Tangdi Kebab with Mint Chutney
Chicken drumsticks can make a good snack in
many forms. Most common the Tangdi Kebab. A good marinade which takes all of
five minutes left to refrigerate overnight or for a day can deliver good
results. The Kebab is obviously incomplete without a chutney. I have chosen
mint with a hint of almond. Coriander chutney is also not a bad bet.
For the Kebabs:
3 pieces chicken
drumsticks
1 tbsp butter (some for
coating before grilling)
2 tbsp fresh cream
2 tbsp grated cheese
(any)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp green cardamom
powder
1 tsp red chili flakes
Salt to taste
For the Chutney:
A bunch of fresh mint
(Please see the picture)
7-8 almonds
(pre-soaked and peeled)
4-5 green chilies
Few drops of mustard oil
Salt to taste
Method:
For the Kebabs:
1. Mix together all
ingredients for the kebab into a paste and marinate the drumsticks.
2. Leave it refrigerated
for a day. Grill at 200 degrees for 20 minutes on both sides.
For the Chutney:
1. Soak the mint leaves
in water for 2-3 minutes.
2. In a processor, mix
together the mint leaves and other chutney ingredients.
Butter and Paprika Chicken
This is another one of
my very quick and delicious preparations which is the easiest to put together
as a plate of snack or a perfect stuffing for a roll. Try is out either way.
Cut the chicken pieces equally for an even cooking. I have garnished it with
the some parmesan but you could use Coriander as well. The amount of green
chilies could be a lot for some people. Just reduce it as per your requirement
and enjoy.
Ingredients:
450 gms boneless chicken
1 medium size onion
sliced
1 tbsp ginger garlic
paste
1 tbsp paprika powder
3-4 green chilies
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp butter
Method:
1. Melt the butter and
add the sliced onions.
2. Once the onions start
to change colour, add ginger-garlic paste and fry it properly for about 3-4
minutes.
3. Now add paprika and
keep frying on a high flame till all the oil separates.
4. Add tomato puree and cook
for 5-7 minutes. Add a little water at this stage.
5. Now add the chicken
pieces along with salt.
6. Let the chicken cook thoroughly and sprinkle the green chilies.
Mutton Rogan Josh
Perhaps one of the
most exotic recipes of the Kashmiri cuisine, this curry dish is my favourite.
The dish is traditionally made in the gravy of browned onions, garlic, ginger,
whole spices, yoghurt and Kashmiri red chilli powder for the rich red colour
which is sometimes further enhanced by using ‘ratanjot’, a natural colorant. I
didn't find ratanjot so I added a liberal dash of Kashmiri red chilli powder.
There are however several variations of the traditional recipe. I have stuck to
this one for quite some time. This dish does not require any marinating of the
mutton hence an important tip would be to pick up a good quality fresh mutton.
Ingredients:
1
kg mutton diced into equal pieces
2
onions, sliced
1
tbsp garlic, finely chopped
4
black cardamoms
4
green cardamoms
6
black peppercorns
4
cloves
2
1 inch cinnamon stick
2
bay leaves
1
tsp fennel seeds
1
tbsp ginger powder
1
tbsp chilli powder
2
tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
1
tsp coriander powder
1
tsp turmeric powder
½
tsp Asafoetida (heeng)
2
tbsp coriander chopped
5
tbsp mustard oil
250
gms plain yoghurt
Method:
1. Fry the
onions and garlic in a little oil until softened and starting to colour.
Transfer to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Set it aside.
2. Heat the remaining
oil and add the whole spices, except the fennel seeds, so that they start crackling. Add asafoetida (heeng) alongwith them.
3. Add the onion garlic
paste and fry for a bit.
4. Now add the mutton
pieces and mix them together so that it nicely gets coated with the onion
garlic paste. Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Now add all the dry spices, ginger powder, chilli powder, Kashmiri chili
powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and the fennel seeds. Keep stirring
until they are thoroughly fried.
6. Now add yoghurt
and cook for another 10 minutes.
7. Add four cups of water and let it simmer away
on a low flame till the mutton is fully cooked. You could put the lid on and
keep stirring every half an hour.
Spicy Mutton chops
Mutton is my favourite meat. However, I find it slightly tricky to cook as
there is a high chance of going wrong. In other words, goofs like the mutton
remaining uncooked. I try the easy way of marinating the mutton for a long time
and also cooking it on a low flame for a long time. Mutton is patience. Marinating
mutton usually involves curd. I make sure I don’t use too much as that could
affect the taste. I also add some oil in the marinade as that helps in it cooking.
This is an easy way of cooking mutton chops. While I serve them in dry form as
a snack along with drinks, you could always turn this into a curry form by
adding water.
Ingredients:
600 gms
mutton chops
For the marinade:
1 tbsp plain
curd
1 tbsp
mustard oil
For the chops:
One
medium size onion
3-4 green
chilies
1 tsp
coriander seeds
1 tsp
ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp
red chili powder
1 tsp
cumin powder
1 tsp
garam masala
2 tbsp
mustard oil
Method:
1. Marinate the mutton with mustard and curd for about eight hours.
2. Grind the onions, green chilies and
the coriander seeds into a paste.
3. In a non-stick kadhai, heat mustard
oil upto smoking point and add the onion paste and sauté a bit.
4. Now add the other spices and fry them
together till the oil starts separating from the spices.
5. Add water to this mixture to make it
loose.
6. Add mutton and mix it together to
ensure that it gets coated with the spices.
7. Add water and let it cook on a low
flame for an hour and a half. Add water at intervals to avoid sticking.
