Chicken Reshmi Kabab ( A Subtle Flavored Chicken Kabab That Will Melt In Your Mouth )

Ingredients :

Chicken breasts – 1/2 Kg

Hung curd – 200 Gms

Processed Cheese slices – 4 no

Ginger Garlic paste – 2 Tb

Green chilli paste – 1-2 tsp

Mint leaves chopped or paste – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

White pepper powder – as required

Method :

In a bowl, add the cheese slices and knead them to a paste. To this add the hung curd, ginger garlic paste, green chili paste, mint paste and salt and pepper powder. Mix well. To this mixture, add the chicken breasts and mix well. Then keep aside for 2-3 hours. Skewer these pieces on a metal skewer and either cook in a tandoor or grill them. Baste with oil while cooking as chicken tends to dry-out while cooking. Serve with Green chutney and roti.

Chicken Sukka(sukha)( Chicken Sauteed In A Spicy Masala )

Ingredients :

Chicken – 1 Kg

Ginger Garlic Paste – 2-4 Tbs

Malvani Masala – 4-6 Tbs

Oil - 3 Tb

Green Masala – 4 Tb

Salt – as required

For Green Masala:

Coriander Leaves - 1 bunch

Mint Leaves - 1/2 bunch

Green Chillies - 6 no.

Method :

For the green masala, make a smooth paste of all the ingredients.

Clean the chicken but leave the skin on. Then cut the chicken into 10-12 pieces. Make slashes/cuts on the chicken pieces. To the chicken pieces, add the green masala, ginger garlic paste, salt to taste and 2 Tb of malvani masala. Keep aside for about an hour.

In a kadai / wok add the oil, and when it’s hot, add the chicken pieces and sauté till they start to brown. Then add about 2 Tb of Malvani masala and a little water (1/4 cup) and cover and cook for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid and sauté till the chicken is completely dry.

P.S. You can also put all ingredients together and marinate the chicken in it. In that case, use less amount of Malvani masala.Then barbeque it.

Photo courtesy MLON

Tandoori Paneer Tikka ( Barbequed Cottage Cheese )

Most people hate paneer as it has a very bland taste. To all those I request to try this recipe.Though this recipe uses the same marinade as Chicken Tikka, the use of vegetables in between the paneer cubes adds a special flavor to the dish. I would like to thank Jayul for letting me use his Paneer Tikka pictures.

Ingredients :

Paneer : 500 Gms

Onions : 2-3 Large

Green capsicum (Simla Mirch ) : 2-3Large

For The Marinade :

Hung Curd : 500 gms

Red Chilli Paste : 2-3 Tbs

Ginger Garlic Paste : 2-3 Tbs

Garam Masala Powder : 1 1/2 tsp

Kasoori Methi Powder : 1/2 tsp

Lime Juice : 2 tsp

Salt : to taste

Pepper Powder : 1/2 tsp

Sesame Oil : 3-4 Tbs

Method :

Cut the paneer into square pieces of 1" length and hight & 1/2" thick. Cut the onions and capsicums into 1" cubes.
For the marinade, mix together the hung curd, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and the powder masalas. Then add the salt to taste, lime juice and oil and mix well.
To this marinade, add the cut paneer and onion and capsicum pieces and keep in the refrigerator for at least 2-4 hours.
Then skewer these pieces on thin metal skewers alternating between paneer, onion and capsicum pieces.

Then you can either roast them in the oven for about 7-8 minutes or grill them for the same amount of time. Make sure to baste them with oil after a few minutes, as they tend to dry out while roasting. If you ave a tandoor at home even better. The tandoor lends a special flavor to the Tikka which cannot be replicated in an oven.

Serve the Tikka with roti and Green chilli, mint and coriander chutney.

P.S. To make hung curd, take freshly made curd or yogurt and tie it in a four fold muslin cloth. Then hang it in the refrigerator till all the water drains out from the curd. you may have to keep it this way for 4-6 hours till all the water is drained from the curd. This is how you get the hung curd.

Ma Ki Dal माँ की दाल / Dal Makhni दाल मखानी ( Famous Punjabi Lentil Dish )

I learnt this dish while working as a trainee for a five star hotel in Mumbai. Till then the only time I had eaten this dish was in my college. Our batch had to prepare food for the rest of the college, including the teachers, three times a week. So , even though we prepared this dish under our trainer's guidance, it still had that taste that dishes have, when prepared by inexperienced chefs. So when I first tasted the same dish in the hotel, I was blown away. It is such a simple dish, yet it has such a multitude of tastes. The tanginess of the tomatoes, the spice of the chillies, the aroma of the garam masalas and the rich, creamy taste of the butter and cream. Add to that the slight bitter taste of the Kasuri Methi and you have the most perfect dish ever. No wonder even the most ferocious looking Punjabi goes soft in the knees, when one mentions "Maa Ki Dal". This is my version of the dish, as I have seen it prepared. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Whole Black Gram (Whole Urad) : 1 Cup; Chana Dal (Bengal Gram) : 1/4 Cup;

Red Kidney Beans (Rajma) : 1/4 Cup; Ginger Garlic Paste : 3 Tb;

Chopped Green Chillies : 3 no; Chopped Garlic : 1 1/2 Tb;

Chopped Onions : 2 large; Chopped Tomatoes : 300 Gms;

Toamato Puree : 3 Tb; Red Chilli Powder : 1 Tb;

Garam Masala Powder : 2 tsp; Kasuri Methi Powder : 1 tsp;

White Butter : 150 Gms; Fresh Cream : 100 ml;

Salt and Sugar: to taste; Chopped Coriander : 1 Tb.

Ghee : 1Tb; Oil : 2 Tb.

Method :

Wash, rinse and soak the black gram, kidney beans and the bengal gram overnight or for 7-8 hours. Then add 1 Tb. of ginger garlic paste and 1 Tb. ghee to this mix and pressure cook till they are overcooked. Then using the back of a wooden spoon, mash the lentils coarsely.
In a frypan, add oil and fry the chopped onions, garlic and green chillies till they are translucent. Now add the remaining ginger garlic paste(2Tb.) and saute. Then add the tomatoes anda pinch of salt and fry till the tomatoes are completely cooked and you get a saucelike consistency. Add the red chilli and garam masala powders and saute for 30 seconds.Now add the tomato puree and the mashed lentils and bring to boil. Then add the sugar and salt to taste and simmer for about 30 minutes. Don't forget to stir the dal inbetween as it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan. Now add the kasuri methi powder and finish off with butter and cream. Simmer for a further 2 minutes and remove. Garnish with chopped coriander.
Serve hot with tandoori roti or white rice.

P.S. : For some inexplicable reason, this dal tastes a lot better after a day or so in the refrigerator.