Curry

Paneer Masala

9:22 PM


It's funny how with just a change of time makes things feel precious to us. The other day the husband came home feeling triumphant with a block of our favourite paneer. I am not much of a paneer lover yet the sight of new ingredients made us happy. Though not on her usual track, life sure has found a new normal to carry on.

Bengali

Paneer and Veg pulao and Boondi Raita

6:29 AM


Remember just a few months back I was talking about appointing a cook, well the news is she suddenly left the job this month due to shifting to another place. Which leaves me in a queer position not knowing whether to be happy or sad. 

Happy because she bunked most of the days especially on days when you needed her the most she would not be seen anywhere near our place. Also she used too much oil, read more than 7 liters per month for a family of four, and always made sure to cook a huge batch for us to eat leftovers for at least a couple of days. 

Bengali

Karaishunti'r Ghugni.(greenpeas and cottage cheese curry)

1:10 PM


In my food dictionary there are a many musts that I want to make at least once every season. Winter being the most generous in terms of it's bounty of fruits and vegetables there are so many delicacies that needs to be whipped up in my kitchen. Be it alu methi paratha, cauliflower curry, karaishutir kochuri or gajar ka halwa. I need to treat my family with these at least once every winter. This year being an extremely tough one personally, I could not make most of these when in season but at least tried whole heatedly.

This Karaishuti'r ghugni or curried fresh peas with potato and cottage cheese is a child hood favourite. Not that Maa made it every week but at least once during the end of the peas season. It's the time when the peas would mature in the pod yet still lush green and pearl like. We would all go in the garden and will uproot the pea plants to get the last harvest of the season. Together will collect all the pods while discarding the mature plants with its stardy stems and shoots. Not good for another batch of stir fry or bora (fritters).

Paneer n Tofu

Spinach and corn Lollipop (Croquette)

4:37 AM


It is said that experience makes you wise. I agree whole heartedly  but at the same time their are certain sensibilities that are instilled in you during your growing up years. or to put it more appropriately it's part of your ethical and moral principal that governs the sense, thoughts and actions in deciding whats right and whats wrong. Same goes with maintaining a healthy balance in everything you do. Now thats a very interesting aspect of life. There is no universally acceptable scale to decide your equilibrium point...rather its your sense and sensibility to priorities your responsibilities and assigning time accordingly is supposed to give you desired result.

Bengali

Leftover Rice Khichri and Indian Omlette

6:33 AM



Its been a long since I posted anything on this page. Sorry for not being able to devote as much time as I would like to. Sometimes things that you love have to take a back seat making space for things which need your urgent intervention. I totally understand sometimes life is not easy on us and with time I have learnt to be patient and take things as it comes. But I must say am immensely fortunate to connect to some bloggers and some friends that I made through my blog. Who kept on mailing and messaging me asking for my where abouts. Am touched and truly consider myself blessed to have such well wishers and friends around me.

The recipe that am sharing today is my father’s. He is the ‘Khichuri man’ of our family and gets a call from everyone when the monsoon announces its arrival. He has some real good khichuri recipes in his repertoire and this left over rice khichuri is one of them. Every time there is a sudden down pore in the city we request him to make this. This spicy khichuri goes really well with Bengali style alu bhaja (potato fry) and omlette. Rain or no rain sometimes you got to try this.

Bengali

Simui-er Payes (Indian Vermicelli and Milk Pudding)

10:58 AM



I love Santa Claus.

No Christmas has not come early but I am definitely missing that sweet, paunchy generous old man. And the reason lies in my son’s faith in him.

Most of the days the husband comes home way past midnight and by then the baby is wide asleep. The days when his father his lat its difficult to put him to bed. He wants his father by his side and gets sad if he is not there. But now with time he also has started to understand the situation and when last week his father again could not make it for his bedtime he said something that got me thinking. After I had finished reading to him and tried to tuck him in the bed he said ‘Baba akhon Santa clause hoe geche. Ami ghumie porlei ese jabe” (father has become Santa caluse, will only come when I am asleep).

