Name: Tandoori Paneer Tarte au Soleil
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 pack ready-rolled puff pastry; Milk for glaze; flour for dusting; 1/4 cup readymade tandoori sauce; 1/4 cup grated paneer; 1/4 cup capsicum finely chopped (red, yellow, green); 2 tbsp. roasted gram flour; 3 tbsp. red onion finely chopped; freshly coriander chopped; 1 tsp onion seeds (kalonji)

Tandoori Paneer Tarte au Soleil is a fun vegetarian French-Indian fusion appetizer made with store-bought puff pastry and a generous filling of grated paneer and vegetables in a finger-licking Tandoori marinade. It is then cooked in the air fryer for the perfect flaky texture all over.

An overhead image of round puff pastry in the shape of a sunflower on parchment paper. The recipe is Tandoori Paneer Tarte au Soleil

Update - Paneer Tarte Au Soleil. This savoury tart was a super easy and ridiculously tasty recipe. I've included the link to the original recipe from Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey. - Instagram reader 23 August 2021

Facebook reader 20/04/2022

I’ve made this a few times (4-5 times) since you first posted this recipe. It’s always been a hit! Thanks for sharing!

AIR FRYER TARTE AU SOLEIL

French-inspired Tarte au Soleil is a pull-apart puff pastry recipe. It is aptly named "Tarte au Soleil" because it resembles a beautiful Sun!

The beauty of this puff pastry is that you can literally fill it with whatever you fancy!

Our Tarte au Soleil, with the addition of Tandoori Paneer and vegetables, undergoes a fantastic Indian twist to create a fusion recipe. We love our Indian-fusion recipes and recently made Tandoori Paneer Galette

Despite its stunning look that is sure to wow every one of your guests, Tarte au Soleil could not be easier to make. It can easily be ready in under 30 minutes because we have used a ready-made puff pastry and air-fried the tart for a perfectly even finish. This makes it the perfect make-ahead party food with a wow-effect, every single time!

Why not get your friends and family involved in making this pastry together for an afternoon of fun baking!

For the days that you're feeling adventurous, homemade Eggless Classic All Butter Croissants are the one recipe to attempt homemade pastries!

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Savoury Schezwan Paneer Puff Pastry Swirls

Ingredients for Tandoori Paneer Tarte au Soleil

(for a full list of ingredients with amount and method, see the recipe card at the end of the post)

Tandoori Paneer and Vegetable Filling:

1. Paneer - grated

2. Bell pepper - we have used red, yellow and green for colour

3. Onion - red onion works well

4. Fresh Coriander

5. Tandoori Sauce

6. Gram flour - roasted chickpea or besan flavour to absorb moisture

Pastry

1. Ready-made Puff Pastry sheets

2. Milk to glaze

3. Onion seeds - aka kalonji to garnish

How to make the perfect Tarte au Soleil with Tips:

To prevent a cracked pastry when unrolling, take the puff pastry out of the fridge half an hour before using it. This ensures a smoother pastry that is easier to handle - judge this based on the climate you live in! Summer months will soften the pastry a lot quicker! If the pastry is too soft, it will stick to the surface so judgment is key!

Use a little roasted besan flour (chickpea flour, gram flour) to soak up the moisture in the filling. Ensure you roast the flour first otherwise it will taste raw once cooked as the cooking time for the pastry is not long enough for the flour to cook.

We have very finely sliced the vegetables so that they do not fall out of the pastry. Big chunks of vegetables will be difficult to work with.

Use fillings that are not overly runny - it may make the pastry soggy and difficult to twist.

Do not overstuff the pastry. Too much filling will add weight to the pastry and make it difficult to twist.

Make sure that the pastry will fit into the air-fryer basket.

Use a spatula or a flat utensil to gently lift up each "ray" before twisting.

Make the tarte onto parchment paper that you will be baking/air frying on. It is difficult to lift the tarte and switch to a different baking tray after!

If you have leftover filling, turn your scraps of puff pastry into smaller parcels and bake alongside your Tarte au Soleil

How to make Tandoori Paneer Filling:

I love the combination of paneer and vegetables - it almost creates an Indian Pizza flavour!

Crumble some shop-bought or homemade paneer

We have used finely chopped red, yellow and green bell peppers. We have added red onion and coriander leaves all finely chopped to the mixture.

We have used a few tablespoons of roasted chickpea flour to help bind the mixture and to absorb some of the moisture.