8. Let the water reduce once the mutton
is fully cooked.
Coriander Chicken
I love a typical homemade chicken. It is
so quick and so easy. What I like about this recipe is the various forms in
which the coriander goes into it. I marinate with coriander seeds, fry the
chicken with powdered coriander and finally garnish it with loads of fresh
coriander. The dish is quick, delicious and has a strong taste of mustard as I
make it in mustard oil. Not comfortable with mustard, use vegetable refined
oil. Other than the time that actually goes into marinating the chicken, this doesn't take more than 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
1 kg freshly cut broiler chicken
 |
| Sliced onion |
For the Marinade:
3 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp mustard oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
3-4 red chilies
4-6 green chilies halved
 |
| Other ingredients |
For the Chicken:
2 tbsp mustard oil
2-3 black cardamoms
2-3 cloves
1-2 bayleafs
7-8 black peppercorns
3 medium onions finely sliced
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
5-6 green chilies chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
Fresh coriander leaves
Method:
1. Combine all marinating ingredients with the chicken and set is aside for an hour.
 |
| Before marinating |
 |
| After marinating |
2. Once the chicken is marinated, bring the mustard oil to a smoking point in a kadhai and add cardamoms, bayleafs, peppercorns and cloves. Wait till they crackle.
3. Once they crackle, add the sliced onions and
fry them till they start turning brown.
4. Add ginger-garlic paste, red chili
powder, coriander powder and garam masala and fry them thoroughly till oil
starts showing on the surface.
5. Now add all the chicken along with the
remaining green chilies and fry it so that all spices get fully incorporated.
5. Let is cook on a low flame for 5-7
minutes.
6. Add tomato puree, mix it together and
let it simmer away till done. You don’t need to add too much water to this.
7. Garnish it with lots of fresh coriander.
Pulav
Some of you might wonder why I would put
the recipe of something as basic as a Pulav. May be I do have a reason. The
reason is times when you have nothing in the name of vegetables but would like
to have a filling and a sumptuous rice meal. This magic is created with the
simple use of whole spices (garam masalas). For all those who love that
crackling sound and the aroma of whole spices, here is something that is truly
valuable. This rice meal is so complete in itself that you could simply eat it
with curd. Alternatively, you could complement this with an elaborate curry
item by going a little easy on quantity of the whole spices. Sprinkling a few
drops of soy sauce, doesn’t alter the taste however adds a little colour to the
rice. So quick, so simple and so delicious!
Ingredients:
For
a serving of 2:
 |
| Our whole spices |
2
bay leafs
2
maces
2
star anises
4-5
cloves
2-3
black cardamoms
3-4
green cardamoms
3-4
sticks of cinnamon
3-4
green chilies
1
tsp ginger paste
2
onions finely chopped
2-3
tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp salt
Few
drops of soy sauce
Roughly
chopped coriander
Method:
1. Wash the rice and set it aside. In a
kadhai, pour oil and bring it to a smoking point. Then add all whole spices
together and let them crack.
2. Add the finely chopped onions and cook for
a bit. When the onions turn translucent, add ginger and fry for a bit.
3. Now add the rice and green chilies and
keep stirring till all ingredients are mixed together. Sprinkle some soy sauce and add salt.
4. Add water to the rice (about four cups)
and put the lid on and let it simmer away on a low flame.
5. Leave it on for about 10 minutes or until
the rice gets cooked. Garnish it with fresh coriander.
 |
| Mixing all ingredients together |
I guess all of us are fond of wraps, rolls and frankies. When I went to Pune for college, there used to be one Kapila Kathi Roll. I can tell you, it used to be divine. I never found anything like that in Mumbai. However, when I feel like eating rolls, I usually go for Tibb's Frankie, Bade Miyaan, Ayub's, Faaso's, etc., etc., Personally, I am more fond of the Indian flavours in them. So I tried to make this at home one day and my work friends loved this. Set out below is the step by step recipe with pictures.
Ingredients:
For the Wrap:
Maida (Depending on the number of wraps)
Egg (One egg for one wrap)
Salt to taste
Refined vegetable oil or butter
For the chutney:
1 cup fresh coriander
3-4 chilies
3-4 cloves of garlic
Mustard oil/sesame oil (optional)
Salt to taste
For the stuffing:
250 gms (Boneless chicken breast pieces; cut into equal small sizes)
2 tbsp curd
1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
1 medium size onion finely chopped
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp black pepper powder
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Method:
For the wraps:
1. Make regular rotis of the maida.
2. In a tawa heat oil/butter, spread the roti and put it on a non-stick saucepan and spread one whole beaten egg on it.
3. Cook it from one side for a few minutes till the egg on the surface becomes thicker. Now, turn it upside down to cook it from the other side.
4. Remove from heat and set it aside.
For the chutney:
Grind all ingredients in a mixer and make a fine spread.
For the stuffing:
1. Marinate chicken in curd for an hour.
2. In a saucepan, heat the vegetable oil and add finely chopped onions.
3. When the onions are golden brown, add ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder, black pepper powder and fry on a medium flame.
4. When the spices are well cooked, add the chicken, add salt and cook further till all the spices mix with the chicken.
5. When the chicken is nearly cooked, add tomato puree and cook for a few minutes on a low flame.
6. If you add water while frying, make sure the resultant stuffing is semi-gravy or dry.
The wrap:
1. Put the ready roti on a plate and spread the coriander chutney on it.
2. Now add the stuffing at the centre of the Roti.
3. Sprinkle some green chilies, white vinegar/lime juice and onion rings.
4. Fold it neatly.