Later while cleaning up the kitchen I started thinking. This December when he was too excited to have his first Christmas tree we told him all about Santa Claus. Who he is and how he brings presents to the kids. He wanted to wait for him on the Christmas night and then we told him that he only comes when the kids gets asleep. He knows we don’t get to see Santa Clause but he definitely comes and the proof lies in the presents that he gets to see in the morning. Similarly he gets to see his father coming until in the morning. It’s a beautiful innocent world for him and a beautiful gesture on behalf of Mr. Santa Claus too. I don’t give any brownie point to my hubby for this but how I wish if everyone has been as generous as Santa. Mainly leaving behind the gifts part.

I am not keeping well for quite sometime. My hemoglobin level has gone down to its all time low which with some other problems make me feel exhausted all the time. Night sleep is also disturbed and the morning alarm at 6 makes it impossible for me to get proper sleep. but replenishing that in the afternoon is another problem. I have tried sleeping with the baby many times but with no result. The day I ever try to sleep in the afternoon someone comes for something. Either it would be the Iron wallah, the milkman, the sweeper, the courier guy, the car wash man, the paper wala, the magazine wallah, the driver or if nothing else then some phone call on the landline. And I hate Airtel or for that matter any of the mobile service companies for their scheduled 3’o clock marketing calls in the afternoon. And they are arrogant enough to tell their customers that they can call any time of the day. The frustration increases many folds when you have a small kid at home. Even just the other day I was telling friend about my relation with afternoon sleep and how its so difficult to get some quite zzzz time when you are alone in the house.

Would not it be nice if we could all do our job silently without disturbing others? I understand the need of the courier guy and he doesnot come everyday but the other people? Trust me my lil one made me fall in love with Santa clause all over again. That fat old man with his chubby cheeks and big paunch has stolen my heart with his generosity. He comes in silently when we all are asleep and leaves the gift without any expectation. Most probably along with cookies will make this simui er payes for him this Christmas. The creamy thick sweet delight will definitely will please him.

My simui er payes is almost like the famous Muslim Id special dessert sheer khurma, thick, creamy and rich with dry fruits. And I have a sure shot method to get the consistency right every time with soft and separate strands of thin vermicelli. Actually there are many varieties of vermicelli available with various thickness and its quite difficult to cook it without turning them into a mass. I prefer to cook the vermicelli separately to do away with this. Below is my method.

Bengali

Aam-er Morobba (Raw Mango Preserve)

11:55 AM

It’s a great joy to see my little one growing each day. His father says he sees something new in him when he comes back from office. Some days he says some new words and some days shows new feelings. Though it’s too early to say, but till now he has grown to be a good hearted person. He is kind to everyone. Even on the road if someone coughs he would put out his water bottle for him drink. If anyone in the house ever falls sick he would be there at his bedside asking whether he needs water or medicines or anything else. And after providing that, he would ask ‘akhon thik lagche?’ are you feeling better.  He would even offer to massage your forehead if you retire to bed early. Will bring cream and apply to your  leg  you complain about muscle pain or if he thinks your legs are paining. Its another matter that he would even offer to press your neck if you complain about neck or throat pain.


right now am down with viral fever and  pharyngitis. My domestic help 'B' just made a cup of hot tea but am so lost in my blog world that the tea went cold. And you wont trust but my lil one just lifted the cup and with utmost care took the cup to the kitchen for 'B' to reheat it for his mumum. It was a sight to watch him walk in such small steps with a very serious face not to splash a single drop....which brought tears to my eyes.

He is very helpful in the kitchen too. When I cook he would always be there at my side. Offering to tip in the potatoes or sprinkle little more salt. Once am done he needs to taste the dish to check if the seasoning is right. After I give him a spoonful of the curry, with a serious face he would declare 'Nun thik ache/(rightly seasoned)'.

He loves animals and almost everyday pleads to us to get him one doggy. Remember this post where he was excited with the fishes Hubby caught from the road? now my younger brother has got him one. They together have named him 'Nemo'. Now with Nemo and a little piece of this murabba on his plate makes it easy for me to feed him. Maa made this for her grand children and they instantly loved it. Niece calls this Churabba for some unknown reason and my little brat is too philosophical to think about the name. As long as he gets his share of that sweet little piece, he is satisfied.

