Inspired by the flavours of the Middle East and delivered with just a touch of Soho, Le Bab's kebabs are all about contrast and plays of texture. This recipe for paneer flatbread comes from their cookbook The Modern Kebab. It's easy to make at home, but if you're not in the mood for a spot of cooking then you can always hop on a tube and make your way to Kingly Court where the restaurant has been serving up moreish combinations like this since January 2016.
Make Le Bab's BBQ paneer kebab
Lightly charred flatbread makes for a soft and pillowy base for melty grilled paneer. Throw in some tangy beetroot purée, pickled chard and crispy shallot rings and it all starts to taste like the best vegetarian kebab you've ever had
Serves 4
Preparation time 1 hour
Cooking time 10 mins
Ingredients
- 500g paneer
- 2 pickled chard, leaves removed and stems reserved
For the marinade
- 200g full-fat Greek yoghurt
- 50g tomato purée
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 15g garam masala
For the beetroot purée
- 200g beetroots
- 15g desiccated coconut
For the crispy shallots
- 4 shallots
- 100g plain flour
- Oil, for frying
For the mayo
- 4 teaspoons curry powder
- 100g mustard mayonnaise
To serve
- 4 flatbreads
- Fresh coriander leaves
Method
- Mix together the yoghurt and tomato purée, before stirring in the spices. Cut each pack of paneer into 12 equal-sized cubes and generously coat in the yoghurt mix. Leave to marinate for at least a couple of hours if possible.
- Steam the beetroots in their skins for an hour or so until soft and tender. Let them cool a little before peeling the skins away with your fingers. If they've been cooked enough, the skins should slip away easily. Alternatively, you can buy ready-cooked beetroots, although the flavour won't be as good.
- When peeled, blitz the beetroots in a food processor with a little water and a good couple of pinches of salt until you have a smooth purée. Stir in the desiccated coconut.
- Slice the shallots into 3mm thick discs, separating each disc into rings. Place these in water, separating each shallot ring as you do so.
- Drain the rings and toss them in flour before frying in oil at 180°C in a deep-fat fryer or in a high-sided pan and draining on paper towels.
- Mix the curry powder through the mayonnaise. Skewer six pieces of paneer onto each of four skewers, season and cook on the barbecue until the cheese is coloured and soft and squidgy, approximately 4 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook them in an oven at 170°C for around 5 minutes until the cheese is soft.
- Smear some beetroot purée on a flatbread, before adding the cheese cubes, then a few pieces of the pickled and drained chard.
- Squeeze over the curry mayo and top with the crispy shallots and some coriander leaves.
From The Modern Kebab by Le Bab; photography by Justin De Souza. Published by Ebury Press.