For ease, we have used a ready-made Tandoori Sauce that is easily available from a supermarket.

If you want to make the Tandoori Sauce at home, follow the steps from our Tandoori Paneer Tikka for the marinade.

A zoomed image of Tandoori Paneer Tarte au Soleil with flaky puff pastry

Vegan Tarte au Soleil

Vegans do not need to miss out as this recipe is so easily adaptable.

Instead of paneer, it is possible to add crumbled tofu. Ensure that the tofu has been draining for a few hours using a tofu press (or good-old kitchen towel with a stack of tins). This tofu can then directly be substituted.

Vegan cheese can also be used here. Use a fine grater to grate a block of vegan cheese so that it resembles a crumb-like texture. Ready grated vegan cheese packets probably have too big slices and it will not be easy to make the twists later on.

Store puff pastry tends to be vegan already but make sure to check the packet first.

Can I make Tarte au Soleil in advance?

Yes, you can definitely make this recipe ahead of time - making it even more party-proof!

This tarte can be made and cooked about a day ahead and can be reheated in the oven for 5 minutes before serving. It also tastes good cold, so you have a few options to serve!

For freshness, I would only cut up the vegetables just before using them. Especially as onion tends to smell strong once it is peeled and cut.

How to garnish Tarte au Soleil

As this is an Indian fusion recipe, we have garnished it with kalonji (aka onion seeds) as they provide the most divine aromatic flavour.

You could garnish with seeds such as sunflower or pumpkin.

Sesame seeds are also an option.

If you make a sweet Tarte au Soleil, then you could dust with icing sugar.

How to shape Tarte au Soleil

The first time I came across a picture of Tarte au Soleil, I convinced myself that the process of shaping the pastry must be so complicated! However, a quick glance at the recipe and I couldn't have been more wrong!

By following the simple steps below, I had the most beautiful Tarte au Soleil in front of me.

The first step is to cut a ready-rolled puff pastry into a perfect circle. I used an 8-inch plate for mine to be able to fit into the Instant Pot Vortex 4 in 1 Air Fryer.

If you are using an air fryer, take care to check that the size of the pastry is small enough to fit into the air fryer basket. This is less of a concern if you will be baking the pastry.

You will need to cut two of these circles so buy two packets of ready-roll pastry.

Top one of the rounds with your filling and then place the other round directly on top - use a rolling pin to make this easier.

The next part is to make a slight indentation into the middle of the pastry using a cookie cutter or shot glass - similar to the middle of a sunflower! This ensures that you do not cut too far into the pastry.

The next step is to cut equal "rays" into the pastry.

To do this, first cut the pastry into quadrants without cutting past your indentation. Cut each quadrant in half and then half again, making 4 "rays" in each quadrant and 16 "rays" altogether.

How many "rays" you choose to make depends on your filling. Our Tandoori filling is made with crumbled paneer and finely chopped vegetables. As this filling can fall out, we kept our rays fairly thick.

The next step is what creates the impressive "wow" finish. Each "ray" needs to be gently twisted an equal number of times in the same direction and placed back in its place.

We have twisted twice as, again, we did not want our filling to fall out of the pastry. You could twist more times if you wanted to.

We have used milk for an eggless glaze.

Sprinkle with kalonji (onion seeds)

The next step is to either bake or air fry the pastry.

How to make Tarte au Soleil in the Air-Fryer

You can either bake or air-fry the Tarte au Soleil.

I prefer to make the Tarte in the air fryer because the air fryer gives a perfect and even finish to the puff pastry. It is also quicker than baking.

As explained in the steps above, ensure that your pastry can comfortably fit into the air-fryer basket.

We prepared our Tarte on parchment paper so it can easily be lowered directly into the air-fryer basket.

An image of tandoori paneer tarte au soleil with green chutney to serve with.

More Paneer Recipes:

Dry Chilli Paneer Restaurant Style - one of the most read recipes on our blog. An insanely good combination of paneer chunks and fiery hot green chillies tossed in an Indo-Chinese soy sauce blend.

Punjabi Matar Paneer - invokes curry house feelings!

Palak Paneer and Matar Paratha - a twist on paneer paratha, this dish tastes as good as it looks

Schezwan Paneer Wraps - your new picnic hero! Strips of schezwan paneer are layered with vegetables inside a tortilla wrap.