Looking for a different way to grill potatoes? Try this Malai Aloo Tikka! Baby potatoes coated with a spiced marinade made with yogurt, cream cheese, almond flour and cream. Lightly spiced with coriander, garam masala and cardamom powder, this is a delicious way to enjoy potatoes during summer!

Whenever it comes to Indian vegetarian grilling, the first thing that comes to my mind is Paneer. Whether it’s the regular paneer tikka or the hariyali paneer tikka, it’s something that’s always on the menu when we grill during summer.

While paneer tikka is great, sometimes we get bored of having it on the menu all the time! So, if you are like us and looking for a change, then try this Malai Aloo Tikka.

It has baby potatoes, coated with a creamy marinade which is lightly spiced. You can bake this in the oven (like I did) or grill it. These also make a great vegetarian appetizer to serve at your get togethers or parties.

Ingredients

The star ingredient for this recipe are the baby potatoes and the marinade made with yogurt and cream cheese!

Baby potatoes: I used these baby potatoes which were around 1.5 to 2 inches in length for this recipe. I cut these in half so that it was easier to arrange on skewers. If you can’t find baby potatoes, just use regular potatoes and cut them in quarters or even smaller pieces depending on how big the potatoes are.

Yogurt & cream cheese: the white marinade is made with plain yogurt (make sure it’s thick or use Greek yogurt), cream cheese and a little bit of heavy cream. You may skip the cream if you don’t have it. You can use sour cream in place of cream cheese for the tang although I much prefer the cream cheese here.

Spices: the marinade for this recipe is lightly spiced. There’s coriander powder, garam masala, little bit of ajwain (carom seeds) and kasuri methi. There’s also white pepper powder and cardamom powder which really add to the flavor. I have not added any chili powder here so this isn’t a spicy marinade.

Almond flour: to bring all the marinade together and also to make it richer, I add used some almond flour at the end. Another option would be to use cashew powder. Just powder some cashews and use in the recipe.

Step by Step Instructions

1- Bring a large pot of water to boil on medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add the baby potatoes to it.

2- Let them boil until they are almost 75% cooked, the time would depend on the size of potatoes. For these baby potatoes (1.5 to 2 inches in length), I boiled them for around 10 to 12 minutes. Then drain using a colander, peel the skin of the potatoes and set them aside. I cut these potatoes in half so that it’s easier to arrange them in skewers.

3- To make the marinade, take a large bowl. To that add 1/2 cup yogurt (use hung/thick yogurt or Greek yogurt), 3 oz cream cheese (at room temperature) and 1.5 tablespoons heavy cream. Mix until it’s all well combined. You can also add a teaspoon of oil here if you want (optional).

4- To that now add 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder, 1/4 teaspoon ajwain, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder, 1 teaspoon kasuri methi and 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste). Mix until everything is well combined.

5- To the bowl, now add the potatoes (I cut each baby potato in half), quartered onions and bell peppers.

6- Using your hands, mix until the potatoes, pepper and onions are well coated with this marinade. Then add 2 tablespoons of almond flour.

7- Mix until it’s all combined. Now cover and refrigerate this for 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile soak 5 to 6 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes (this makes sure they don’t burn in oven or on grill).

8- Once you have let the marinade sit for an hour at least, take it out and arrange the potatoes, peppers and onion on skewers. I got 5 skewers here. Pre-heat oven to 450 F degrees.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with oil spray first and then place the skewers on it. Bake at 450 F degrees for 15 minutes. Then broil for 2 to 3 minutes until the potatoes have nice brown spots on them. You can also grill these. Serve aloo tikka with cilantro chutney!

Stove-top Option

You can also cook this aloo tikka on stove-top. Boil the potatoes, marinade and follow all the steps as it is until arranging on skewers.

Then take a large flat tawa. Brush the tawa with some oil. Place the skewers on the tawa and cook on medium heat, rotating the skewers often until the potatoes turn light golden in color. To get that charred look, place a wire roaster on direct heat (on medium-high flame) and hold the tikka over it. Char while rotating the skewer for 1-2 minutes until the potatoes have nice brows spots on them. Repeat with remaining skewers.

Tips & Notes

• You can either make these in the oven, or on your grill or on your pan. You can also cook these in oven and then in stead of broiling in the oven, finish these on grill or direct roast on heat using a stove-top.
• For an extra layer of flavor, try adding some pineapple to the marinade. The sweet pineapples will go well with the spiced potatoes.
• If you don’t have baby potatoes, you can use regular medium or large size potatoes. Just cut them into sizes which is easier to arrange on skewers.
• I have not tried to make this recipe vegan but I am assuming it would work. Use vegan yogurt (plain almond milk yogurt will be best), vegan cream cheese and coconut cream in the marinade.
• Add some red chili powder in the marinade to make this spicier.
• If you don’t have almond flour, you can grind some cashews and add that cashew powder in place.

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