Tag: malai tikka
India- Time for the real favorites…
More than a week has already passed. When we planned the trip, two weeks seemed a lot of time to do all sorts of things. The rest of the time will be spent eating my all time favorite part of Indian cuisine- tikkas. Tikkas are tender morsels of any meat, marinated in different spices to perfection and then cooked in a clay oven or tandoor. The result is melt-in-your-mouth taste that is out of this world. We do have decent restaurants in New Jersey serving these preparation, but nothing can compare to all the places here in Delhi.
We made our way to Colonel Kababz near by. I was super excited to try all sorts of things including dal makhani and pudina parantha. We ordered the malai kebab (tender chicken pieces in a creamy marination), kalmi kebab (chicken legs cooked to perfection), seekh kebab (minced goat meat with spices), dal makhani and lots of bread. The meal was delicious- the meats were prepared with just the right amount of spices and the dal was out of this world. We noticed the thick layer of butter on top of the lentils and for a second I thought of removing it- but then I proceeded to eat it exactly how they served it. The butter makes it more delicious. My daughter loved the chicken tikkas- found them a bit spicy but managed to eat it.
My next stop- Bukhara– my all time favorite place to go for this cuisine. It is a must for me every time I come back. This time it is after five years and I am really looking forward to it. Will take lots of pictures and report back….
A Delicious Grilled Chicken Recipe: 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!!!