Murabba or morobba (in Bengali), or preserved fruits in thick sugar syrup,  is  an Arabic word that refers to savory or sweet jam or pickle in many regions of Pakistan and also Gujarat region of India. Traditionally it is sweet, prepared with raw mangoes, sugar, and spices.  This fruit pickle originated in Gurjistan, Republic of Georgia, where they used to make it with cherries and  strawberries. But when 'The Gurjars travelled to India to escape invaders, migrating to three regions of modern day India, (Rajasthan, Gujarat and North Jammu, and the Northern Pakistan area of Gujarat. the Gurjs or Gurjars initially settled in Gujarat and hence Gujarat got its name.' ) they used the same process to preserve local mangoes. This also is a tea time favourite in azerbizan which is known as Murebbesi. Check out Farida's space for more murabba recipe made with quince and watermelon rind.

The recipe am sharing here is our family recipe or more or less the recipe in which morobba is made in Bengal. Still I have not tried my hands in this and am just typing down the recipe as told by my Maa. Now, You know how it is with mothers, they never take the actual measurement and will expect you to figure that out on your own. I tried to be as specific as I can and I think you would be fine if you just follow this and apply little bit of your cooking skills. Recipe is easy but takes little bit of time. But if you have a sweet tooth you would not be disappointed at the end. You would be rewarded with an awesome delicacy of sweet, succulent and juicy pieces of raw mangoes in honey smooth golden syrup.
Read More...

Desserts and Sweets

I am back with Some Serious Mango Mania : Easy Mango Sorbet Recipe

10:47 AM


Ask me how great does it feel to say these most awaited words 'Am back'? Oh! How I longed to say this...and finally am hope to be back on my blogging track. For all of you who have started wondering if I have just vanished from the face of the Earth or have gone to another planet to check the living conditions there, I have moved to Kolkata and We are slowly settling down in our new house and soaking up the love and affections coming our way from friends and family. It was a long, hectic, incidentful break for me. The task of moving to another city with two truck loads of furnitures and luggage was huge, but opening those cartons and arranging everything in a tiny little apartment (compared to our Bangalore house which was HUGE) was a nightmare. Especially when the rented place comes with 4 bare walls without any woodwork, fixtures or even electric points. It took us a whole month to work on everything from scratch. Midst of all these chaos and madness the baby as seriously ill with some stomach infection. By God's grace he is fine now but struggling to withstand his first encounter with the deadly Kolkata summer. The heat and humidity on some days are killing and even the little one begs 'A.C Chalao na' (please switch on the A.C).

on the first few days I had to struggle without a domestic help as everyone in this new locality kept asking for a hopping sum (at which you will easily get full time maid everywhere else, including Bangalore) only for washing and cleaning, merely an hour's job in the morning. Am still struggling and looking for a good help as my son will soon join school and that way my whole morning would be gone in commuting. Well the silver lining could have been me losing all the extra kilos by doing the house work But that seems like a distant dream as every other day we get lunch or dinner invites. Everyone wants to feed their long lost Jamai (son-in-law) with an elaborate Bengali meal. In the last 3 months we have had 5 wedding invites, 2 birthday parties, 6 lunch invites and to top it all the most awaited Jamai soshti that my parents dreamed for the last five years. They went overboard with everything and fed the poor IT guy lavish spread for all 4 meals on that day. Yes! Thats Kolkata and Bengalis for you!!!
The best part of coming back to Kolkata apart from being close to family (thats the only reason we came back) are the fresh and rarest produce we get to see in the market. Am happy to cook with the fresh, juicy bottle gourds that gets cooked in its own juice (which was never the case in Bangalore) and to eat rare greens like Gima, Sushuni and Kulekhara (read THIS post). My only concern was the baking supplies, but thank fully I have explored the shops in the by-lanes of New market that stores almost everything (a post on that coming soon). Then we have this uber cool South city mall which will cater to all your needs of ingredints related to reginal or world cuisine. So all in all am happy but really miss the Bangalore weather and the serene surrounding of our locality in HSR layout.

Now that after a maddening situation every article in the household has got its own place and am also hoping to get my inner zen back soon. I want to get back to my blogging world. Trust me I missed you all, my beloved friends. I missed your comments, your wishes, our discussions on food and books and crafts and babies and interiors and everything under the sun. Thanks to all you dear friends, to all those unknown faces who have been a constant support and avid reader of all my blabbering. Lotsa hugs coming your way girls.

