this is one of the best burger recipes I’ve ever created and eaten. It’s become my family’s favourite!
• Homemade Veggie Burgers – An incredibly flavourful vegetable burger made with edamame, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, and onion. It’s then seasoned to perfection before being pan fried till crisp. So good.

What you’ll need to make these Paneer Tikki Burgers

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end of the blogpost

• Paneer – this is an Indian cheese that can be grated, crumbled, and cooked at high temperatures without melting. It makes it perfect for recipes like this, as melting cheeses wouldn’t work for a tikki
• Peanuts – these provide great texture and flavour, however if you have a nut allergy feel free to omit. Sunflower seeds would also be great in lieu
• Chaat masala – this is a salty, sour, sweet, and almost ‘funky’ spice mix. If you’ve got this on hand then please add it in, it adds so much flavour to dishes that it’s naturally become a pantry staple in my cooking. If you don’t have access to this, you can absolutely leave it out
• Kasuri methi – these are dried fenugreek leaves that have somewhat of a bitter but incredibly savoury flavour. They also have a wonderful aroma though this is often mellowed out and dispersed through dishes when added in. You can definitely tell when there’s kasuri methi in a dish, it’s a herb that I honestly can’t go without
• Cornflour – this is cornflour for UK readers but it’s sold as corn starch in the US. It’s a thickening and binding agent

The KEY TIPS to getting these burgers right

1. Taste the mixture once you’ve added everything in – seasonings and spices can often vary in flavour and potency between households depending on age, batch, and origin. This is the best time to adjust if needed, so trust your palate
2. Don’t skimp out on the potato – I would honestly love this printed out on a t-shirt. It binds the mixture together and provides another dimension of texture
3. Use fresh herbs and aromatics – fresh coriander, garlic, ginger, and chilli really will make a difference. There is definitely a place for dry herbs in cooking, but fresh is best suited for this recipe (except for the dried fenugreek)

How to make these Paneer Tikki Burgers

Let’s start with the Paneer Tikkis

1) Start by soaking the block of paneer in boiling water for 10 minutes. This only needs to be done if you’re buying shop bought paneer as it’s usually quite dry

2) The paneer will soften up and turn pale after soaking. Drain out the water after soaking

3) Then crumble the paneer by hand, it doesn’t need to be perfect

4) Next add in a boiled potato to the paneer. I’d recommend passing it through a potato ricer or alternatively grating the paneer

5+6) Add in all the remaining tikki ingredients, this will be the peanuts, sweetcorn, onions, ginger, garlic, green chilli, chaat masala, chili powder, turmeric, salt, black pepper, coriander, kasuri methi, and the cornflour (corn starch for US readers)

7) Then mix to combine until everything is nicely incorporated

8) Take handfuls of the paneer tikki mixture and shape into round burger/patty shapes. You should be able to get 8 decent sized tikkis from the paneer mixture

9+10) Pan fry the tikkis in 2-3tbsp of oil over a medium heat until they’re brown and crispy on both sides

Then we can make the green chutney mayonnaise

1) Simply add all the mayonnaise, coriander, garlic, ginger, and green chillies to a blender jug

2) Blend till smooth and vibrant, then I recommend placing it back into the fridge to chill briefly as the blender tends to produce a little bit of heat. This is honestly one of the best mayonnaise flavours!

Finally let’s assemble our Paneer Tikki Burgers

1) To assemble, take your burger bun (toasted of course!), add a generous spoonful of the green chutney mayonnaise, followed by sliced beetroot, cucumber, the paneer tikki, some more green chutney mayonnaise, and some sliced red onions

2) Top with your burger bun lid (again toasted), and enjoy!

Frequently asked questions

How long can the paneer tikkis be kept? And what’s the best way to store them?

They can be kept for up to 4 days refrigerated. I recommend cooking the mixture on the day it’s made as leaving it in the fridge can firm it up a bit too much, and can also dry it out if not sealed well.

Store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat simply bake at around 180’C/356’F for around 12-15 minutes.

Can these Paneer Tikki Burgers be made vegan?

You can substitute the paneer for extra firm tofu. There’s no need to soak the tofu in boiling water as we’ve done with paneer. And you can use vegan mayonnaise for the green chutney mayonnaise.

Can the paneer tikkis be air fried or baked?

They can technically be air fried, however my air fryer has holes at the base and the mixture kept getting stuck inside them. So it wasn’t successful for me.

If you have a small baking tray that is air fryer safe, you can brush the tikkis with oil and air fry at 180’C/356’F for about 15-18 minutes. Turning them over carefully half way.

They can be baked with the same method, brush the tikkis with oil and bake at 180’C/356’F for 25-30 minutes. I did find baking to take longer and they did not form a deep crust as they do with pan frying. The texture is also far better when pan fried.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy cooking!