Tag: chicken tikka

A Restaurant Classic – Chicken Tikka Masala

Another staple for Diwali dinner… yum!

2 pounds boneless skinless thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
5-6 wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least an hour

3 garlic cloves
2 inches fresh ginger

Process the garlic and ginger into a paste and add to a medium sized bowl.

½ cup non-fat greek yogurt
2 tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon coriander powder
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ cup cilantro, chopped
½ cup raw cashews, ground

Preheat broiler on high.

Add the yogurt, half and half, food coloring, lemon juice, coriander powder, salt, garam masala, cilantro and cashews into the bowl with the ginger and garlic. Mix well and add the chicken pieces. Marinate over night or at least two to three hours.
Take out the pieces out of the marinade and place them evenly onto the skewers. Broil on a broiling pan on high for 5 to 6 minutes on both sides or till the chicken is golden brown. Take the chicken out of the skewers and keep aside.

3 tablespoons extra light olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 cans (14 ounces) tomato sauce
1/3 cup milk
¼ cup half and half
Pinch of sugar
Salt
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoons dried fenugreek
½ cup cilantro, chopped

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the cumin seeds on medium high heat. Saute for a minute and add the ginger and garlic. Saute for another minute and add the tomato sauce. Add the milk, half and half, sugar, salt, coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well and add half of the chicken pieces (the rest can be used for another recipe). Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Add the fenugreek and fresh coriander. Check for seasonings.

Kathi Kebabs- Chicken Tikkas Stuffed in an Egg Roti

Kathi Kebab 4 This dish is great with leftover chicken…

I already had cilantro chutney in the fridge. All I had to do is to make some fresh rotis and prepare the egg mixture. Whole wheat or regular tortillas can be used instead of rotis…

Leftover chicken tikkas (you need about a quarter cup per kathi), cut into one inch pieces and keep warm
4 whole-wheat rotis
4 tablespoons olive oil

Egg Mixture

4 eggs, beaten lightly
1½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a medium bowl, add the eggs, salt, and cayenne pepper. Beat lightly and keep aside.

Onion Relish

1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 lime, juiced

¼ cup cilantro chutney

8 toothpicks

In a small bowl mix the onion, salt, cayenne pepper and limejuice. Keep aside.

In a wide non-stick frying pan, heat one tablespoon olive oil. Add one roti to the pan and heat both sides, about a minute on each side. Take out of the pan and add 1/3 cup of the egg mixture. Immediately top the egg mixture with the warmed roti.
Cook on medium high heat, till the egg is cooked at the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip the egg roti and cook the other side for about a minute. Kathi Kebab 2

Place the egg roti on a serving plate and place the chicken pieces in the middle from top to bottom. Add about a tablespoon or more of the onion relish and the cilantro chutney. Kathi Kebab 3

Roll the roti and secure with two toothpicks.

Sweet Potato Fries

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick fries
2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the fries on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle the olive oil, salt, garlic powder and paprika. Mix well with your fingers and bake for about 45 minutes or till the fries are soft on the inside and crunchy and golden brown on the outside.

A Delicious Grilled Chicken Recipe: Malai Chicken Tikka

malai-chicken-tikka If I had to choose one technique of cooking meats- making tikkas (grilled meats) would be my all time favorite. The process includes marinating any kind of meat or fish and then cooking them on skewers in a tandoor. Usually the marinade consists of hung or greek style yogurt (I tend to use low fat sour cream more often), lemon juice, ginger, garlic and a variety of spices. I think if I had to give up meat- it would be very difficult knowing that I won’t be able to eat any tandoori preparations- my weakness (one amongst many!).

The one thing I still don’t think Indian restaurants make really well here in the US are the tandoori dishes. Somehow in India, the marinated meats taste a lot more tender and full of flavor than the ones we eat here- not sure why?? I do make them at home, and the outside grill does a decent job of replicating the taste-although it’s not really the same… The most important thing is the marinade – if there is not enough flavor in the concoction, the meat won’t have any either. If I have to pick one ingredient that makes the most difference, I would have to say it’s salt. If enough salt is not added to the marinade- they meat will be tasteless! I remember, growing up we used to walk to an open market near our house with lots of food vendors. One of them made the most spectacular mutton tikkas I have ever had. They were tiny bite sized pieces of meat that were marinated and then cooked in a tandoor to perfection- I can still picture and taste them as if it was yesterday. Tandoori dishes are first on my list whenever I make a trip to Delhi- no different from any other city I visit- food is generally the focus!

In this particular dish, I have used cardamom, nutmeg and saffron as the main flavor ingredients. It gives the chicken a very subtle floral flavor. The other ingredient that gives this dish a very different flavor is the cashew paste. The nutty and creamy flavor gives the tikkas a very authentic taste in my opinion. The chicken is especially delicious if you use the outside grill- although the oven broiler will do the job as well.

My daughter and husband loved this chicken. We also cooked it in the class I just taught and the response was good as well. It’s a great dish to make for the summer with a yummy salad and a nice chilled rose or beer!!!

Plane Food- I should have had water instead!

water-bottle My daughter and I are sitting on a plane heading to Seattle. When I started thinking about our trip, especially the plane ride, food came to mind. What will we eat on the plane?? These days they don’t give much on board and if they do, it’s not worth eating! Ours was an early morning flight so I was not sure if the usual restaurants would be open. I decided to pack some food for us, especially since my daughter does not care for sandwiches- that is what they ended up serving on the flight! I initially thought of packing something just for her but then decided to pack for myself also. I make a veggie sandwich for lunch most days (I am a creature of habit and look forward to eating the same thing everyday!), which seemed like a good idea to pack. The problem was that it had mayo and tomato chutney, which would make the sandwich soft and wet. It had to be something that would keep well and easy to eat! I thought of the lunch my daughter takes a couple times a week. I always have chicken tikkas (recipe on the blog) made in the fridge or freezer. I make a homemade whole-wheat roti (Indian version of a tortilla), put some chicken pieces in it and roll it up! It is very easy to eat and has two important food groups- whole grains and protein. I decided to make two for us. I also had two apples left in the fridge which I decided to cut and pack. I packed a yogurt in a tube for my daughter as an additional snack.

When it came time to eat, we got two trays with a sandwich, muffin and fruit. I decided to open the egg and cheese sandwich on a biscuit because I was curious and was prepared to eat it. It didn’t look very appetizing but I thought one couldn’t really mess up an egg sandwich!! I was wrong- all I could taste was a little salt and a lot of fat and grease! I was very glad I packed food for myself. I had the rolled up chicken roti, the muffin and the fruit. I washed it down with something they called hot tea- it vaguely tasted like warm soap water with milk- I should have had water instead!!!