(by now you must have realised that I never cooked or entered the kitchen before marriage and was unaware of the availability or prices of anything and everything. Otherwise I would not have been in a position of exploring this city like a new comer and by that I mean for domestic supplies only. Ask for art and craft supplies, best restaurants, outing options or good shops with great bargains I would enlighten you like a pro. All thanks to Mr. Hubby and our 5 yrs old marriage for turning a denim claded fasionista to a domestic Goddess).

Now back to today's recipe. The best perks of Kolkata summer are the huge variety of luscious mangoes that appear in the markets. It would be an understatement to say that Bengalis are mango lovers, no meal is complete without a few slices of the juiciest mangoes at the end of it. But by birth am strange (or how will you explain the possibility of a non fish eating Bengali?) and was never very fond of it. I preferred it in other forms like in mango milkshakes, sandesh, ice creams and kulfis. This year too when finally Hubby allowed me to touch the mangoes to cook with I wanted to make something easy and cooling. So Mango sorbet it is this time. Hope you will enjoy it like my lil one did. We enjoyed this immensely on a sultry weekend evening.

Mango Sorbet
Ingredients: (serves 4)
Ripe Mangoes: 4, medium sized
lemon: 1; juice and zest
sugar: 5 tbsp
water: ½ cup

Method:
boil the water with the sugar till the sugar dissolves. Add the zest and the juice and simmer for a few minutes. Take off from heat and let it cool completely.

In the meantime chill one covered container in the freezer.

Peel and cube the mangoes and squize out as many pulp as possible.

Puree it with the syrup till very smooth.

Pour in the chilled container, cover and freeze.

After one hour beat the slightly frozen mixture till smooth. Cover and freeze.

Continue doing this 5-6 times at the end of every one hour. Chill overnight.

Scoop and serve with fresh mango pieces.
Note:
1. please adjust the sugar according to the sweetness of the mangoes. Mine were very sweet so I used less. But remember the sweetness reduces in the frozen form, keep that in mind while using the sugar.

2. I dont have an ice cream maker and I dont know how to operate one, but the google God says its a dream making soft luscious ice creams in such machines. So, if you have one, figure out how to operate that, put the mango mixture in this and enjoy a great siesta to enjoy the mango heaven later on and let us continue with the upper arm exercise.  


Events:
sending this to
Serve It: Chilled at 'Oh!Taste n see'.
and
Kids Delight: cool comforts originally started by Srivalli and this time hosted at Seduce your tastebuds, 


Quick and Easy Recipe Mela hosted by Nithu of Spicy Tasty.

Tags:

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Cakes cookies n savory goodies

Candy Cane Cookies (Eggless)

9:18 AM


So how was your Christmas this year? Did you have fun? Did you give in to the spirit of the season with all things glittery and shiny? I did. Though we dint bring any Christmas tree this year but the baby simply loved all the tinsels and baubles in the shops. Every time we went out he looked at all those Christmas lights with awestruck eyes. Finally when we bought some decorations to give our home a little touch of Christmas cheer, he was elated…and kept on jumping when his father finally switched on the lights. He loves glitters and glam and next year we will surely bring home a big Christmas tree for him.

I saw these cookies while searching for the Mince Pie recipe in Joy of baking and instantly knew I will make these. Give me something craft-y and am in anytime. These were perfect for son’s kiddy friends who received Christmas gift hampers from him this year. But the biggest hurdle was to make it egg less, as most of them are pure vegetarians. So, I added little more butter and 1/3 cup of almond flour and the final outcome was crisp, tasty and cutesy cookies. The shaping of the cookies is a little tricky, you will fumble with the first one or two but once you get the hang of it they will become easier. Have tried to give a pictorial on the shaping but the low light in my kitchen spoils everything. Still this would give you the basic idea.

Here is how I made these cutesy cookies, which were genuinely loved by the kids and their parents.

Eggless Candy Cane Cookies

Ingredients:
Flour: 2 cups
Almond flour: ½ cup
Butter: 10 tbsp
White oil: 4 tbsp
Powdered sugar: 1 cup
Milk: 2-3 tbsp (or less)
Soda-bi-carb: a pinch
Vanilla essence: ½ tsp
Red food colour: little

Method:
Mix flour, almond flour, soda and set aside.
With a electric mixer or whisk beat the sugar, vanilla, oil and butter till creamy. 


