In the mood to grill? Switch up your standard cookout dish with this Indian vegetable skewers recipe, which leans into punchy spices and fresh ingredients.

Go beyond basic burgers at your next cookout with recipes from Hugh Mangum’s new book Barbecue: Smoked & Grilled Recipes from Across the Globe. With the help of Irvington-based food writer Shana Liebman, Mangum—known as the pitmaster behind the East Coast chain Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque—details how to make 280 dishes from more than 80 countries. This recipe for Indian vegetable skewers is bound to delight at summer gatherings.

Vegetable skewers, often called “tikka vegetables,” are popular in northern India, where tandoori cooking originated. Peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and paneer, a soft, non-melting cheese, marinated in a mixture of yogurt and spices, are skewered and then grilled or roasted in a tandoor oven. Serve this dish as an appetizer or main course, along with chutney, Indian yogurt sauce, and grilled naan.

Indian Vegetable Skewers

Recipe by Hugh MangumCourse: Dinner, Lunch, SidesCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

35

minutes

Vegetable skewers, often called “tikka vegetables,” are popular in northern India, where tandoori cooking originated. Peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and paneer, a soft, non-melting cheese, marinated in a mixture of yogurt and spices, are skewered and then grilled or roasted in a tandoor oven. Serve this dish as an appetizer or main course, along with chutney, Indian yogurt sauce, and grilled naan.

Ingredients

• For the marinade

• 1 cup plain yogurt

• 1 piece ginger, grated

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ cup mint leaves, finely chopped

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1 Tbsp canola oil

• 1 tsp garam masala

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder (or paprika)

• 1 tsp salt

• For the vegetables

• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares

• 2 green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares

• 2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 8 oz cherry tomatoes

• 1 lb button mushrooms, stemmed

• 10 oz paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions

• In a large bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients.
• Add the vegetables and paneer to the marinade. Stir to coat evenly. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
• Heat a grill to medium-high heat. Thread the marinated vegetables and paneer onto skewers, alternating between different types of vegetables.
• Grill the skewers until the vegetables are soft and slightly charred, 10-15 minutes. Remove from the grill and rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot with chutney, Indian yogurt sauce (recipe on right), and grilled naan.

• Serves 4-6 depending on portion sizes.

Excerpted from Barbecue © 2025 by Hugh Mangum. Photography © 2025 by Nico Schinco. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved.

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