Mix in the dry ingredients in 2-3 batches and fold till you get smooth dough. If needed add the milk a spoonful at a time.

Take half of this dough and mix in the red food colour. I used powdered colour which I dissolved to 1 tsp of milk.

Cover the doughs separately in plastic wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes(if you find the dough too soft, otherwise you can make the cookies directly).

Once you are ready to bake preheat the oven to 160C and line a baking sheet with butter paper (I used my tracing papers and greased it with little butter.)

With greased hands start making the cookies. First take walnut sized ball from the white dough. Roll this between your palms or on a lightly greased surface to make a 4-5” long rope. I found it easier to make 2-3 long ropes and then joing them by pressing the edges together and then rolling.

Do the same with another walnut sized ball from the red dough.

Place the two ropes side by side. Now by slightly lifting one side try to twist the ropes together to create spiral. Do this little at a time or you will end up breaking the ropes. After every twist check the ropes if Broken somewhere. Do this by pressing the broken parts together and rolling.
Once twisted roll it back and forth on a lightly greased surface to secure the twists and to make it smooth.

Carefully transfer on the sheet and then slightly bend the top like a cane.

Prepare the other sticks and place them an inch apart on the baking tray.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes (mine were ready in 8 minutes), check after 5 minutes if the sides are browing fast. If so adjust the heat.

Cool them on wire rack and store in airtight container.

A Homemaker’s Note:
  1. Don’t bake them on greased foil as the heat from the foil will make the bottom dark brown.
  2. The colour of the cookies is brighter when not over baked so please be extra careful to check the cooking time.
  3. The cookies would be soft even after baking. Be very careful in transferring.
  4. You can see the original recipe (with eggs) HERE.
Events:

1. Champa's Bake off.



Tags:
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Cakes cookies n savory goodies

Baked Masala Peanuts and Pumpkin Seeds and Arusuvai Friendship Chain

6:49 AM

It was the Durga Puja time when the package carrying Bharathy's mystery ingredient arrived at my doorstep, but I was not present at home. My cousin sister just moved to town the week before and I went to help her with the unpacking. With two super mischievous toddlers at tow, it was way more difficult than I thought. We were totally drained and were almost shouting after the kids when Hubby called up to say a courier has come for me. With the entire running around my mind was blank and I felt totally clueless. Who could it be? was my first thought and Hubby replied Bharathy. That made me coming to the real world and I exclaimed with joy 'Arusuvai'. It must have been a pretty hard exclamation as when I look up saw sis, bro-in-law and even the two brats looking at me in utter awe. But I wasn’t ashamed a bit and didnt even try to explain what it is all about. As I was pretty sure that non bloggers wouldn’t understand its importance. Just informed Hubby not to open it till I reach home...I wanted to experience and savor every moment of having the package by myself.
That evening when the exhausted us reached home the baby was already asleep and after putting him to the bed I hurriedly reached for the packet. As I thought it came with a lot of goodies, the mystery ingredient and a beautiful handmade card by Bharathy herself. It made me feel special to be a part of a chain that I always wanted to be...for me it was like reaching the end of a full circle. We were exhausted so thought of taking the pictures in the morning. but God did I know what a mistake that was. By the time I opened my eyes, the baby was already up and almost finished the chocolates by himself (with a little help from his father). Am so sorry I cannot show you all the things she sent and below is what I managed to save and click. (Still now when I was editing this picture he was yelling 'thocolate thocolate').

My mystery ingredient was Pumpkin seeds. And with a look at it I instantly knew what to cook with this. I had bookmarked this recipe from Jugalbandi long back. The time was apt as my father who is a big fan of masala peanuts was coming during Diwali. So baked masala pumpkin seeds it was for me. I almost followed their recipe with a little bit of change in the seasoning and it came out delicious. A guilt free snacks, which has become our family (does that count friends too?) favourite and I have already made it twice since then.

I have tweaked the recipe a little bit and added a spoonful of olive oil to make it crunchy and a little less hard. This stays good for a couple of weeks if stored well in an airtight container.

Before I talk about the recipe here is a quick reminder for Arusuvai Friendship chain. This is a very famous Food blog friendship event, which am sure most of you have known. For those who are new HERE is the link of the Arusuvai Post.

 Arusuvai is a friendship chain among food bloggers where one person sends a mystery ingredient to the other to cook with it. The receiver then carries the chain by sending another package with a food ingredient to another friend. That way it not only brings friends together but also gives an opportunity to learn and taste various cuisines. Lathamma of the famour ‘Yum blog’ created this beautiful chain and later Bharathy and Srivalli carried on the good work by coordinating the whole process. This year we have again united to celebrate this unique friendship with Arusuvai Friendship chain. Bharathy has started the Chain by sending the ingredient to me and I am going to send packages full of hope and mystery ingredient to another 2 bloggers very soon. We need all of you to come up and join hands. Have you become a part yet? Please check THIS, THIS or THIS for more information.  

Now the recipe

Baked masala peanuts and pumpkin seeds

Ingredients:
Pumpkin seeds: 1 cup
Gram flour: 11/2 cups
Rice flour: 2 tbsp
Olive oil: 1/2 tsp
Soda-bi-carb: pinch

Seasoning:
Chilli powder: ½ tsp
Carom seeds (ajwain); 1/3 tsp
Chat masala: ½ tsp
Salt

Take same amount of ingredients for a cup of peanuts as well.

Method:
Dry roast the peanuts and seeds for a few minutes. Take out and spread on a paper.

Mix the gram flour, rice flour, soda and the entire seasoning ingredient in a bowl.

With the half of the gram flour mixture make a smooth paste by adding little water. The batter would be thick and lump free.

Mix this to the pumpkin seeds and mix to coat well.

Now start sprinkling the dry flour-spice mixture to it. The seeds would be coated with dry flour.

Spread the coated seeds on an oven proof tray (I lined mine with silver foil to make my cleaning work less messy). Try to break the lumps as much as possible, which wont be too easy.

Bake for 10 minutes at a preheated oven of 200 C.

Mine was done at the end of it, if required bake it for another 4-5 minutes till they turn golden brown and crisp.

Take out on a plate and let it cool.

Repeat with another batch of peanuts.

Store in airtight container. Tastes amazingly good with evening tea or coffee.


Tags:
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Bread Paratha etc

Chicken n Veg Tikka- Tortilla Wraps

3:23 AM


I love to cook and guess that’s why am a food blogger. But more than cooking I love chatting and guess that’s pretty much evident in my blog posts too. Whenever I invite friends over meal I prefer to cook and arrange everything beforehand. Be it the food, the decoration, the utensils, the starter…I prefer to plan and arrange everything before my guest’s arrival. That way I get plenty of time to talk and catch up with and also I don’t have make several trips to the kitchen to pull a spoon from here or a plate from there. But the whole scheduling goes haywire if guests come without or with a very short notice. That way Hubby loves to taste me. For instance once just after our marriage he invited two of his friends with family for dinner. Then on another occasion when entire cooking for the day was done, he remembered to update that he had invited two of his childhood friends for lunch. The problem with such occasions is not ingredients as I always have a well-stacked pantry but it’s the time crunch that puzzled me.  Initially it freaked me out but with time and experience I have learnt to keep cool. These days I don’t go overboard and slave over in the kitchen chopping, grinding and cooking three-course meal with an eye fixed on the clock, rather settle for some elegant one-dish meal with an easy dessert to finish off the dinner. It provides me ample amount of time to spend quality time with friends.






A couple of weeks back at about 12 in the noon I got a call from Hubby informing that a very dear friend of ours was coming over to spend the night with us. They were going somewhere else and due to sudden cancellation had to stay with us as a stopover.  I was delighted, as they are the people whose company we enjoy and can relate to them in different levels. But then again a small gathering like this needed some food too and with Hubby in the office I had to make do on whatever I had in hand. Luckily for me previous night I freezed my first Ice Cream (recipe coming next) so dessert was done, the only worry was the meal. I decided to make my never failing chicken and veg tikkas with some whole-wheat tortillas for main meal and some Root vegetable soup as starter. Which are easy and needs minimum supervision. Thus gave Hubby a call to bring some fresh salad leaves, mushrooms and curd, and when the baby took his afternoon nap I ground the spice, marinated the chicken, chopped the veggies for soup, pressure-cooked and pureed them and made the green chutney with home grown mint and coriander. Everything was done under a little more than ½ an hour. Then I tidied up the guest room and was all set to have a gala evening. Just before dinnertime grilled the chicken for 30-45 minutes under the timer, without any supervision. In the meantime kneaded the dough and while cooking the tortillas on one burner, quickly heated the soup with onion, garlic and seasoning on another. Hubby washed and made the salad. The friends were glad to have such a lavish yet light spread. With a lively conversation and good company I was happy to spend a pleasant evening with them. La vie est belle! Life is Beautiful!
Chicken and Veg Tikka
Ingredients:
Boneless Chicken pieces: 500 gms; cut into bite size pieces
Capsicum: 1 large
Firm ripe tomato: 2 medium
Onion: 1 big
Mushroom: ½ cup
Lemon juice: 1/2 tbsp
salt

For the marinade:
Hung curd: ¾ cup
Onion: 1 big
Garlic: 8 fat cloves
Ginger: 2” piece
Black pepper: 1 tsp
Sattu/ Chatu: 11/2 tbsp (or substitute with dry roasted besan/chickpea flour)
Red Chili powder: 11/2 tsp
Ajwain: ½ tsp
Oil/ghee: 1 tbsp (I use either mustard oil or pure ghee)
Red food colour (optional): a pinch
a pinch of mustard (optional) but I like the little heat
salt; as per taste

Method: 
Wash the chicken pieces and then put them on kitchen paper to soak the excess water. Once they are dry mix in the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
Grind everything under the marinade and make a coarse paste. Pour ½ of the marinade over the  chicken pieces and mix well to coat everything well. Cover and freeze for minimum 2 hours.


The vegetables don’t need much marination time. Just before mealtime soak them in the spice mix for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven at 225C.

Take a wooden skewer and arrange the vegetables and chicken pieces according to your preference. Baste with melted butter or ghee.

Line an oven safe tray with aluminum foil. Place the skewers over it and with another piece of foil wrap them to make a packet. This helps to cook the chicken pieces without drying them too much.  .

Grill for 15 minutes and then remove the upper layer of foil to expose the skewers. Baste with ghee/butter and remaining marinade and grill for another 10 minutes.

Flip the skewers, baste and again grill them for 10 minutes or till they are cooked and a little charred.

Serve with salad, sauce and tortillas or in itself with sauce for a pleasant snack.

For the veggies especially mushroom. Don’t cover them with foil. Just grill for 5 minutes, baste, flip and grill for another 5 minutes. Enjoy with a final sprinkling of lemon juice.
Tortillas
(Makes 6 pieces)

Ingredients:
Wholewheat flour (atta): 11/2 cups
Refined oil: 11/2 tsp
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Salt
Warm milk: ½ cup
Water: as required

Method:
Sieve the baking powder and flour and mix in the salt.

Pour in the shortening and rub to have coarse sand like texture. Mix in the warm milk and water. Knead on a floured surface to have soft and firm dough.

Cover with cling film and keep aside until used. If you intend to use it hours later, keep it in the freeze.

10 minutes before making the tortillas make small balls, smoothen them by rolling in your palms and again cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out in uniform thickness to a circle.

Cook on tawa or pan for a minute on each side. Keep covered.

Serve hot with spicy Tikka, salad and sauce.

Salad
Fresh Lettuce
Cucumber
Onion

Was and cut the lettuce in big chinks.
Peel and cut cucumber and onion in half moon shape.
Serve with the tortilla and tikka.

Final Assembly

Serve the Tikka pieces with Tortilla, green chutney, tomato sauce, fresh salad, lemon wedges, salt and pepper powder. you could also include some finely chopped green chilies.
Take a tortilla place some salad, chicken tikka pieces, green chutney and sauce. Sprinkle some salt and pepper powder. squeeze some lemon juice.
Roll and enjoy your wraps.

Heaven!!!



Sending this to Umm Mymoonah's Iftar Moments; Hijri 1431 at Taste of Pearl City.

Global Kadai this month hosted at Sandhya's kitchen and the theme she chose is Indian flavored flat bread.A monthly event started by Cilantro.

Tags:
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